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Mike Tyson (2020) - The Return of Iron Mike · The Joe Rogan Recap

• 0:00
  Welcome to the Joe Rogan recap. Hey everyone.
• 0:02
  Today we're diving deep into a really interesting conversation
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  Joe Rogan had with Mike Tyson. This was episode hashtag 1532.
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  You can find it up on the powerful JRE YouTube channel.
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  Yeah, and our mission here is really to unpack the key stuff
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  from that chat. We're focusing specifically on,
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  you know, what got Tyson back into training, the details
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  around his comeback fight and just his thoughts on his past
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  and where he's at now. We went through the whole thing
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  to pull out the most fascinating bits for you.
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  OK, so this comeback, what was the actual spark?
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  It wasn't like this grand plan from day one, was it?
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  Sounds more ordinary. Yeah, exactly.
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  It's kind of funny. It started because his wife
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  suggested he walk on a treadmill for like 15 minutes.
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  Yes, 15 minutes. Right.
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  Apparently he'd had some, let's say disastrous clothing try ONS
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  and she was worried about his weight, but that 15 minutes
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  somehow ballooned into two hours of training every day.
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  Wow. OK, that's Mike Tyson, I guess.
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  But going from treadmill to actually fighting again, that
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  seems like a bigger jump. Was there a money angle?
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  Oh, absolutely. The idea of a potential fight
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  offer something like 30 or $40 million definitely got his
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  attention, right. Initially the name floated was
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  Bob Sapp. You know, the former Pride
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  fighter. Huge guy, like 375 lbs.
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  That possibility really seemed to reignite that competitive
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  fire. Bob Sapp.
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  That would have been something, yeah.
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  Were other names in the mix? Yeah, it seems like they
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  considered a few options. Sapp was 1.
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  Some MMA fighters are mentioned, Shannon Briggs I think too.
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  But eventually, after some kind of survey, apparently they
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  landed on Roy Jones Junior. OK, Roy Jones Junior makes
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  sense. And signing the contract, that
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  was the point of no return. That seems to be it.
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  Once the ink was dry, it was like OK, back to the gym.
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  Seriously. This time.
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  Now he made this point Tyson did about the difference between
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  just getting in shape and being in actual fighting condition.
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  Can you break that down a bit? Yeah, that's really crucial to
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  understanding his mindset here. For him, getting in shape is
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  maybe fitting your clothes better, feeling OK, general
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  fitness, you know? Right, like most of us think of
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  it. Exactly.
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  But being in condition, that's something else entirely.
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  He described it as this rare state that demands like immense
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  physical and mental effort. It's pushing everything to the
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  absolute limit so you can perform at that peak level in a
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  fight. So not just looking good, but
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  being able to actually do it. Precisely, It's the difference
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  between jogging and going 12 rounds.
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  And it sounds like that first real training session back with
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  Rafael Cordero, his trainer, really hammered home that
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  different. Completely, he said just like 30
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  seconds of hitting the pads hard with Cordero left him with
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  sciatica so bad he was stuck in bed for a week.
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  A week. Wow.
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  It just brought home the the sheer intensity required for
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  actual fight prep. It's not just about fitness,
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  it's about combat readiness. And apparently woke up some old
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  injuries too. And he's, what, 54 at this
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  point, so he must be using some serious recovery techniques to
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  handle that kind of stress. Definitely.
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  And it's pretty interesting actually talked about using
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  cryotherapy, the, you know, the extreme cold treatment and stem
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  cell research and therapy, which is all about tissue repair plus
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  hyperbaric chambers flooding the body with oxygen to speed up
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  healing. So all the modern stuff.
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  Yeah, it really shows how far recovery sciences come.
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  It might be part of why we're seeing athletes compete for
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  longer. Makes sense?
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  So timeline wise, he started training around April during
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  lockdown and this interview was about five months later, maybe
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  late August. Yeah, somewhere around August
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  22nd or 20 3rd based on the upload date.
