Former heavyweight boxing champion/Brooklyn native Mike Tyson is returning home to Brooklyn.
He’ll be the star of Taking on Tyson a reality show on Animal Planet scheduled to premiere March 6.
Considering Tyson’s life has been a rollercoaster – his dominance of boxing in the 80s, a rape conviction, the Holyfield ear fiasco, his marriage to actress Robin Givens, his acting debut in The Hangover – following him around with a camera would surely produce some drama.
But this show is on Animal Planet, not ESPN or E! or Bravo. So, it will be focused on Tyson’s lifelong passion for racing pigeons. The six episode series will follow Tyson as he returns to Brownsville to prepare his birds for competition.
But the show won’t be all for…errr… about the birds.
“I have a pretty colorful past so you’re going to find out some interesting things about me too,” Tyson said at the recent Television Critics Association confab. “But the main insight is the birds and what they mean in our lives. Even though I might be out there fighting and getting locked up, this is what we do. This is no hobby.”
As a matter of fact as a teen Tyson gained notoriety in Brownsville for being a ferocious fighter after he beat the pulp out of a gang member who tortured and killed one of his birds.
When the show began filming last year, Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes announced his office would be looking into whether or not the show violated gaming laws. Hynes was also said to be monitoring the show after PETA made claims of animal cruelty.