Mike Tyson may have gone too far with his obsession with philosophy. Hours before his pro boxing fight against Jake Paul, he gave an ominous answer to a teen reporter’s innocent question about legacy.
Jazlyn Guerra, a 13-year-old reporter behind the Jazzys World TV channel, asked Tyson what he wanted his legacy to be. A simple question, right? Jazlyn thought so too, but instead of a simple answer, she was hit with an unfiltered, reality-check monologue from Tyson. He rambled on about the meaning of life, legacy, and our inevitable return to dust.
So, what was so ominous about Tyson’s answer? Here it is: “I don’t know, I don’t believe in the word legacy. I just think that’s another word for ego. Legacy doesn’t mean nothing. ” Believe it or not, if he stopped at this, Tyson would have been fine. It would have been a teaching moment for Jazlyn. But no, Tyson didn’t stop there: “I’m gonna die. I want people to think I’m this, I’m great … no, we’re nothing. We’re just dead. We’re dust. We’re absolutely nothing. My legacy is nothing.” Yes, Jazlyn is going to have nightmares about this.
For a moment, you could almost hear the collective gasp across social media. It’s true that Tyson has a reputation for philosophical answers, but this took Jazlyn (and just about everyone else) by surprise.
Is this answer really that outrageous, however? Sooner or later, most teens ask some existential questions. But this usually happens around 16 or 18, not 13. Jazlyn was clearly not ready for this answer. What’s worse is that she actually asked a good question. And she also made a good point that Tyson is giving an opportunity to younger generations to see him fight live. Tyson didn’t appreciate the teenager’s enthusiasm. So, Jazlyn was just left there confused, uncomfortable, and possibly questioning the nature of existence.
We have to give some context to this. It’s not like Mike Tyson just woke up and decided to put Jazlyn in an existential crisis. He has changed a lot since his fighting days. The same man who bit off an opponent’s ear is now reading Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. He is also an adamant user of psychedelics. With all this in mind, Tyson’s answer makes sense. But we can’t get over the fact that he said this to a 13-year-old reporter.
Tyson’s words may have had more to do with his mindset ahead of the Jake Paul fight. We can’t help but remember Joe Rogan’s thoughts on Mike Tyson’s behavior when he was preparing for a fight. According to Rogan, Tyson can seem gentle and carefree when he is on podcasts enjoying some magic mushrooms. But when Tyson has an upcoming fight, he changes; he becomes scary. It looks like Rogan was right. During the weigh-ins for the Jake Paul fight, Tyson snapped and slapped Paul in the face. The reason? Jake Paul stepped on his foot.
So, let’s just say that the answer Jazlyn received was not the worst-case scenario of that interview. No matter how respectful and professional she was, Jazlyn caught Tyson at a bad time.