Mike Tyson was the proud owner of three pet tigers at the peak of his powers.

‘Iron Mike’ made a fortune during his legendary career, which saw him face Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis after flooring Trevor Berbick to become the youngest heavyweight champion of all time.

Tyson had pretty much everything he ever dreamed of. The 58-year-old even acquired exotic animals that are normally out of reach regardless of how much money you’ve got in the bank.

Jake Paul’s next opponent kept three tigers in his home, with one of them staying on his property for 16 years before he was forced to give it up after a terrifying incident.

Mike Tyson talks about his famous pet tigers

In December 2022, Mike Tyson explained that he got three tigers from the ‘black market’ before revealing how much he paid for each one.

“This guy was selling them and said, ‘I can get you a full grown one for $70,000 or I can get a small one for like $50,000,” Tyson explained on his Hotboxin’ Podcast

“So, I got the baby. I get the baby, we feed the baby with a bottle and then eventually she’s 400lbs. And then you figure out, how do I get rid of this motherf***er?”

Asked if they were ever aggressive, Tyson replied: “Not to me. Never to me.”

However, Tyson’s last remaining tiger hurt somebody, and it resulted in him forking out $250,000.

Tyson explained the story of why he had to eventually get rid of the tiger he kept for 16 years.

During a prior interview with GQ, Tyson claimed that a health condition led to him giving up his last Tiger, but then he nonchalantly mentioned that it had also ‘ripped somebody’s arm off’.

He said: “I had to get rid of her when her eyes and her head got bad.

“Oh, and she ripped somebody’s arm off.”

Tyson put to bed a rumor about the tiger escaping and attacking a neighbor as he revealed that someone trespassing on his property was badly hurt after trying to ‘play’ with the animal.

“No, that’s not what happened,” he clarified in another interview with rap icon Fat Joe. “Somebody jumped over my fence where the tiger was and jumped in their habitat and started playing with the tiger.

“And the tiger didn’t know the lady, so it was a bad accident. She jumped in the property where the tiger was at. They tried to [sue me] until they found out she jumped over the fence, and she trespassed the tiger.

“And listen, when I saw what the tiger did to her hand, I had a lot of money back then, so I gave her $250,000 or whatever it was. Because she was just f***ed up.”

Mike Tyson is set to end his 20-year retirement

Tyson hasn’t fought professionally since getting stopped by journeyman boxer Kevin McBride in 2005.

Earlier this year, he shocked the world by revealing he will be making a sensational return to the ring against 27-year-old YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, who he’ll face at AT&T Stadium in Texas on November 15.

Many fight fans are deeply concerned about Tyson getting seriously hurt when he squares off against a man 31 years his junior – but Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield are backing him to cause an upset.

The boxing icon is convinced he will shock the world in two weeks’ time. In fact, Tyson is so confident he’s already planning to have another fight after he beats Paul.

“Listen, I got beat in my last pro fight when I fought, I lost and got beat, I stopped fighting for a while,” he said on the Pound 4 Pound Podcast.

“I recuperated, let’s do it again, let me start all over and start doing it again at this level, you don’t have to stop doing what you love doing.

“The sky is the limit, they offered me some other stuff too, to be honest with you, I never told anyone but yeah, they offered me some other stuff.”