I've developed something of a soft spot for Mike Tyson (
Iron Mike, not
Iowa Mike) because, disturbed though he is, he also comes across as surprisingly (maybe pathologically) self-aware in his interviews (
one from after his most recent fight, and another from a little while back
with The Sports Guy), which is probably not the best attribute for a boxer. Here's a memorable snippet from the more recent interview:
"I just don't have the desire no more, I don't have the stomach to do it no more. I don't even kill insects in my house. I just don't kill anything no more. I used to kill pigeons, rip their heads off, 'You dirty rat pigeon!' I don't even have the heart to kill an animal no more. I just changed my whole life in general. That probably could have changed the way I fight."