Mike Tyson sold ‘£55K monster pet’ after it ripped | Boxing News

Former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson has had relationships come and go through the years, however parting methods with a pet tiger could also be one of probably the most heart-wrenching. That’s after the pair have been pressured to half methods when the massive cat in query “ripped somebody’s arm off.”

At one level, boxing kingpin Tyson owned three Bengal tigers, however he donated two to an animal sanctuary after realising they required an excessive amount of care. The remaining tiger, Kenya, stayed with him for 16 years till a tragic accident led to their separation and a girl allegedly dropping a limb.

‘Iron’ Mike – who’s set to come back out of retirement to combat Jake Paul on November 15 – reportedly bought the £55,000 tiger when he was launched from jail after being convicted of rape in 1992. However, their bond got here to an unlucky finish when a member of the public bizarrely determined to enter Kenya’s enclosure.

“I did have a pet tiger, her name was Kenya and she was around 550 pounds (250 kilograms),” Tyson informed GQ (through The Mirror) in 2019. “I had a great affection for her; I kept her, I slept with her, I kept her in my room.

“She stayed with me I had her about 16 years. She was a huge monster, you possibly can’t think about the scale of her. But she bought too outdated and I needed to get rid of her when her eyes and her head bought unhealthy. Oh, and she or he ripped any individual’s arm off.”

Contrary to speculation that Kenya had escaped from her enclosure when the debacle took place, Tyson has clarified it was the woman who had entered the tiger’s territory. The boxing legend has explained the woman in question jumped over the fence to play with the feline before things took a turn for the worse.

Tyson also revealed that the woman, who was severely injured, attempted to sue him over the incident. However, the lawsuit was unsuccessful since she had technically broken into Kenya’s enclosure.

Despite this, Tyson has clarified in the past that he still paid out a significant amount in compensation. In a 2020 Instagram Live conversation with rapper Fat Joe, he said: “When I noticed what the tiger did to her hand, I had a lot of money back then, so I gave her $250,000, no matter it was as a result of she was simply f****d up.”

Tyson is now gearing up to face Paul within the ring subsequent Friday as he faces his first professional combat since 2005. However, followers will probably be hoping their encounter won’t lead to any critical accidents for both combatant.