Mike Tyson‘s life is practically a movie script waiting to happen. He grew up on the tough streets of Brownsville, New York, rose to become the youngest heavyweight champion in history, and amassed a fortune in the hundreds of millions. Yet, despite his success, his extravagant spending habits led Mike Tyson to financial ruin in 2003 and he filed for bankruptcy. 

At one point, his debts were so staggering that he owed between “$40 million and $60 million” to the US government. However, being broke and in debt is not ‘Iron’ Mike’s biggest fear in life. His actual fear is much worse, which stems from his childhood. While appearing in Logan Paul’s widely popular podcast ‘Impaulsive,’ the former world champion confided in Jake Paul’s family what his biggest fear really is. 

Mike Tyson carries this fear with him till today

In the conversation with Tyson, Logan Paul’s father probed him about how he built his life back up after hitting rock bottom and losing everything he had. This seems to have reminded Tyson of the time when he owed “like $40 million-$60 million to the government and I’m waiting for [them] to take my house and my cars.”

He had Rolls Royce cars sitting in his driveway, but no money to pay for the gas. By his own admission, he had to lease those cars to other people to make some money. Meanwhile, he was in his own grandiose home, wondering “When [are] these mother f**kers going to come [and] take my house?” 

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He saw others getting their homes and properties taken away, which made him think, “Oh s**t, they [are] coming any day now, [but] no one ever came.” He was completely consumed by the fear that one day, people were going to come to his house, put all his luxurious things out, and hand him an eviction notice, which turned out to be his biggest fear. 

“[An] Eviction notice. That’s my biggest fear—being homeless,” Mike Tyson told the Impaulsive cast. He revealed he never cared about how much money he had. But having experienced homelessness as a kid, and seeing his own parents being homeless had instilled a fear in him. “I know what it’s like to be at the bottom,” he confessed. 

When asked whether he still has this fear, Tyson replied, “It sticks with me forever.” Interestingly, his fear of being homeless may be tied to some serious allegations Tyson once made about rich people.

Mike Tyson thinks homeless people are being kidnapped and hunted

In an April 2022 episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Mike Tyson dropped quite a chilling theory about what might be happening to some homeless people. While chatting with Joe Rogan about various topics, Tyson suggested that maybe some rich folks were actually kidnapping homeless people and hunting them for sport. He said, “They take these homeless people off the streets… and take them to these big estates, property—’Let’s hunt’—Run!” 

This idea kind of echoes Richard Connell’s 1924 short story, ‘The Most Dangerous Game,’ where people are hunted for fun. Tyson’s comments, which were picked up by The Independent and Rolling Stone, definitely highlight a disturbing and provocative take on societal inequalities and the extremes some might go to for thrills. Even though Tyson’s theory doesn’t have solid proof, it really shows how he mixes dark speculation with his public persona.

Having said that, despite being a multimillionaire, with a successful business and a lucrative fight against Jake Paul coming up, Mike Tyson never really got rid of his fear of living on the streets. This could be the reason why Tyson continues to work hard even at the age of 58 to secure his family’s future. What do you think about Tyson’s fear?