Tyson, 44, the boxer who famously bit off part of Evander Holyfield's ear in a 1997 bout, shows a gentler side of himself in an upcoming TV show as a man with a lifelong passion for raising pigeons.
Not just common or garden pigeons, but racing pigeons. Or as Tyson puts it "the creme de la creme of the pigeon world. These are thoroughbred pigeons. Pigeons were mens' first feathered friends".
"Taking on Tyson", which comes to the Animal Planet cable TV channel in March, is a six-part documentary in which the former world heavyweight champion returns to his Brooklyn neighborhood to race pigeons.
Tyson, nicknamed "Iron Mike" for his ferocious boxing style in the 1980s, recalls in the show how as a child he skipped school to escape bullies but found solace and tranquility raising pigeons.
His pigeon coop is now in a tall house next to the gym where he trained for his famously bruising encounters in the ring. The documentary shows Tyson and a group of other pigeon fanciers training their birds and readying them for races.
Mike Tyson Pigeon TV Show
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