Mike Tyson is continuing this recent trend of iconic figures undergoing cathartic purgings of the guilt they’ve kept hidden in the deeper recesses of their souls for decades.
The formerly feared heavyweight champion Tyson, 54, says he’s always felt culpable for the death of arguably the greatest rapper ever, Tupac Shakur, because Tyson invited 2Pac to Las Vegas on that fateful day of Sept. 7, 1996.
Tyson’s revelation follows singer Bobby Brown, 51, who said over the weekend that he believes he caused Tyson’s colossal upset loss to James “Buster” Douglas in 1990 because they stayed all night partying with a bevy of Japenese women.
Tyson told Vlad TV he “pressured” Tupac to watch him box challenger Bruce Seldon at the MGM Grand. Tyson was supposed to meet up with Tupac later that night to party, but he stayed in to care for his newborn baby. But just hours after mauling Seldon in the 1st round, the “So Many Tears” rapper was gunned down on the Vegas strip in a crime that has not been solved in 24 years.
“It was really a bad day when that happened. I just knew it was really bad,” Tyson said. “I felt a little guilty about him coming to the fight … me pressuring him (saying) ‘hey you wanna bring the tape. Don’t forget the tape.'”
Tyson is referring to the custom-made tape that played the music that accompanied Tyson’s entrance into the ring.
“I was going to go out with him that night. I promised to go with him to the 662,” Tyson continued. “But I had just had a little baby and her mother provoked me to stay at home.”
Flip the page to listen to Tyson talk about Tupac.
