With his return to the ring fast-approaching, it appears that Mike Tyson has entered his infamous fight mode.
And that meant that he wasn't going to be easy to deal with for media trying to get a final comment from the heavyweight icon ahead of his bout with Jake Paul. Even a teenage reporter couldn't get him to open up during a brief interview backstage on Wednesday.
Tyson was notorious during his heyday for giving outlandish interviews, in which he would say off-color things with regularity. But he had seemed to be softening before signing up to fight Paul in his first professional boxing match since retiring in 2005.
As part of his final media obligation for fight week on Wednesday afternoon, Mike Tyson spoke with 14-year-old journalist Jazlyn Guerra. The pair are both from Brooklyn, and he clearly was willing to give her more than the few words he shared at the press conference.
However, his agitation led to one of the most bizarre clips in social media memory after the youngster, who boasts over 3million followers across social media, asked him what he wants his legacy to be after he is done with being in the public eye.
"I don't believe in the word legacy. I just think it's another word for ego," he replied. "Legacy doesn't mean nothing. That's just some word everyone grabbed onto. Someone said that word and everyone grabbed on to it and now it's used every five seconds.
"It means absolutely nothing to me. I'm just passing through. I'm going to die and it's going to be over. Who cares about legacy after that? What a big ego. I want people to think I'm this, I'm great. No, I'm nothing. We're just dead. We're dust, we're absolutely nothing. Our legacy is nothing."
When she tried to move on to her next question, Tyson continued his outlandish train of thought, adding: "Can you really imagine somebody saying 'I want my legacy to be this way when I'm'? You're dead! You think someone really wants to think about you?
"Where's the audacity; I want people to think about me when I'm gone. Who the f*** cares about me when I'm gone? Nobody cares for me but my grandkids, who the f*** cares?"
After his outburst, the young reporter managed to keep her composure and continue on, with Tyson noting that she was very sharp. And she even offered him a touching gift during the final segment, which he seemed honored to receive.
The pair had met at Fanatics Fest the previous August, which was a massive exhibition of sports memorabilia. And in her collection, she had managed to pick up a rare trading card of the boxing icon's original coach Cus D'Amato, which she gifted to him after the fact.
"I know that he was very special to you and had a very big impact on your life," she said, to which Tyson replied that he was "Why I'm here with you right now." He appeared moved by the gesture, telling the young journalist 'I think I'm going to do just that, thank you."
When she asked for one final phrase of motivation, Tyson used the last question to plug his bout with Paul, telling viewers "come watch the fight, I'm sure you won't regret it."