When conversations about sporting immortality arise, two names dominate their respective arenas: Shaquille O’Neal, the towering NBA legend turned media personality, and “Iron” Mike Tyson, the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history whose ferocity in the late 1980s left the world in awe. Both synonymous with dominance, they’ve seen their legacies etched into countless GOAT debates across decades. So when these worlds collided on The Big Podcast with Shaq, with O’Neal himself steering the discussion, fans knew they were about to witness an unfiltered moment of truth.
Shaq, ever the instigator of viral revelations, leaned into the heated topic while facing the former heavyweight king. Directing his question first to basketball, the towering NBA legend asked, “So, Mike, you hear all these GOAT conversations. Greatest of all time. Let’s go to basketball first. Who’s the greatest of all time in basketball?” Tyson, without a flicker of hesitation, fired back, “I’m a Jordan guy.” The live audience erupted in applause, a fitting salute to the Chicago Bulls icon who, like Tyson, revolutionized his sport through an unmatched blend of skill and aura.
But the true anticipation hung heavy as O’Neal shifted gears toward boxing. “Who’s the greatest of all time in boxing?” he probed, locking eyes with the man once feared by every heavyweight alive. The retired pugilist paused, only to clarify, “In boxing? In what weight?” Upon Shaq’s prompt—“Heavyweight”—the Brooklyn-born knockout artist delivered his verdict with a confident grin: “Me.” Once again, applause thundered through the room.
When pressed by O’Neal on whether other names being thrown around ever ruffle his feathers, Tyson doubled down on his composure, “No, no, listen. All right. I’m not being egotistical, okay. They said they know. You know, they know. You know, if you put up some statistics or something, ask the world. Not one guy, ten guys. Ask the world.”
With that, the man who once racked up 37 consecutive wins and held a net worth nearing $400 million in his prime made it clear: in his eyes, no other heavyweight—Muhammad Ali included—reigns supreme over his legacy.
Mike Tyson once bought a mansion just for his lions.
In a moment that left both O’Neal and the host stunned, Tyson nonchalantly recalled, “Yeah. Well, I bought the house next door for them because the tiger didn’t like them in the house. So, I let them have their house, and I let the tiger stay with me.” His calm delivery made the story even more surreal—after all, how many athletes can say they casually turned a neighboring mansion into a personal safari park? The heavyweight legend wasn’t just building a home; he was curating a kingdom, one where predators roamed as freely as he once dominated opponents in the ring.
Of course, this indulgence wasn’t without a cost. Tyson’s tigers alone reportedly cost around $50,000 each, with yearly upkeep soaring to $200,000. Add in an entire property for his other exotic animals, and the expenses quickly spiraled into the millions—a lifestyle emblematic of why the former champ, despite amassing a fortune of nearly $400 million, ended up filing for bankruptcy in 2003. It was a time when Tyson lived like no one else, his estate doubling as both a palace and a wildlife reserve.
Yet for Tyson, these animals were far from mere status symbols; they were intertwined with his daily existence, reflecting both his impulsive nature and the extreme highs of his wealth. His decision to purchase a full-fledged estate for his pride of lions was more than just a display of excess—it was a window into an era when “Kid Dynamite” didn’t just want to rule the boxing ring. He wanted his animal empire, even if it meant watching his $400 million fortune roar away with it.
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