Boxing legend Mike Tyson was filmed sparring with his pet tiger in throwback footage that has emerged online.
Mike Tyson with his pet tiger 🐯🐅 pic.twitter.com/uwTcbYaReU
— Against The Ropes (@ATRboxinguk) November 25, 2019
The clip shows Iron Mike in the garden with his white Bengal tiger, Kenya.
The animal has a boxing glove in her mouth, as Tyson is throwing some punches at the beast, which is standing tall on its hind legs.
Then the massive cat lunges at the boxer, who has no inclination of shying away.
The former heavyweight then jumps towards his pet with a kick, causing the tiger to respond by jumping up to Tyson, who holds the cat’s giant teeth off.
The two share a kiss before Kenya goes for a dip in the pool.
The footage was shared on Twitter, where it has been viewed more than 100,000 times, with many netizens commenting on the display.
2 animals just casually playing with a ball 🐯
— Michael McCloskey (@Michael16314401) November 25, 2019
Must’ve been fun
— maliki_cherry (@abduljrmalik) November 26, 2019
Tiger absalutley shitting itself
— Craig Moore (@c_moore2012) November 25, 2019
Guy literally isn’t scared of fuck all 99% of people wouldn’t try to kick a tiger in the head even if it was trained
— Jamie Tennant (@JamieTennant3) November 25, 2019
Some twitter fans expressed sympathy for the tiger.
I feel sorry for the tiger.
— jak się nazywam (@NazywamJak) November 26, 2019
That’s animal cruelty...poor tiger must shit himself playing with Tyson 😂😂
— Eddie Holland (@moffeholland) November 25, 2019
Others touted the legendary boxer as “one-of-a-kind.”
Who has a pet tiger? 🐅 only someone who's strong as one😅🤣😆🤭
— Lytrice (@LytriceSheray) November 26, 2019
I love Tyson, a legend. 👌
— JIMMYD (@SUGARJIMMYD) November 25, 2019
There will never be another @MikeTyson
— BKBLinker (@LinkerBkb) November 25, 2019
Mike Tyson, who became the youngest heavyweight champion at 20 years old in 1986, enjoyed an extravagant lifestyle throughout his fighting career, which included owning a pet tiger Kenya.
The former heavyweight champion had the exotic animal for 16 years after buying her for a reported £55,000 ($70,000).
“I did have a pet tiger, her name was Kenya and she was around 550 pounds. I had a great affection for her; I kept her, I slept with her, I kept her in my room. She stayed with me; I had her for about 16 years. But she got too old and I had to get rid of her when her eyes and her head got bad. Oh, and she ripped somebody’s arm off," Tyson told GQ magazine.
Tyson told USA Today that he bought the tiger from behind bars after he was convicted of rape and jailed for six years in 1992.
He claimed he had been talking to his car dealer about buying a luxury vehicle but decided to settle on Kenya instead.
Tyson eventually had to sell Kenya because of her age.
