Mike Tyson said there were times in his career when he thought he was a 'Demi-God' after Eminem tearfully told the ex-heavyweight champion he worshipped him as a kid
- Eminem appeared to get emotional while talking about his early struggles in life during a recent podcast with Mike Tyson.
- The rapper then told Tyson that he has always been a huge fan of the retired heavyweight champion, and that he is a God to him.
- Tyson told Eminem that the secret to his success in boxing in the mid-1980s was coming from humble beginnings and getting beaten by life a few times before he won the world title.
- He later told the rapper that there were times when he felt like a "Demi-God."
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Eminem almost had tears in his eyes on Mike Tyson's podcast when he was said he always saw the heavyweight as a "God."
The rapper spoke to Tyson earlier this month, and told the retired former heavyweight world champion: "You're mother-f------ Mike Tyson, man!"
On the "Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson" podcast, Eminem said: "Yo, I'm so excited, man. If I start getting weird, just stop me."
Known for being the youngest heavyweight champion aged 20, Tyson's thumping victories over Trevor Berbick, Larry Holmes, and Michael Spinks stand the test of time. They are also wins which Eminem said he's seen many times.
"I'm such a huge f------ huge fan," Eminem told Tyson. "I can't even … I feel like a kid again. This is crazy. I've seen pretty much every documentary, every fight — I've seen. Everything that's available. I'm humbled."
Later in the show, Eminem told Tyson about his early struggles in life, enduring poverty in Detroit "with nowhere to go," before he got his big break working alongside Dr. Dre.
Teary-eyed, he then said: "I just gotta say, bro … you are like a God to me. Bro … you done so much in your life, that's just so crazy to be the heavyweight champion at 20 years old."
Tyson told Eminem: "You're not chipped liver yourself," meaning he's hardly worthless.
"I'm just saying, man, it takes a lot to be the champ," Eminem said. "I remember seeing the first couple fights when I was younger when you were first starting to really pop. 'Yo have you seen this guy Mike Tyson, he's knocking mother-f------ out in like 10 seconds!'
"The first fight I saw was Trevor Berbick. You knocked him down three times with one punch! I was like, 'What the f---?' When you fight, somebody's getting knocked out, it's just a matter of what round."
Tyson told Eminem there was a time where he felt like a Demi-God
Tyson told Eminem that the secret to his success in boxing in the mid-1980s was coming from "humble beginnings." He said: "To be the champ, I had to get beaten a couple times [in life]."
Later, Tyson said there were moments in his career where he did feel like a deity. He said his mentor and early boxing coach, Cus D'Amato, who was an older, white, New Yorker, elevated his own self-belief as a young black man.
"He never told me I was a n-----, that I was never going to make it, and he always said I was superior to everybody," Tyson said. "He never put doubt in my mind that I was f----- up, even though I believed that. In my mind, I was a demi-God."
Tyson's irregular show brings in guests from combat sports, comedy, and music, and is a platform where he speaks honestly about his idols, motivations, and emotions.
The 53-year-old recently said he looked forward to death because living is a "struggle," and, while crying in another episode, he said he "sometimes feels like a b----" because he feels "empty" and misses being "an annihilator" in the ring.
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