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Mike Tyson said he once knocked out a garbage man for throwing away one of his pet pigeons that had diedhttps://www.businessinsider.in/sports/news/mike-tyson-said-he-once-knocked-out-a-garbage-man-for-throwing-away-one-of-his-pet-pigeons-that-had-died/slidelist/75271973.cms2020-04-21T17:06:54+05:30

Mike Tyson said he once knocked out a garbage man for throwing away one of his pet pigeons that had died

Alan DawsonApr 21, 2020, 17:06 IST

Poodles and pigeons are a lot safer than tigers.

Now, Tyson has a pet poodle called Mars in his house. Tyson likes to pretend to box the Mars, and Mars likes to lick Tyson on the mouth.

Birds are not the only animals Tyson loves. He also kept tigers but came to regret the decision to have them on his property in the 1990s as one of them attacked a woman who trespassed on his property and he had to pay her $250,000. "I loved them … [but] I shouldn't have had them in my house. I was wrong."

He once had 100 pigeons in his garage, and 1,000 in New York City. "Having a hobby … you have a tendency to collect too many." However, he says he understands them. "It's trial and error. I've been around them since I was 9. They're my first love, ever."

"One morning I found my favourite pigeon, Julius, had died," Tyson said. He said he left the pigeon on the stoop of his house and before he could honor the dead bird, a garbage man threw it away. "I caught him on the temple with a titanic right hand. He was out cold, convulsing on the floor like an infantile retard."

That's not the only time Tyson punched someone because of a bird, though. He also knocked out a garbage man many years later.

Tyson's friend said: "Mike, fight him … don't be afraid." So, he did. "I was just flailing away and I hit him more than he hit me. I won … I guess."

Tyson told friends about pigeons he had in his his living room. Those friends told other people in the neighbourhood and they all visited him "to steal the birds." He begged one guy, "Please give me my bird." The guy apparently punched Tyson, ripped the bird's head off, then threw the blood at him.

Ever since Tyson was a kid, he's always loved pigeons. A pigeon was even the cause of his first fist fight ...

Everyone knows Mike Tyson as the youngest heavyweight champion of all-time because he knocked out Michael Spinks in 91 seconds aged 20 in 1988. But he is also a noted pigeon enthusiast.

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