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05th Nov 2024

Mike Tyson says he thought Hasbulla was a baby when he picked him up in famous clip

Zoe Hodges

He has shed light on the incident

Mike Tyson has opened up on the strange moment he was involved in on the Hotboxin podcast last year.

Tyson was joined by Russian social media personality Hasbulla on the show and got into a bit of a play fight.

The boxer picked up the then 20-year-old and held him like a baby before he appeared to nibble on his ear.

It was a bizarre moment, but Hasbulla said afterwards that he wanted to ‘do it again soon’ following his appearance on the podcast.

Tyson later said that he mistook Hasbulla, who has a form of dwarfism due to a growth hormone deficiency, for a baby.

The 58-year-old recently appeared on The Art of Ward podcast where he recalled the incident. He said: “Yeah. I thought it was a baby. No, no. I did not know. That’s how I am with children, I’m hugging on this guy, and he’s like 26 years old. I knew nothing at all!”

Hasbulla has spoken about his condition previously, saying: “I can’t say that I’m handicapped. I can speak, I understand. I have arms and legs just like others.”

On the podcast, Tyson was also asked about his upcoming bout with Jake Paul which was delayed earlier in the year after he suffered a medical episode on board a flight from Miami to Los Angeles.

Tyson told Andre Ward that he doesn’t feel his age when he’s training as he prepares to take on the 27-year-old.

He said: “Do you think I feel 58 when I’m fighting these young n*****s in the gym, and they’re bashing me them big strong motherf**kers, and I’m bashing them back. He’s supposed to be the young guy, I’m supposed to be the old man.

“He’s a younger man, he should be able to handle punches from an old withering man like me. Listen, you can’t compare me with other people my age because other people my age haven’t been training as long, consistently as me.”

He promised fans that the fight would be a ‘wonderful evening’.