Mike Tyson earned his reputation with a successful boxing career and became a flamboyant millionaire in the 90s. During his professional career, Tyson spent his $400 million fortune on some surprising things which included purchasing a couple of Royal Bengal Tigers. Tyson lost hundreds of millions of dollars due to financial mismanagement and burned all the cash he had amassed over the years. According to rumors, Tyson was spending over $750,000 per year. After his retirement, Tyson revealed that he is ruthless not only in his boxing career but also while parenting his children. This was evident when he once refused his kids to adopt the big cat unlike him.
Tyson aimed to make sure that his children did not make the same mistakes as he did. The boxing legend considered purchasing tigers a mistake and did not want his children to follow suit and make the same mistake.
Why Mike Tyson refused his kids to buy Tigers?
Mike Tyson once sat down for a very fascinating conversation with Tucker Carlson when he was with Fox News. During the interview, Carlson asked Tyson if he thinks that when his kids grow up they have a tiger just like him. Tyson rejected the idea and also mentioned the difficulty in handling Tigers.
Tyson replied, “No, I’m not going to be strong enough to handle. You got to be tough with them sometimes. Well yeah, they understand… Listen, not with tigers as much because they get offended instinctively when you press them, reprimand them but lions are like dogs. Hey, sit down, hey get over here. Just like dogs.“
Tyson recalled the struggles he faced while owning two big tigers. For anyone to handle those big cats they have to be able to demand discipline from the cats. However, that’s easier said than done. Once Tyson even expressed that it was a mistake to purchase the tiger.
Tyson regrets buying Tiger
Legendary boxer Mike Tyson once admitted that he regretted purchasing tigers. This revelation came when he was speaking with Rapper Fat Joe when the Rapper went live on Instagram.
Tyson said, “There’s no way you can domesticate these cats 100 percent. No way that’s going to happen. They’ll kill you by accident, especially when you’re playing rough with them, you’re punching them back. They get hyped up, hit you back and you’re dead.“
Tyson revealed that he once had to break apart a tiger fight during his interview with Carlson. Furthermore, he even claimed that those tiger fights became so ruthless that everyone had to leave the mansion at times.
