All good fighters come out of slums: Tyson

Mumbai: Former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, who in his prime was famously promoted as the baddest man on the planet, said here on Friday that all good fighters have come out of the slums, including him.

"I think the poorer you are the better boxer you are.

The most successful fighters have come from slums. All the fighters who come from the slums are successful. All the current top fighters are from the slums," said Tyson at the launch function of the Mixed Martial Arts Kumite 1 league. From personal experience the 52-year-old Tyson, who retired in 2005 with a record of 50 wins — including 44 by knock-outs — and six losses, said that if one works tirelessly that person can get out of the slums.

"I am a slumdog. I grew up in a slum. I had the ambition to get out of the slums and that's why I am here. If someone works hard they can get out of the slums. I still go back to see my friends in my old neighbourhood. They still call it a slum," said "Iron Mike" at a packed media conference.

Tyson, who at the age of 20 years, four months and 22 days became the world's youngest ever heavyweight world champion in boxing in 1988, has plans to visit one of Asia's biggest slums, at Dharavi in the central part of the city, besides the customary foreigner's visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra.