‘I don’t fear it’: Mike Tyson says he’s looking forward to death

The heavyweight legend has said that ‘living might be more complicated than dying for me’

Mike Tyson has said that he is looking forward to his own death because “living might be more complicated than dying to me”.

Tyson, 53, is regarded as one of the greatest heavyweights in the history of boxing.

He became the first heavyweight to hold the WBA, WBC and IBF belts and later became the lineal champion.

However, he has a controversial past and in 1992, he was convicted of rape and sentenced to six years in prison. He was eventually released on parole after serving three years.

Since his retirement from boxing he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and, reflecting on both his career and his life in an interview with The Sportsman, Tyson said that he does not fear death.

Tyson knocking out Bruce Seldon, in 1996 (AFP)

“From my experience, from what I believe, the more I know about not existing, the more willing I am to die,” he said.

“Yeah [I look forward to it], I don’t fear it. Living might be more complicated than dying to me... because living takes a lot of courage.

“Without the courage, you can’t handle living. Living is a journey; living is a struggle. People have everything and they still can’t do it, they struggle.

“We take ourselves too seriously; we think we’re somebody. Who the f***, we’re nothing! We come from s***; we think we’re special [but] fame is s***.

“You find out you’re not [special]. You’re capable of going to jail, you’re capable of dying, you’re capable of being mistreated.

“I don’t really expect bad things to happen to me, but when they do happen to me, I understand it and I’m able to handle it. I’ve handled bad stuff before, that’s been my life. I don’t trip over bad things, I know s*** happens. When bad things happen, I will be still striving to do something. I won’t be discouraged.”