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  And the fight date itself got pushed back.
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  It did. Originally the Roy Jones Junior
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  fight was set for September, but they moved it to November 28th.
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  The idea was to try and accommodate bigger audiences,
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  which tells you how much buzz there was.
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  Right. And this was all meant to launch
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  something called the Legends Only League.
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  What was that about? Yeah, the concept was basically
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  a platform for these kinds of exhibition events, but not just
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  boxing. They envisioned it featuring
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  legendary athletes from like baseball, tennis, other sports
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  too. Interesting idea.
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  The Tyson Jones fight was supposed to be the kickoff event
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  for that whole league. Gotcha.
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  OK now this gets really interesting mentally.
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  Tyson had apparently avoided training before because he
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  worried about igniting the ego, but clearly at 54, something
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  changed. Yeah, he actually used this
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  quote. The gods of war reignited your
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  ego. It's like he's acknowledging
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  that competitive drive. That need to prove himself came
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  roaring back. Even with people maybe doubting
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  him because of his age. Totally.
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  He knows people have opinions, but his attitude seemed to be
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  impossible is nothing to somebody that tries everything.
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  He's just going for it. And maybe those modern recovery
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  methods we talked about play into that belief that it is
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  possible. I think so.
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  Knowing you have tools to help manage the physical toll
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  probably makes a big difference mentally.
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  He did say, though, that when he first started hitting pads with
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  Cordero, his speed seemed to come back like snap on day one.
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  Really. Yeah.
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  Which must have felt amazing. But then the next day, the
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  soreness, well, that was the harsh reality check we talked
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  about. But physically now in the
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  interview, he seemed to feel pretty good, mentioned looking
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  vascular. Yeah, he said he was feeling
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  good, looking fit, Vascular, you know, just means veins are
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  prominent, usually a sign of low body fat, good muscle
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  definition. So he's clearly put the work in
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  and gotten lean. What's the part?
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  Definitely. But again, he's careful to
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  distinguish between looking good and feeling good day-to-day
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  versus being ready for the specific violence of a fight.
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  Right, let's shift to the mental game then.
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  He sounded pretty enthusiastic overall, but also like he
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  couldn't quite believe how good he felt sometimes.
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  That's a really interesting dynamic, isn't it?
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  He literally said he had thoughts like this is
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  unbelievable, I shouldn't feel this good almost fighting
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  against his own positive feelings.
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  But yeah, underneath that, the excitement for the comeback was
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  totally clear and he really stressed that the mental prep
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  for a fight is just different. It's not just gym work.
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  I bet. And actually sparring again
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  after what, 15 years away? What was that like for him?
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  He said it felt strange at first, a bit stiff, maybe rusty.
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  But the surprising thing for him was this underlying feeling of
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  like, Oh yeah, this is where I belong.
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  Even after all that time, the ring felt familiar.
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  The instincts kicked back in. Seems like it.
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  Which leads to another point he made about having to consciously
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  relearn things. Like coordinating movements.
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  Exactly. Stuff that used to be totally
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  automatic pure muscle memory, he now had to actually think about
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  coordinating his body and mind. It shows you how complex that
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  neurological connection is and how it needs retraining after a
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  long break. Wild.
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  He also used a really intense word to describe the feeling
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  associated with potentially hurting an opponent in the ring.
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  He called it orgasmic. Yeah, that was arresting.
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  It's incredible and raw, isn't it?
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  It is. I mean, it points to the the
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  primal intensity of combat sports, that extreme excitement,
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  the adrenaline, the potential for dominance.
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  It's clearly a powerful, maybe even intoxicating feeling for
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  him. Really makes you think about the
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  deep psychological drivers involved.
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  Definitely, And he connected it maybe to his past struggles with
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  addiction. He talked about the comeback as
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  a way of purging something through performance.
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  That was a pretty profound thought, he hinted.
