Mike Tyson recently joined comedian and television host Jimmy Kimmel on a recent edition of the latter's 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' late-night talk show. During his appearance, he revealed his rejection of a $20 million offer from Kimmel, before touching on the lavish spending days of his youth.
The offer, made decades ago, entailed paying Tyson the aforementioned sum for what Kimmel described as a 'pay-per-view roast' akin to a professional boxing match. However, Tyson turned down the offer due to his belief that whenever he has access to large sums of money, his life takes a turn for the worse.
Kimmel recounted the pair's conversation about the offer, saying:
"I remember years ago, I had an idea that I felt would make you a huge amount of money. This was 20 years ago. I did tell you about it. At the time, I wanted to do a pay-per-view roast like it was a boxing match, and they said, 'Oh yeah, Mike could make $20 million' and you said, 'No, I don't want to do that because when I have a lot of money, bad things happen.'"
When asked about his spending habits during his younger days, including a rumor about spending $5 million needlessly, the heavyweight boxing legend was quick to confirm the tale.
"I don't know, $5 million might go in a couple of days, yeah. I was a big spender. Not now, but when I was a young kid, $5 million might go in a couple of days."
Check out Mike Tyson and Jimmy Kimmel's conversation about money (6:21 and 6:51):
Now, Tyson is gearing up for a high-profile, big money boxing match with polarizing influencer boxing star Jake Paul on Nov. 15. The bout has drawn controversy due to the disparity between Tyson and Paul's age, as well as the former's health.
Nevertheless, the matchup will go on as scheduled.
Mike Tyson's largest-ever payout in boxing
According to both GiveMeSport and Marca, Mike Tyson pocketed his biggest-ever purse when he took on Lennox Lewis for the unified heavyweight championship in what was his final title fight. Tyson reportedly pocketed $103 million for the bout.
Check out Mike Tyson's knockout loss to Lennox Lewis:
Unfortunately, he was on the receiving end of an 8-round beating that culminated in a brutal knockout, heralding the end of Tyson's career as a boxer, as he would go on to fight three more times before retiring.
