Tyson not sorry for 'savage' life

Mike Tyson became the youngest-ever world heavyweight champion

Former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson says he has no regrets about his "savage" career.

Tyson, who once bit a chunk out of Evander Holyfield's ear during a fight, says his tough mentality helped him become a legendary boxer.

The American told BBC Radio 5 live: "Everything I have done, the good and the bad, catapulted me to become one of the greatest fighters that ever lived."

Tyson, 43, has been jailed for rape and was declared bankrupt in 2003.

"I was happy to be the person who was savage because all my life I used to hear about these fighters who were savages, monsters and animals," said Tyson, who ruled out making a comeback.

"It made them almost inhuman and I loved the stigma behind those guys.

"That's why they continued to live in my head. They motivated me to be the guy that I became."

Tyson, who will be in Britain in November to talk about his turbulent life, became the youngest-ever world heavyweight champion when 20 but squandered earnings estimated at £200m.

He bit off part of Holyfield's ear during a WBA bout in Las Vegas in 1997 and was disqualified from the fight.