When 'Irritated' Mike Tyson Shut Down Reporter For Asking Him Questions About His Controversial Comments

Mike Tyson completely shut down a reporter with a classy response when he was asked about past comments that he made in his boxing career.

The 53-year-old legend remains the youngest boxer in history to capture the world heavyweight title and cemented his legacy with his accomplishments inside the squared circle.

But Tyson has often been criticised for comments he made about his opponents and also his checkered history outside of the ring.

During an interview on Sky a decade ago, the presenter quizzed 'Iron' Mike on the controversial comments he made about causing horrific damage to his opponents.

While Tyson told the presenter that he was "irritating" him with questions about his past, he felt he was being misjudged on comments he made during his heyday.

"You know what? Can I tell you something? I was a young kid then," he responded.

"I'm 43 years old and you're still dwelling on something that I said when I was 21 years old or 19 years old. I'm 43.

"What do you want to get from this interview? What are you trying to elicit from me?"

When he was asked if he was a different person now, the 'Baddest Man on the Planet' responded: "Well, I don't know if I am or not. I don't wanna be the person I was, but change comes in time.

"Change comes really in time. You're irritating me now. I guess I did change because I'm not assailing you, but you're irritating me right now.

"I feel like you're evoking stuff from the past -- that stuff is 15, 20 years ago."

Tyson, who has candidly opened up about his past, reiterated that the comments didn't make him the man that he is now.

The former undisputed world heavyweight champ explained: "No, it didn't make me [who I am now]. It's just part of life. I'm just an individual that has a -- I don't know -- magnifying glass on me. I don't know.

"We don't know who you are. No-one knows who you are. We see you every day, you have never been in no adversity where we can see if you're weak or strong.

"No-one knows who you are, really. We see you every day, but if I put my magnifying glass on you, we'll find out some things I'm sure you wouldn't want us to know about you."

Featured Image Credit: Sky/YouTube

Topics: Mike Tyson, Boxing News, Boxing, Iron Mike

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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