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  That. The extreme discipline and focus
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  of fight camp, the sheer physical output, might be a kind
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  of release for him, a way to channel that intense energy,
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  maybe the addictive energy, into something structured.
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  Constructive, even. Yeah, potentially
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  transformative. He also brought up this idea
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  from an audio book, The Gene Key, about creative people
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  getting depressed if they don't express that drive.
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  Right, that was fascinating. He seemed to view his fighting,
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  his need to compete, as a core creative impulse.
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  Like art? Sort of, yeah.
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  And the idea is that if that fundamental Dr. isn't being
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  fulfilled or expressed, it can lead to, you know, deep
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  dissatisfaction, maybe even depression.
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  It frames the comeback less as just sport and more as a kind of
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  personal, almost spiritual necessity for him.
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  And. What about cannabis?
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  It's been a big part of his public persona recently.
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  How did that fit in with training?
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  Well, he's been open about how cannabis has helped him,
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  particularly with things like self forgiveness, finding
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  compassion for himself, right? But interestingly, he said he
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  pretty much stopped using it during the training camp.
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  Oh, really? Yeah, it seems like getting
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  ready for the fight took absolute priority.
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  Clear focus. Gotcha.
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  So stepping back, looking at his whole journey, he talked about
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  the life of a world champion being alien.
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  What do you think he meant by that?
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  I think he means it's just so far removed from normal
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  experience. The intense highs, the crazy
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  lows, the constant public eye, the physical extremes.
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  It creates this reality that's just fundamentally different
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  from what he called a regular, normal, boring life.
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  Yeah, hard to relate to I imagine.
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  And that ties into what he said about needing emotional
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  intelligence to handle life's changes.
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  How so? Well, you need to be able to
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  adapt, right? The mindset that makes you a
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  killer champion might not be the best mindset for, you know,
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  family life or retirement. He stressed being self aware and
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  flexible enough to evolve as life changes.
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  That makes sense. He also kind of hinted at maybe
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  some subconscious drivers for the comeback, like improving his
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  health or even this idea of chasing immortality.
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  Those are deep human motivations, aren't they?
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  The desire to feel strong and vital, and the desire to leave a
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  mark to be remembered. Those could definitely be
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  powerful forces pushing him, maybe without him even fully
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  realizing it. And he seems pretty open to
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  trying different things for his health, like alternative
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  therapies. He does.
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  He mentioned electromuscular stimulation EMS and said he
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  found it really effective, even calling the therapist, the
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  mechanic or the electrician. Seems he thinks it's superior to
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  older methods he'd tried. Shows he's actively looking for
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  ways to optimize things. So what did a typical training
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  day actually look like for him during this prep?
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  It sounded pretty intense. Early morning runs, taking care
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  of his birds, which he's famous for right then, exercises on
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  some kind of twisting machine. Diet wise, mostly meatless, but
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  he started including some elk and bison.
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  Oh, interesting. And then in the afternoon,
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  proper gym time, training with Rafael Cordero.
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  It's a full schedule. How?
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  Did he actually link up with Cordero?
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  That relationship seems key. It came about through a UFC
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  fight, apparently. In some mutual contacts, Tyson
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  really praises Cordero not just for the training, but for his
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  positive vibe, the whole camp atmosphere.
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  He likes Cordero's fighting style and the intensity they
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  have in their drills. And the big question everyone
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  had how did his pad work look compared to his prime?
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  Huh. Yeah, he admitted his endurance
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  wasn't quite prime Tyson level yet, but he felt he was catching
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  up fast. But the speed and power?
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  He felt that was still there. He actually said he still looks
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  fucking fantastic hitting the pads.
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  Classic Tyson. Exactly, and you know the online
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  reaction to his training clips was insane.
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  He mentioned something like 2.5 billion hits, so clearly a lot
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  of people agreed it looked impressive.
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  Billions. Wow.
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  And the training wasn't just boxing, right?
