Mike Tyson was in full “Iron Mike” mode when a 14-year-old reporter interviewed him about his legacy.
Jazlyn Guerra, the young journalist behind Jazzys World TV, was at Tyson’s weigh-in with Jake Paul on Nov. 14 ahead of their highly anticipated match. She asked the former heavyweight champion what kind of “legacy” he hoped to leave behind. The question garnered a sinister response from Tyson, who gave the young teen an early lesson on how meaningless legacy is to a dead person.
“I
don’t believe in the word ‘legacy.’ I think that’s another word for ego. Legacy doesn’t mean nothing,” he said. “That’s just some word everybody grabbed onto. Someone said that word and everyone grabbed on to that word, now it’s used every five seconds.”“It means absolutely nothing to me. I’m just passing through,” Tyson added. “I’m gonna die and it’s gonna be over. Who cares about legacy after that?”
After a brief awkward pause, the Brownsville, Brooklyn, native continued his ominous rant.
“So I’m
gonna die. I want people to think that I’m this, I’m great?” he continued. “No, we’re nothing. We’re just dead. We’re dust. We’re absolutely nothing. Our legacy is nothing.”
Guerra seemed momentarily taken aback by Tyson’s stark perspective on life but maintained her composure and graciously thanked the champ for his insights.
“Well thank you so much for sharing that,” she said. “That is something that I have not heard before.”
However, Tyson wasn’t done driving home his point about the insignificance of legacy.
“Can you really imagine somebody saying, ‘I want my legacy to be this way?’ You’re dead!” Tyson said. “Who the f— cares about me when I’m gone? My kids, maybe, or grandkids?”The interview quickly went viral,l with many expressing concern for the young Guerra.
“Omg why did Mike say that to that little girl?” one X user wrote.
“This sh*t just changed the trajectory of her life,” one user wrote in response.
“You can see the youthfulness leave her during that interview,” added someone else. “Also who thought itd be a brilliant idea for a child to interview Tyson.”
RELATED CONTENT: Mike Tyson Invests In First-Of-Its-Kind Plant-Based Fast Food Chain