Mike Tyson has admitted that he was so out of control during the height of his boxing career that there were times when he punched fans simply for asking for his autograph.
The former world champion, 55, infamously had numerous brushes with the law during his turbulent career, including being charged for battery, sexual battery, misdemeanor assault, and assault with a deadly weapon.
What's more, the former boxer is also a registered sex offender and spent three years in prison after being found guilty on one count of rape and two counts of deviate sexual conduct in 1992.
"My life was just miserable, I was out of control," he told Yahoo Finance. "I was fighting with everybody. If someone asked me for an autograph, I'd punch them in the face. I was just a mess."
The former fighter, who came out of retirement for an exhibition bout against Roy Jones Jr. last November, credits taking up smoking cannabis with helping him turn his life around.
"After I retired, I started smoking," Tyson said. "What a mistake that was - I should have smoked my whole career."
"I should have smoked when I was fighting because it put me in this different state of mind. I'm very relaxed and the more relaxed you are, the better fighter you are, at least in my case," he added.
Ahead of his fight against Jones Jr., Tyson admits he also took psychedelics.
"I think of it as an enhancer," he said. "It makes me better, even in the ring. The punches don't hurt as much, it has a lot to do with my comeback, the psychedelics."
But the former athlete also noted the repercussions he's faced in the past over his use of cannabis.
His 2000 victory over Andrew Golota was changed to no-contest, following a positive test for marijuana. Even so, Tyson seemed to have no regrets over it.
"I broke his cheekbone, his eye socket, his rib — I should have been doing this from the beginning. And I said, 'Wow.' I got fined for that, of course, but it was worth every bit of it," Tyson said.