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  Some strength work too. Yeah, he mentioned working with
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  Brad Rowe on strength and conditioning, doing lighter
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  weights but high reps, focusing on building strength and
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  endurance smartly, probably trying to minimize injury risk.
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  At his age, he said, getting back in shape felt awesome, but
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  it needs that constant consistency.
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  Anyone who's tried to get fit knows that feeling, right?
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  Oh yeah, totally. Now there was a funny bit about
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  him swimming with sharks for Shark Week.
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  Yeah, that was just a quick aside.
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  He joked about being in the ocean with sharks and feeling
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  like he wasn't paid enough for the risk.
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  Just a moment of levity. And Dana White, the UFC
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  president, Yeah, he was skeptical at first, wasn't he,
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  about Tyson fighting again? He was.
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  Dana expressed some real concerns initially, but
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  apparently after seeing Mike train, he changed his tune.
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  Really. Yeah.
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  It suggests Tyson's condition and dedication were convincing
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  enough to impress even someone like Dana White, who sees elite
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  fighters every day. That's saying something, yeah.
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  Tyson also mentioned his strategy was different now, less
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  about just the Instant Knockout. Right, that's a really
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  interesting evolution. He knows he can't just rely on
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  that explosive one punch power like he did when he was younger.
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  Not sustainably, anyway. So more movement tactics.
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  Exactly. More focus on movement, ring
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  generalship, setting things up, a more calculated approach.
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  We talked about sparring earlier, how it felt familiar.
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  Sounds like the instincts really did come flooding back.
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  Even after 15 years, even after getting hit, he described that
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  feeling of belonging, like the muscle memory just took over.
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  It's deeply ingrained. But despite all that experience,
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  he wasn't interested in coaching, he said.
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  No, not really. He talked about how a real
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  trainer has to be so many things.
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  Mentors, psychologist, nutritionist.
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  He felt it was just too much for him right now.
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  His focus was totally on his own fight.
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  Makes sense? Let's talk about custody, Amato.
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  That relationship sounds legendary.
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  Oh it really is. The story is almost like a movie
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  script right? Meeting him through Bobby
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  Stewart after being in Spofford detention center cus taking him
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  in it completely shaped him. And Cus wasn't just about boxing
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  technique, was he? He was deeply psychological.
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  Absolutely. Tyson calls him a master of the
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  psychological. Cus drilled belief into him.
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  The power of visualization. Apparently d'amato even had some
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  background in psychiatry. He knew how to build that
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  champion's mindset. And Tyson's raw talent just
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  clicked with Cus's methods. It seems like a perfect storm.
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  Cus's philosophy, Aggression, speed, power, that absolute
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  desire, the willingness to die, Eye for it.
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  It just meshed perfectly with Tyson's unique physical gifts
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  and intensity. But Tyson also recognized that
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  Cuss's super intense mindset could be maybe problematic
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  outside the ring. Yeah, that was quite insightful.
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  He acknowledged that the kind of tunnel vision and extreme focus
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  needed to be the best in boxing might not always work well in,
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  you know, regular life relationships.
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  It's a different ball game. He's a different kind of
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  intelligence, like he said. And it's clear Cuss is still a
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  huge presence for him. He talks about him constantly,
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  wishes he was still around. The impact was just immense and
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  lifelong. Tyson also talked about being
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  fascinated by historical conquerors.
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  Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan.
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  What drew him to them? It seemed to be their mindset
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  that relentless Dr. the pursuit of something lasting, what he
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  called immortality through their deeds.
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  He was also kind of amused and surprised to learn many of them
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  were apparently mama's boys. Huh.
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  Really. Yeah, He found that interesting.
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  Maybe some connection between that maternal bond and massive
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  ambition. Who knows?
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  And his interest started because someone told him Alexander the
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  Great was small. Yeah, apparently a false
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  statement about Alexander's size got him curious, and he started
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  reading about them. Funny how things start.
