Mike Tyson’s Lion Once Bit Him While He Gave it a Tetanus Shot
Mike Tyson has countless stories about the ridiculous things he purchased during his boxing prime, but few compare to the tales he has about the big cats he once owned. Earlier in his career, Tyson spent his hard-earned fight money on $7 million diamond necklaces and 150-foot yachts, but he also loved to purchase excoit animals.
The Hangover star ended up buying several tigers and lions and kept them at his home, building a strong bond with them.
Unfortunately, Tyson’s lion bit him while he gave it a Tetanus shot, and the retired boxer ended up with a serious injury.
Mike Tyson’s pet lion bit him while he gave it a Tetanus shot
Tyson talked about the experience during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
“I had a lion that bit me,” Tyson admitted. “That was really bad.”
Tyson ended up having to get a ton of stitches to deal with the wound, but lied to the doctors about how he got it.
“And I winded up getting a Tetanus shot,” Tyson said, laughing. “I had lied and said a dog bit me, ‘cause they would’ve took my cat if I’d told them.”
His tiger used to ride in the HOV lane with him
In the same interview, Tyson also revealed that he used to ride around in his car with his tiger, frequently occupying the express lane in the process. Tyson claimed that everyone would be impressed by the tiger when they saw it in the car with him.
“Man, they thought it was the illest sh*t ever in the history of the world,” Tyson said. “They couldn’t imagine it, not in a million years.”
His tiger used to sleep in his bedroom with him
Tyson’s love for his tigers is well documented. In a separate interview, he revealed that his tiger would often sleep in the same room as him at night.
“I had a great affection for her,” Tyson told GQ. “I kept her, I slept with her. I kept her in my room. She stayed with me. I had her for probably 16 years.”
“She was a massive monster,” Tyson continued. “You can’t imagine the size of her. She got too old and I had to get rid of her. Her eyes and her hip got bad. And plus she ripped somebody’s arm off.”
He had to pay someone $250,000 after his tiger bit them
Elaborating on the story, Tyson revealed that a woman hopped over his fence to play with his tiger, which provoked the tiger to bite her. Even though the woman was technically at fault for trespassing, Tyson still gave her $250,000 after seeing how badly she was injured.
“Listen, when I saw what the tiger did to her … I had a lot of money back then so I gave her $250,000, whatever it was, because she was just f—– up,” Tyson said.
