It appears one of the greatest fighters of all time has been dealing with various issues. Mike Tyson, former Heavyweight Champion of the world, has fans concerned this week after it was revealed that he is walking with a limp and needs the assistance of a walker to get around. It is not 100% clear what is going on with the legend, but many are aware of his health issues throughout the years. Tyson has mentioned his own mortality before, and some believe he’s been aware that his time is coming soon based on recent interviews. So what is going on with Iron Mike?
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Mike Tyson suffered from mental issues and has been open about them in recent years. Mike has notoriously been a man on the edge, with anger issues and erratic behavior dating all the way back to his boxing debut. This is the same man who famously bit Evander Holyfield’s ear off mid-fight and has been accused of abusing the women in his life. Mike’s issues date all the way back to his childhood when he was known as a neighborhood bully terrorizing kids in Brooklyn. Rapper RZA recalls growing up in the same neighborhood as Tyson and how all the kids were afraid of him.
Behind the scenes, though, Tyson was already dealing with the trauma of a fractured childhood. Tyson lost his mother at a young age and said till this day; he’s just a scared little boy. He had his therapist Sean McFarland on his podcast Hotboxin’ With Mike Tyson to discuss how behind the scenes, Mike is actually terrified of his own rage. Tyson fears that sometimes he could lose control and not come back from it. Mike also discussed how money has never made him feel secure because he could still get sick, hit by a car, or jump off a bridge. “I am so scared that I am so violent that I can’t control my violence,” Tyson said. “Does that makes sense to you? Me, Mike Tyson, I’m so scared of everything. The one thing I know how to do is attack.”
This revelation is a painful one for Mike, who has confessed that while he feels meaningless without boxing, the sport also gave him severe mental illness. At his lowest points, Mike claims to have lost the will to live and does not feel like his life has meaning since he stopped boxing. “Now those days are gone. It’s empty, I’m nothing. I’m working on the art of humbleness. That’s the reason I’m crying because I’m not that person no more, and I miss him.”
Mike Tyson has a unique relationship with loss of life. He lost his mother at a young age and has gone on record to call it the best thing that ever happened to him. Mike says that her passing forced him to become tough and led him down the path to becoming a boxer. In a recent interview on his podcast, he spoke about losing his life in the same matter-of-fact way, discussing how realizing that he was getting older made him feel like his time was fast approaching. “My expiration date is coming close. Really soon,” he told his therapist.
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Perhaps Mike’s meditation practices are also what make him so comfortable with loss. Tyson has described the process of meditating as “dying.” “I pretty much die when I’m meditating. I’m like a borderline shaman. I use plant and animal medicine. I won’t say I’m enlightened, but I’ve had divine feelings… I was told silence is god’s language, and that’s why we meditate.”
Mike is getting old on us, but he’s not done just yet. The 56-year-old athlete was recently spotted walking with a cane in New York City. While some fans were concerned, he assured TMZ Sports that he was dealing with normal wear and tear. Mike has had back issues in the past, and recently some of those started to flare up. “He’s dealing with a sciatica flare-up,” sources told TMZ. “Nothing serious. Just an occupational hazard for an athlete like Mike.”