Tyson smiles as his son yawns during a 2003 press conference. (Bill Waugh/AP)
Mike Tyson, who once threatened to eat an opponent's children, is launching a charity foundation for kids.
The former world heavyweight champion and star of a recent one-man show is set to launch the foundation—Mike Tyson Cares—next month in Las Vegas.
According to Tyson, the charity's mission is to "give kids a fighting chance" and will focus on at-risk children "from broken homes" in the Las Vegas area.
The foundation will kick off with a gala party on Dec. 7 at the MGM Grand. As part of the launch, Tyson is also auctioning off ringside seats next to his for the Dec. 8 fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez.
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"I want my legacy to be about charity and helping children," Tyson said in a press release announcing the launch event. "This is my start."
In April, the rapist turned pigeon handler launched a one-man stage show—"The Undisputed Truth"—that chronicled tales of Tyson's drug use as well as his numerous sexcapades. (The show later made a limited run on Broadway.)
In an interview with Yahoo News that month, Tyson, a father of eight, said his unlikely postboxing career as an entertainer has been driven by his own kids.
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"As a father I think I suck, but I'm trying," the "Hangover" star said. "That's the only thing that matters at the end of the day. Our family."
"I've been given many chances," Tyson added. "If I look at it from that perspective, I may have been given 10 or 20 chances. And I've never been able to take the chances I've been given. But at this moment, I'm fully committed to this opportunity that I have."