Celebrity

Mike Tyson Has Spent Well Over $100,000 on Housing For His 1,300 Pigeons

Mike Tyson's love for pigeons is well documented, with him previously stating that he owns well over 1,000 of them. However, few people know how much the upkeep of his beloved birds costs. Believe it or not, Tyson has spent more than $100,000 on the housing of his pigeons.

by Johnell Gipson

Published on May 5, 2021

2 min read

Mike Tyson’s love for pigeons is well documented. The Hangover star and former heavyweight champion loves talking about his insane pigeon collection, which currently includes around 1,300 birds in total.

Tyson developed a reputation as a reckless spender early in his career when he bought lavish items such as $7 million diamond necklaces and 150-foot yachts. Never one to spare an expense, Tyson has also put down a ton of cash on pigeon care as well, having spent well over $100,000 on his birds’ housing.

Mike Tyson has spent over $100,000 on pigeon housing

Mike Tyson plays with his pigeons alongside Katie Couric | Heidi Gutman/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images

Tyson talked about the insane price tag on his pigeon palace during an episode of his Hotboxin’ podcast.

“Their house costs like one hundred g’s,” Tyson said.

He owns over 1,000 pigeons today

When asked how many pigeons he currently owns, Tyson had a hard time nailing down a specific number. But he estimated that he has at least 1,300.

“Maybe 1,400 now, I always say 2,500, but we got rid of so many,” Tyson said. “Probably like 1,300.”

Having nice pigeons earned him respect in Brownsville, Brooklyn

Many people might find Tyson’s obsession with pigeons odd, but the retired boxer remains committed to his passion. According to Tyson, pigeons were a big part of his community’s culture growing up in Brownsville, Brooklyn.

“That was our freedom, that was our ego, that was everything,” Tyson told Tony Robbins. “You had the best pigeons in the neighborhood, and people would come from other neighborhoods and say, ‘Who flies up there?’ That means ‘Whose birds [are] up there, flying up there?’ And you would tell them, and you could see the birds flying from way over [in] your neighborhood, and say, ‘That’s the guy that flies over there. And that was popular in our neighborhood.”

His first fight was caused over a pigeon

In a separate interview with Graham Bensinger, Tyson revealed that his first fight was caused when a kid in his neighborhood ripped the head off of one of his pigeons.

“He ripped the bird’s head off, hit me with the bird, threw the blood on me, smacked me around,” Tyson said. “So my friend said ‘Mike, fight him. Don’t be afraid, fight him.’ … I just fought, it’s not like I was sensational. I was just flailing away, and I guess I hit him more than he hit me, so I won I guess.”

Mike Tyson says the pigeon-flying world is ruthless

As brutal as the display was, Tyson stated on his Hotboxin’ podcast that violence was commonplace among competitors in the pigeon world.

“He wasn’t born bad, but that just was the thing, that’s how you disrespect somebody, that’s how the pigeon world is … That’s the game, that’s the pigeon game, n*gga, the pigeon game is vicious,” Tyson said. “People [have] been shot, thrown off roofs.”