Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson might be retired (sort of); but even at age 56, the sports icon still knows how to avoid a punch.
For the second part of his all-encompassing Newsmax appearance on "The Record With Greta Van Susteren," Tyson openly discussed Florida living and his recurring bout with sciatica, along with his love for tennis, golf, pickleball and even pigeons.
However, when the conversation turned to politics and ideological preferences, Tyson quickly became diplomatic with his responses.
"Listen, if I start talking politics, my friends aren't going to like me. Let's just not do that, OK? Let's just not do that," said Tyson, while wearing a large grin.
"My family gets mad, my friends get mad when we talk politics," says Tyson. "When I was younger, I was all-out liberal. But as I get older, and I look at my children, and I see what's out there in the world, I get a little conservative. ... It's common sense, looking at the world we have now. You want safety."
Shortly thereafter, Van Susteren pressed Tyson, now a full-time Florida resident, on his thoughts about either Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis or former President Donald Trump.
At first, it seemed like Tyson wanted to speak freely. But after a deep breath, he simply said, "I can't talk names ... the last time I tried to talk politics [publicly], Wow, did they give me a beating."
After his comment, Tyson confirmed "they" were the U.S. media.
As such, "I [now] stay away from politics and religion. They stole my freedom of speech," quipped Tyson.
The former boxing champion might be reticent to discuss politics in an open forum, but he wasn't the least bit shy about caring for pet pigeons at his home.
"Absolutely," said Tyson about watching over his pigeons every day. "I just love birds. That's who I am. I'm from Brooklyn, New York, and I'm a typical Brooklyn guy who has pigeons on his roof."
As for Tyson's work ethic as a boxer-turned-pigeon whisperer, he says, "I clean their coops every day. I give them water. I feed them, and I fly them."
PART I OF GRETA VAN SUSTEREN'S INTERVIEW WITH MIKE TYSON
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