Mike Tyson Takes On Pigeon Racing

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Despite having retired from the ring, heavyweight boxing legend Mike Tyson isn't playing golf in his free time, instead he's still training. But surprisingly instead of working in the ring, he's been busy training racing pigeons.

In a new interview with the former champ, Tyson talks about his upcoming Animal Planet show "Taking on Tyson" which follows him as he trains his birds for competitive racing.

A typical pigeon race involves having the birds travel a certain distance, Tyson says sometimes up to 1000 miles depending on the breed, and tracking how long each bird takes to return home.

Raising pigeons since he was nine years old living in Brooklyn, NY, Tyson says, "This is something I adore doing. This is the sport I am deeply involved in, emotionally involved in."

Tyson also relates how raising pigeons gave him his initial interest in becoming a fighter. "I happened to have an ordeal when an older guy took one of my birds," Tyson says, "He took the head off and threw the bird at me. He just totally humiliated me. I just decided to fight that day."

Even though pigeon racing and boxing seem like completely different sports, Tyson thinks otherwise. "It's like training for a fight actually. You have to prepare the bird every morning for the 20, 70 mile flight. Let them go, time them coming back. Like a fight. This is every day," Tyson says.

"Taking on Tyson" airs on Animal Planet on Sundays at 8PM ET/PT

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