Mike Tyson was 10 years old when he threw his first punch. It was not in a ring. It was on a New York street, after seeing another boy kill one of his pigeons. Unknowingly, that was how Iron Mike’s story in boxing began.
That neighborhood had raised him amid violence and poverty, but the birds on the roof of his house were the only thing that calmed him. That punch, those who knew him say, was the spark that pushed him toward boxing.
“The pigeon was the first thing I loved in my life. I don’t know why, I feel ridiculous trying to explain it. Pigeons are very much like people”, Tyson said about his affection for birds.