Mike Tyson paid $50,000 each for his famous tigers and kept them until one “ripped someone’s arm off” and cost him $250,000 in compensation

Mike Tyson was the proud owner of three tigers as kids in the 1990s and 2000s and paid $50,000 for each trio.

At the height of his career as undisputed heavyweight boxing champion, “Iron” Mike owned pretty much everything money could buy.

However, one day, through a chance encounter, he managed to acquire a selection of pets that would normally be unaffordable for him, no matter how big his bank account is.

Tyson once owned three white tigers and kept them at home when they were cubs.

As they grew, he donated two of the animals to a sanctuary, while keeping one for 16 years.

When asked how he got his tigers, Tyson said on his Hotboxin’ podcast: “Black market.”

“This guy was selling them and said, ‘I can get you a full grown one for $70,000 or a small one for about $50,000.’

“So I had the baby. I had the baby, we bottle fed it and eventually it weighs 180 kg.

“And then think about how to get rid of this wanker?!”

When asked if they had ever been aggressive, he replied: “Not towards me. Never towards me.”

Previously, Tyson explained the story of why he finally had to part with the tiger he had kept for 16 years.

In a GQ interview he revealed: “I had to get rid of her when her eyes and head deteriorated.

“Oh, and she ripped someone’s arm off.”

There were rumors that Tyson’s tiger jumped over a fence and attacked a neighbor.

However, when asked about it, Tyson clarified: “No, that didn’t happen.

“Someone jumped over my fence where the tiger was, into its habitat and started playing with the tiger.

“And the tiger didn’t know the woman, so it was a bad accident.

“She jumped onto the property where the tiger was.

“They tried to sue me until they found out she had jumped the fence and let the tiger in.

“And listen, when I saw what the tiger had done to her hand, I had a lot of money at the time, so I gave her $250,000 or whatever it was.

“Because she was just fucked.”

Now middle-aged, Tyson leads a much quieter life and there is not a single tiger to be seen anywhere.

This year, however, he will return to the boxing ring as he is scheduled to fight Jake Paul on November 15th.