Mike Tyson recalls prison visit from Tupac and hitting a fellow inmate when ‘upset and miserable’ while behind bars
MIKE TYSON received prison visits from rap royalty Tupac and once hit a fellow inmate while "upset and miserable" behind bars.
The heavyweight legend spent three years in jail after being convicted of rape in 1992.
He was assigned to the Indiana Youth Center, where he would be visited by several celebrities as well as British boxer Chris Eubank Sr.
But Tyson revealed the most respected guest that came to see him was hip hop legend Tupac.
He told rapper TI: “The guards didn’t like him, the inmates got rowdy and pumped up when he came which is a safety concern.
"He was a bolt of energy there. When he came in everybody knew him, he had mad respect. That’s how he lived his life, he had mad respect."
In prison Tyson converted to Islam and used the jail gym to prepare for his boxing comeback.
The 53-year-old remembers keeping a low profile during his time incarcerated - except for one incident when he punched an inmate.
Speaking to rapper Fat Joe, Tyson revealed: “I treated anybody the way I wanted them to treat me.
"And that’s just how it was. They weren’t scared of me. It all came down to respect.
“Just one time (he hit someone). Somebody said something and I just went over there and hit him.
"We were locked down for a long time and it was just something that was irritable and I went over there and hit him.
"We were locked down and couldn’t go to the gym. Somebody got stabbed or something and we were locked down. I was just upset and miserable."
Tyson returned to the ring in 1995 after his release, with his comeback fight against Peter McNeeley grossing £79million worldwide and selling a then record 1.52m PPV's, equating to £51m.
Just a year later he beat Frank Bruno to win the WBC title, but then lost to Evander Holyfield before infamously biting his ear in their 1997 rematch.
Tyson retired in 2005 after losing to Kevin McBride and left the sport with a record of 50–6-2 and remains one of the most celebrated heavyweights of all time.
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But the reformed Baddest Man on the Planet recently shocked fans after announcing he would make a comeback, 15 years since his last fight, to compete in charity exhibition bouts.
Despite being offered a trilogy bout against 57-year-old Holyfield, who also plans to make a return, Tyson is said to have agreed a fight with Shannon Briggs.
Briggs, 48, claimed the fight was "confirmed" with the pair set to box in an exhibition.
