Mike Tyson always will be a fighter. So naturally, bouncing back is kind of his thing.

For all of the adversity Tyson has faced in his highly-publicized life, the 53-year-old former world heavyweight champion has a simple explanation for what fuels his constant reinventions.

"I just want to be up more than anybody wants me to be down," Tyson said. "And I think it comes from that desire."

Tyson is hitting the road with his one-man show, "Undisputed Truth Round 2," and will make a stop Sunday at the MGM Center Stage in Northfield.

The autobiographical performance chronicles Tyson’s personal and professional life, and the first version of the show, directed by Spike Lee, was made into an HBO special in 2013. For "Round 2," Tyson wanted to change things up a bit.

"The first show was more like a bio film of me talking about my life from the beginning, and that was kind of rough and edgy," Tyson explained. "I’ve made it lighter and more explosive and fun. It’s explaining the same thing, basically, but it’s not as long. The first one was almost a three-hour show. This one is a quick hour and a half."

Tyson modeled his show after various entertainers.

"I just watched different people and I picked up things from here and there," Tyson said. "I pretty much did this before, telling stories to friends. I just didn’t have the opportunity to do it from a theatrical perspective. I love being on stage and I love interacting with the people. I really love entertaining."

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Struggles with addiction

When he was 20, Tyson became the youngest world heavyweight champion in the history of boxing. His devastating punches and ultra-quick knockouts made him a sports and pop culture sensation. As his fame and fortune grew, though, so did his controversy. In 1990, Tyson was famously knocked out by 42-to-1 underdog, Buster Douglas, but his life had already started to spin out of control.

From 1992 to 1995, Tyson did jail time after being convicted of raping an 18-year-old Miss Black America contestant — a charge he has always and still adamantly denies in his show.

Upon his release from prison and return to the ring, he remained a record-setting draw, but he was later stripped of his boxing license after biting Evander Holyfield’s ear in a 1997 fight. After regaining his license, he continued fighting professionally until 2005, when he sat down after the sixth round of a fight with Irish boxer Kevin McBride and declined to fight on. Later that night, Tyson announced his boxing career was over.

More than three decades after reaching boxing’s pinnacle, Tyson has retired on top — after years of battling his own demons outside the ring — and grown into a groove that includes making movies, being an animated superhero and the king of his own cannabis empire.

Tyson soon will open Tyson Ranch, a cannabis resort that when completed could include a hotel, festival venue and even a university dedicated to growing cannabis.

"Tyson Ranch is coming out magnificently," he said. "It’s gonna be the most state-of-the art resort for cannabis the world has ever seen."

Self-described as a "relapse artist," Tyson has struggled with addiction to hard drugs most of his life. By age 12, he had sampled Mad Dog 20/20, cocaine, hash, opium, acid and angel dust.

But after years of serious substance abuse, weed has helped him come out of the shadows.

"I think cannabis is a part of my DNA," Tyson said. "I just never could stop smoking, but I always got in trouble for it. I’m so happy that it’s legal now and that it’s a part of everyday American life."

Tyson, who spent a good stretch of his life living in rural Southington, Ohio, laments what has become of his old digs.

"One of the problems you have in Ohio is you need the hemp out there," Tyson said. "You need to grow the hemp and get these people’s minds in a perspective where they can understand that there’s pretty much a genocide killing going on with all of the opioids. The places that we live in, Champion and Southington and Youngstown, all the epidemics going on out there, we need to do something about that. Hemp will help."

‘Hotboxin’’

Tyson’s recent podcast venture, "Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson," has become a runaway hit and has included conversations with musicians, boxers and entertainers of all varieties. At first, Tyson was skeptical of the idea.

"My partner wanted me to have a podcast, and I didn’t feel comfortable about it," Tyson said. "I wasn’t really that interested in talking to people. But it became very successful, and it’s one of the hottest in the world. So I’m getting used to it."

A recent episode featuring fellow boxer Sugar Ray Leonard made headlines as Tyson got emotional recalling his past as a fighter.

"I’m not that person no more, and I miss him," Tyson said on the episode. "Because sometimes I feel like a bitch, because I don’t want that person to come out, because if he comes out hell will come with him."

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"Mysteries," movies and reality television

In 2014, Tyson was approached by producer Hugh Davidson about starring in his own cartoon, "Mike Tyson Mysteries," for Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim franchise. Sort of like a crazy, demented version of "Scooby Doo," Tyson solves various conundrums. He’s aided by the Mike Tyson Mystery Team — the narcissistic Ghost of the Marquess of Queensberry (Jim Rash), his adopted Korean daughter Young Hee (Rachel Ramras) and an alcoholic, sexually depraved pigeon who was once a man (Former "Saturday Night Live" star Norm MacDonald).

"I’ve had a good time doing it, and I appreciate when they come to me with that stuff," Tyson said. "When they first approached me I was a little apprehensive because the pay wasn’t much and the concept was really odd."

Tyson also had no clue what Adult Swim was.

"At first, I thought it was a bunch of old, rich senior citizen white guys, learning how to swim in an exotic lake. But I saw one of the sketches and I got excited."

The show has run for four seasons and 70 episodes, and Tyson looks forward to other potential television and film projects. He famously starred as himself in "The Hangover 2" to critical acclaim, and actor Jamie Foxx, who previously won an Academy Award for his portrayal of music legend Ray Charles, has agreed to star as Tyson in an upcoming biopic.

"We’re looking at the Tyson Ranch reality show," he said. "And hopefully I get a part in the new Jamie Foxx movie where he’s portraying me. With everything right now, the sky is the limit."

Looking back on an extraordinary and eventful life, Tyson is philosophical on his plight.

But is it harder to become the champ or stay the champ?

"It’s always harder to stay up there," he said. "People are always trying to knock you off. That’s life in general, and that’s the polarity we live in life. The Yin and the Yang. We can’t understand good unless we experience bad."

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Reach B.J. at 330-580-8314 or bj.lisko@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @BLiskoREP