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  So he. Looked into why they did what
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  they did. From liberation like Cyrus the
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  Great to maybe more ego driven reasons, greed, power, he was
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  exploring the motivations behind that kind of world changing
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  ambition. And he saw echoes of their
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  commitment in his own drive as a champion, that willingness to
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  die for greatness. Definitely.
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  He made a direct link between their sacrifice and dedication
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  and what he felt was required to reach the top in boxing.
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  He also felt he was born at the right time for his own success,
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  and that he'd conquered his own demons along the way.
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  He also mentioned that many conquerors sought forgiveness
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  from God later in life. What was his take on that?
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  His interpretation was interesting.
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  He thought it showed that even these incredibly powerful men
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  who commanded armies and empires ultimately realized they weren't
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  gods themselves. Maybe they felt a need for
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  absolution, for the things they've done to achieve that
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  power. OK, shifting back to boxing now,
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  what does Tyson think of the current scene?
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  Well, he still studies the Old Masters, Dempsey, Harry Greb,
• 16:03
  Willie Pep for inspiration, which is cool.
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  And he's definitely watching the current guys.
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  He mentioned being excited by fighters like Haney, Garcia,
• 16:10
  Spence. Crawford sees a lot of talent
• 16:13
  there. What about the heavyweights?
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  Joshua, Fury. Wilder.
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  He thinks they're all exciting, bringing buzz and money to the
• 16:19
  division, but his main point was they need to fight each other.
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  That's what defines legacies, right?
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  True. He also looked back at his own
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  past, his egomania and a key lesson from Cus d'amato.
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  Yeah the lesson about not taking fighting personal Cus taught him
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  to keep it professional, objective.
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  Don't let emotions cloud your judgement in the ring.
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  Seems like got really stuck with him.
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  And he strongly feels things would have gone differently if
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  Cuss had lived longer. Oh, absolutely.
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  He believes Cuss's guidance would have helped him navigate
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  all the fame, the money, the pitfalls that came later.
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  Maybe kept him on track, avoided some of the well publicized
• 16:55
  issues. Yeah, you can only wonder.
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  But despite everything, he sounded genuinely pumped for
• 17:01
  this comeback fight. Totally like a kid again, almost
• 17:04
  just excited for the whole experience, the atmosphere.
• 17:07
  His interests seem broader now, too.
• 17:09
  He mentioned wanting to interview Bill Clinton.
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  Enjoying talking to homeless people.
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  Yeah, it shows a real curiosity about different people,
• 17:15
  different lives. It's not just boxing anymore.
• 17:18
  Though the training intensity did affect his own podcast,
• 17:21
  Hotboxing with Mike Tyson. It did, he admitted the training
• 17:24
  took over which is understandable.
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  Shows you where his focus was 100% on the ring.
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  And it all comes back to his wife suggesting that treadmill
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  walk. It's amazing, right?
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  Such a small start to such a major event.
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  And he even noted, kind of Riley, that his prediction about
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  his ego getting reignited definitely came true.
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  He knows himself pretty well, it seems.
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  So Mike Tyson's return, it's way more than just an exhibition
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  fight, isn't It's this whole narrative about a legend
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  confronting his past, figuring out his present, testing his
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  future. Absolutely.
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  And his honesty about the training, the mental struggles,
• 18:01
  that relentless drive, there are lessons in there for anyone
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  chasing something big. You know, Just seeing him
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  embrace this massive challenge at 54 is pretty inspiring in
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  itself. We hope this deep dives gave you
• 18:13
  a good shortcut into understanding their whole
• 18:15
  conversation, pulling out the core themes.
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  Yeah, it was fascinating stuff. So what parts of Tyson's story
• 18:20
  hit home for you? What questions do you still have
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  after hearing all this? Maybe something about the nature
• 18:25
  of ambition or the limits of age?
• 18:27
  Definitely worth thinking about.