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WHEN his four-year-old daughter died in a tragic accident, Mike Tyson's mind turned to violence - and murder.

Fury descended on the former world heavyweight boxing champion as he tried to come to terms with the loss of little Exodus.

But the man known across the globe as Iron Mike kept himself from going off the rails after the terrible accident in 2009 - thanks to his love of pigeons.

Trying to deal with the pain, Tyson, 44, revealed: "After my daughter died, I had two choices.

"One was to go out and kill some people, the other was to start a new life."

Exodus died after getting tangled up in a cord on a home treadmill exercise machine.

Her loss forced him to wake up to the person he had become.

He said: "Iron Mike is dead. I am a different person today.

"I have eight children. I don't think I was ever a good father. I was living in a fog. I don't recognize the boxer Mike Tyson any more. I am better today.

"But I need to prove myself every day.

My daughter continues to live through me."

He became a vegan, losing more than nine stones as he took control of his life.

He said: "You need to endure it. If you can't do that you are finished. I am in God's hands.

"I have learned to be insignificant. We all are. Dust in the universe.

"I was insecure and jealous. I had very little self-confidence, but a big ego.

"And I have learned that it's the action, not just the talk, that will move you forward in life.

"I don't want to be a father that can't get out of bed in the morning because I am hung over. I want to break the cycle."

His pigeons are key to the turnaround, just as they calmed him growing up in crime-ridden Brownsville, New York.

His dad left his mum Lorna, his brother and sister when Tyson was two. The family, who had lived in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighbourhood, were forced to move to a cheaper place in Brownsville when Tyson was 10.

As a kid, he was ridiculed for his high-pitched voice and lisp.

As he chats about a new documentary series for Discovery Channel, which starts this Friday in the UK, Tyson revealed: "I have loved pigeons since I was nine. They were my escape.

"I was fat and ugly. Kids teased me all the time. The only joy I had was pigeons."

It was the death of one of his birds that turned Mike into a fighter. One of the neighbourhood bullies confronted him as he carried his birds home. The attacker grabbed one, twisted its head off and sprayed its blood all over him.

Tyson said: "That was the first time I threw a punch."

But boxing hadn't found him yet. Crime soon did. By 13, he had been arrested 38 times, ending up at the Tryon School for Boys in Johnstown, New York.

At the school, Tyson's emerging boxing ability was discovered by Bobby Stewart.

After his mum died when he was just 16, Tyson was left in the care of boxing manager and trainer Cus D'Amato, who would become his legal guardian.

D'Amato turned Tyson into a fighting machine. The boxer competed at the 1981 and 1982 Junior Olympic Games and won two gold medals.

He made his professional debut aged 18 in March 1985, defeating Hector Mercedes in a first round knockout.

Of his first 28 professional fights, he won 26 by a knockout, 16 in round one.

Tyson was hit with yet another blow when D'Amato died in 1985. The following year his prot›g›, aged 20, became the youngest heavyweight champion ever when he beat Trevor Berbick to win the WBC belt.

He became the undisputed champion of boxing in 1988 but out of the ring Tyso on was becoming a mess. After losing his titles to Buster Douglas in a huge upset in 1990, he was jailed for three years in 1992 for raping Desiree Washington, 18.

He ruined his reputation further in the title fights of 1996 and 1997 with Evander Holyfield. The rematch was stopped after Tyson bit both of Holyfield's ears. A piece of one was found on the ring floor later.

His last big fight was against Lennox Lewis in 2002, which he lost. He found solace in his pigeons.

He said: "When I lost to Lewis I got on a private jet and came straight to my coop and sat with the birds all day."

In 2003, he filed for bankruptcy. The boxer who had made £245million from his fights had spent or lost it all.

In 2007, he was briefly jailed and given probation for drug possession and driving under the influence of cocaine.

He hit rock-bottom with Exodus's death two years later.

Today, Tyson admits he does not like what he sees when he looks in a mirror.

"I see a joke, a sad figure, somebody who was pretty stupid," said the ex-boxer, who still looks fearsome thanks to the tribal tattoo on his face.

"I never used to be able to see this. I had to go through life pretending to be macho.

"I had no feelings for others, I had no compassion for others. I was trained to be that way. I was empty."

Despite everything he has gone through, he has no regrets.

"I want to regret things I did, I really do," he said. "But I can't. I need to grow as a human being. With that comes the acknowledgement that I need to live with my mistakes.

"Life does not give you a free ride. Sometimes you need to go through hell.

"I went through hell - and I survived."

So is there any of the old Mike Tyson left? He said: "If you push me in a corner, I will bite you. I am working on my temper. I am working on getting better.

"But it's still a long way to go."

Today, he finds contentment in his family. His third wife Lakiha Spicer gave birth to his eighth child, Morocco, in January.

Tyson said: "Happiness is screaming children running through the house. Or being with my pigeons.

"We need to learn to let go. The essence of happiness is to let go. Nothing is forever."

:: Taking on Tyson is on Discovery Channel on Fridays from March 11 at 9pm.