Get a load of Mike Tyson’s latest excuse for his ear-chomping, trash-talking, sexually abusive behavior – the ex-heavyweight champ says he has to be evil in order to make a living.
“No one’s gonna buy Mike Tyson as George Bernard Shaw, you know,” Iron Mike complains in the November issue of Details.
“I just played to what they want to buy . . . The cameras get me paid, baby, the cameras get me paid.”
Tyson admits that while he has gotten out of line now and then, he is really a nice, humble fellow.
“Sometimes I’m hanging out with beautiful white girls and I forget that I’m a nigger and talk crazy,” he says.
“I get a little uppity and I forget how this country’s been formed from my ancestors and what it’s truly all about. And I gotta come to perspective and become humble.”
Regardless of those excuses, the former king of the ring still refuses to apologize for his worst offenses – including his conviction for raping 18-year-old beauty queen Desiree Washington.
“I always held Ms. Washington at fault for that. I disagree with what those jurors said, I disagree with the sentence,” he says.
Likewise, he shows no regret for biting off part of Evander Holyfield’s ear during a fight and, in fact, says his opponent was the aggressor.
“Holyfield totally beat the s- – – out of me with his head. But I should have been a disciplined soldier and avoided that as much as possible instead of letting my emotions get involved,” Tyson tells Details.
“Believe me, I’m very immature. I’ve been spoiled for most of my life.”
He also blasts Lennox Lewis, who clobbered him in the ring, as a condescending man who snubs his own race.
“I could beat him if I was well, but I’m sick right now. And I don’t mean sick physically, I mean emotionally.
“I just said to myself, if I get another chance, I’ll do this properly.”