The former heavyweight champion hopes to inspire the next generation to embrace the sweet science by hosting the inaugural Mike Tyson Invitational in Las Vegas from March 12 to 14.

The three-day amateur boxing showcase aims to spotlight standout fighters and Olympic hopefuls, help shape the future of American boxing and reinforce the sport’s core principles.

Tyson became a trailblazer and global icon immediately following an impressive amateur career. Twenty months after turning pro, he became the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history at the age of 20.

But he believes boxing is dying now. Troubled by the state of the sport, he is looking to spearhead change by standing at the forefront through his event.

The Ring interviewed Tyson about his latest project as well as other happenings in his life and current events.

I'm pursuing it because boxing is my life. I would say the best time of my fighting career was when I was an amateur, and not when I was champion of the world. Because there were so many ups and downs and so many desires to win different trophies and tournaments. There are so many opportunities for amateurs. Your mind and imagination can go on and on.

I don't see it doing well. The only way I can see it making a remarkable comeback is if we build a great amateur program. You see guys like Vasiliy Lomachenko turn pro, come to America, and win a world title. You know why? Because he had a thousand amateur fights and only 400 of them on record. And that's why he beat guys like he owned them.

We're lacking boxing clubs. At one time in the 1980s, we had boxing clubs across the country. The fact is that they are all dying. They started talking about taking boxing out of the Olympics. So we need boxing clubs to develop better fighters. The more fighters, the more fights they have, and the more experienced they become, and the more successful they become professionally.

I didn't have the experience to beat those guys, even though I was beating them. I would have been able to knock them out if I had the experience. I fought a lot in the gym. I sparred every day for years. I always sparred to keep myself active. I was always ready to fight. That's what boxing is about: repetition, over and over again, boxing every day, maybe except for Sunday.

I'm a believer, and Cus D'Amato was a believer, that records are meant to be broken. They are made to be broken. I am always for whoever breaks that record. I will never say I don't want my record to be broken. I want my record to be broken.

Boxing found me. I was in a correctional school for bad kids. I was locked up in isolation, and I saw these kids through my window running back to their rooms. They had black eyes, but everyone was happy and laughing. I'm like, yo, what's going on. They were training with coach Bobby Stewart. He was an ex-professional boxer, and he taught me how to box. He eventually took me to Cus D'Amato, and then it was a wrap.

I'm guilty of it, too, but we have to stop ultra-processed foods. It tastes good, and it's addictive. It's like a narcotic that becomes a necessity, and it's especially a problem in low-income neighborhoods. And that's how they get us, because it tastes really good.

Not good at all. I want one guy in front of me, and not a hundred guys trying to kill me.

They don’t make them like Lawrence Taylor anymore.

Loyalty.

We were just happy that we were on top of the world. Every time I fought in Atlantic City at Trump's casino, the whole world focused on that. People from all over the world visited his casino because of the fights.

Boxing would be a lot better. Most boxers would perhaps have more money as well.

I think he should. Everybody thinks I am pro-Dana, I'm just pro-boxing. If you believe in the Muhammad Ali Act, you should go there. You make your choice.

Well, listen right. It didn't help me at that time. It was just in the infant stages. Whoever it helped, I don't know. But if it did, God bless them, and I am happy for them. I just know what I would choose. I want an open market, and whoever is going to give the highest bid.

Probably in Greece, maybe in Mykonos. If the price is right, I’d fight a lion.

Oh God.

I have no animosity. We're just boxing. We're two fighters. We're boxing. I'm not knocking out anybody, and no one is knocking me out. We're going to fight. It's going to happen. Thank God. I am so grateful for it.

I would have absolutely embraced fighting Usyk. Holyfield would have given him a great fight. That's a different era. You have to kill those guys to beat them. It's hard to beat these guys without getting a scratch on your face. We're different fighters. The fighters in this era should see that. We were more active than they were. We were defending titles four times a year in my era. Now these guys are defending their title once every two years. Usyk is pretty active for a modern-day heavyweight, though. We were war horses fighting until the finish. Whatever derogatory things I said were because I was fighting them. I had the highest amount of respect for those guys that I fought.

That would have been some beautiful fighting. He would have done well. If you're a fighter and really want to test yourself, you do it like those guys and fight until you get beaten. Fighters in my time didn't stop until they got beaten.

Quite a few of them. I like Shakur Stevenson, Keyshawn Davis, Naoya Inoue and Jermall Charlo. And I can't forget about the Mexican Monster, David Benavidez. He's been done dirty because he should have gotten some of those big fights. That's something he's going to have over boxing. They didn't give him the big fights. If he doesn't get the money that he's supposed to get after he finishes boxing, it's because boxing screwed him. Who's he fighting next at cruiserweight? Does he have the opportunity to make money in that division? Listen, can I be sincere with you: In the cruiserweight division, no one knows who the hell is the champion or is in that division.

Thank you so much.