Regards, Ivan
Posted on 06/07/2005 10:20:15 PM PDT by MadIvan
HE IS known as one of the toughest boxers ever to step into the ring, but Mike Tyson has revealed a softer side after emerging to champion the cause of pigeon fanciers.
The former heavyweight champion of the world is fighting the corner of bird lovers in Phoenix, Arizona, in a dispute over the number of pigeons they are allowed to keep at their houses.
Tyson, who keeps his own collection of 350 largely rare and exotic breeds at his home in the desert city, surprised everyone by turning up at a council meeting earlier this week to denounce a proposal to restrict residential ownership to 40.
"I'm just here for anyone that's for the pigeons. They're pretty harmless," Tyson told the meeting.
"I don't understand why people would want to get rid of them. They don't harm no-one."
His meek demeanour during the impromptu appearance at the grass-roots political forum provided a rare glimpse of the soft side of a hard man who has served time in prison for rape and assault, and who famously bit off part of the ear of his opponent, Evander Holyfield, during a bout in 1997.
However, two decades after winning his first world title, it appears that Tyson, 38, may be tired of playing the thug.
He is still boxing, and faces Irishman Kevin McBride in Washington DC on Saturday night in his latest comeback fight. But these days he spends his spare time in the coop with his pigeons instead of living the high life in nightclubs and casinos.
He rises before 4am every day to wake his birds by waving a pink flag at them, then feeds his feathered friends before setting off on a training run.
"Standing here and watching them flying around free is one of my favourite things," he said. "They're very soothing and they keep me out of the strip clubs and bars."
He developed a soft spot for pigeons as a child when he used to help out the locals in the tough New York neighbourhood of Brownsville.
"Some of these Italian guys would pay me a dollar or two to go and clean the coops," he told the New York Sun. "After a while, I was like, 'forget the money, could I have this bird?' I kept a cage outside the window of my room.
"Now look at me. I'm like those guys at the horse track that can't stay away. I'm addicted. I am a degenerate."
Legend has it that Tyson began boxing at the age of nine after beating up a teenage bully who had killed his favourite bird by breaking its neck.
Among his favourite birds, each of which he knows by name, are said to be his "deep rollers" - pigeons trained to fly high in the sky and execute breathtaking dives, plummeting to earth before pulling up at the last minute ... or slamming into the ground.
His passion for pigeons is so strong that he took eight of his prized Birmingham Rollers to his fight against Britain's Danny Williams in Louisville, Kentucky, last July and rented them their own hotel room next to his own.
The hotel cleaning staff were said not to be amused.
At $1,500 (£820) a month, Tyson acknowledges his hobby is not cheap, especially for a man who declared bankruptcy in 2003 after blowing a fortune that was estimated at more than $300 million.
At the peak of his boxing career, when he used to command $30 million a fight, Tyson says he used to keep about 4,000 birds at his mansion in the Harlem district of New York City.
Today, Tyson's existence is somewhat more frugal. The sumptuous homes, fast cars and entourage of bodyguards have gone, and a lone police officer occasionally escorts him to and from the modest one-bedroom ranch home in Phoenix that he shares with his latest girlfriend and their three-month-old daughter, Exodus.
He still owes in the region of $30 million to various creditors, including $9 million to his former wife Monica Turner, whom he divorced in 2003.
He agreed to a bankruptcy plan drawn up by his lawyers that will enable him to pay off his debts within three years by taking part in seven fights.
He lost the first two bouts, but will pick up $6 million for boxing McBride this week.
Tyson says that having to give up most of his pigeons because of the Phoenix plan would break his heart.
"This is my next love, after my kids," he said. "They are my babies. I take better care of these birds than I take care of myself."
Feathered friends who reveal the gentle side
LONDON mayor Ken Livingstone once described them as "vermin with wings", but pigeons are a passion for many celebrities.
While the Queen is the most famous pigeon fancier, other fanatics include the former Scotland footballer Duncan Ferguson, who spent time in prison for assault, and the former Partick Thistle manager John Lambie, who was made infamous by a fly-on-the-wall documentary that showed his foul-mouthed approach to management.
Linda Brooks, the secretary of the Scottish Homing Union, says people who work with pigeons can get a lot out of their hobby.
"The connection between man and bird goes back to biblical times," she said.
"Pigeons are home-based and always return to their nest and depend on their owner. It is a very romantic image."
Mrs Brooks added that so-called "hard men", such as Lambie, Ferguson and Tyson, might reveal a different side to their character when they are with their pigeons.
"A pigeon fancier is very caring," she said.
"There is a gentleness about them when they handle the pigeons, and it is a very sensual thing."
Regards, Ivan
Ping!
He's a sweet guy. Only wish that Don King never came within sight of him.
Amen to that.
If more buildings would install pigeon fences that would help. Otherwise, yes for the most part they are rats with wings.
LOL... right away I knew you were talking about pigeons! That's what I've always called them too.
Pigeons: Ruining Italians statues for 4,000 years.
And good clothes in St.Mark's Square!
I've been crapped on by pigeons outside of Green Acres Mall and my parent's house in Florida. Better than being hit by a seagull in Montauk when I was 8.
Gets publicity the very week he needs it and it's because he a great guy with the birds? I don't believe it, do you?
Glad you are here, God bless you all in Britain from Califonria.
Wow that's really bad *LOL*
Skyrats.
Herb Caen, famed and late San Francisco columnist, owns the concept of pigeons being "feathered rats" ...
"LONDON mayor Ken Livingstone once described them as "vermin with wings"
Well I never thought I'd agree with Red Ken about anything, but I agree with him on this count.
Interesting... I didn't know that. I grew up in NJ and CT, but my husband is from the SF Bay Area. We spent a lot of time out there during the early to mid-90s... we practically lived there. I became a semi-regular reader of Herb Caen's columns in the Chronicle back then. He was definitely a legendary figure in the Bay Area. Didn't he have a street in SF named after him?
(SNIP)
We respectfully urge unanimous approval when the port commissioners vote on naming the lovely bayfront esplanade ``Herb Caen Way at Baghdad by the Bay,''
ping
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