Anyone who thinks Mike Tyson has moved beyond the problems that plagued him during his tumultuous boxing career should listen to what the former heavyweight champion had to say during a promotional news conference for ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights.”

Tyson, 47, opened up about his ongoing struggles with drugs and alcohol, saying he’s constantly at war with himself as he attempts to make amends for the mistakes he’s made.

“I haven’t drink or took drugs for six days, and for me, that’s a miracle,” a teary-eyed Tyson said during the news conference. “I’ve been lying to everybody else that think I was sober, but I’m not. This is my sixth day. I’m never gonna use again.”

Tyson’s comments came in response to him talking about trying to make amends with Teddy Atlas, his former trainer whom he had a falling out with in the early 1980s. Tyson knew Atlas was going to be at the “Fight Night Fights” event, and said he struggled at first with how he would handle a possible meeting with him.


“I didn’t have a good thought in mind about that at first, because I’m negative and I’m dark,” Tyson said. “And I wanna do bad stuff. I wanna hang out in this neighborhood alone [pointing to his head], that’s dangerous to hang out in this neighborhood alone up here, right? It wants to kill everything. It wants to kill me, too.

“Maybe it was overwhelming to Teddy and he didn’t get it yet. But he has to know this is sincere. I don’t wanna fight you no more. I was wrong. I’m sorry.”

Tyson went on to describe how he wants to change his life before it’s too late.

“I did a lot of bad things, and I want to be forgiven,” he said. “I wanna live my sober life. I don’t wanna die. I’m on the verge of dying, because I’m a vicious alcoholic.”


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