Mike Tyson's fondness for pigeons is well documented, but what isn't as well known is that he once knocked out a bin man after he threw one of the former boxer's birds in the trash.
Long before winning the world heavyweight title as a 21 year old, Iron Mike claims that one of his first alternations came after the bin man in question threw 'Julius' away.
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At the age of just 10, Tyson was forced to say goodbye to his favourite pigeon after it had passed away, but the sight of a sanitation worker disposing of the body seemingly sent him into a fit of rage.
Speaking to the World Boxing Council, Tyson revealed: "One morning I woke up and found my favourite pigeon, Julius, had died. I was devastated and was gonna use his crate as my stickball bat to honour him."
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Even at a young age, the 55-year-old still packed a punch and a half, as according to Tyson, he rendered the bin man unconscious after an unsavoury discovery.
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"I left the crate on my stoop and went in to get something and I returned to see the sanitation man put the crate into the crusher," he added.
"I rushed him and caught him flush on the temple with a titanic right hand, he was out cold."
This wasn't the only instance of a person infuriating Tyson for harming a pigeon. During the same interview, he revealed the time a boy fronted up to him and brutally ripped the head off a pigeon.
"The guy ripped the head off my pigeon. This was the first thing I ever loved in my life, the pigeon," Tyson recalls.
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"I don't know why, I feel ridiculous just trying to explain it. [Pigeons] are just so much like people."
Tyson, who last graced a boxing ring for a 2020 exhibition match against Roy Jones Jr, still keeps pigeons to this very day - as he showed off earlier this year.
In a video shared to his personal Instagram account, he could be seen holding one of his white birds.
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He then proceeds to kiss the animal on the beak, before revealing the dozens of other pigeons he also keeps.
Most recently, the former WBC belt holder made headlines for punching a man on a flight who was harassing him.
Tyson's representatives initially spoke out about the video shortly after it emerged.
A statement given to The Associated Press read: “Unfortunately, Mr. Tyson had an incident on a flight with an aggressive passenger who began harassing him and threw a water bottle at him while he was in his seat.”
Topics: Mike Tyson, Boxing, Sport, US News, Social Media
Tom Fenton