Mike Tyson shared that he used fentanyl for pain relief during his boxing career.
Appearing on The Katie Miller podcast, the former undisputed heavyweight boxing champion detailed his use of fentanyl to relieve pain.
“That fentanyl stuff, I’ve done fentanyl before in the late 90s when it first came here. It was for painkillers; it was a painkiller. I used to use it to patch on my toe, but it was like heroin, once you take it off, wears off. You take the band-aid off, you start withdrawing and throwing up, just like if you were on heroin or something.”
Miller then asked Tyson how avoided becoming an addict.
“Just because you did it once?” she asked.
“No, I did it quite a few times, but know what happened? It was illegal if it was caught in my bloodstream, it was a narcotic,” Tyson responded.
“My friend told me cuz it’s brand new. I told my friend ‘Hey can I use this?’ because he was a commissioner. ‘Will I be able to use this?’ You know, no one ever heard of it. Then he looked it up and said, ‘Mike, that’s a narcotic, you couldn’t use it.’ I didn’t know that,” he continued. “ I thought of it as a painkiller.”
In other Tyson related news, he recently announced that he will be taking on fellow boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. Tyson, 59, took to social media to share the news and his disbelief.
“This fight is something neither the world nor I ever thought would or could happen,” Tyson said. “I still can’t believe Floyd wants to really do this. It’s going to be detrimental to his health, but he wants to do it, so it’s signed and it’s happening!”
The highly anticipated exhibition bout is scheduled for spring 2026.