On 20th March 2024, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson announced the end of one of his most cherished ventures in the form of his YouTube podcast – Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson. The podcast began in January 2019 with former NFL player Eben Britton as the co-host alongside Tyson.

For half a decade, the Brooklyn native, with the help of his co-hosts who kept changing, had intellectual and deep conversations with many celebrities. Over the years, the show gained a huge following with prominent guests like Kevin Hart, Joe Rogan, Bill Maher, Dana White, Tony Hawk, Katt Williams, The Undertaker, Ryan Garcia, Stephen A. Smith, Eminem, Andrew Huberman, Israel Adesanya, Grant Cardone, Snoop Dogg, Sugar Ray Leonard, Tony Robbins, and many more making an appearance. During several episodes, the former heavyweight champion himself opened up about his struggles with addiction, his boxing career, and how he found spiritual peace. Let’s take a look at what made the podcast so special and why, despite its popularity, Iron Mike decided to shut shop.

All about Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson

According to the 58-year-old, he started this podcast as a way to get over his self-consciousness about his lisp. “I never wanted to do a podcast because I was too self-conscious of my lisp,” said Tyson. But after being a guest on a few podcasts, he saw how much the fans loved him and it encouraged him to take on this personal challenge. He then decided to use this platform to share his vulnerabilities and connect with the audience and guests on a deeper level.

The podcast covered a wide range of topics, including entertainment, music, sports, and many more. With such a wide array of topics, the guests were also diverse and fans liked how real and raw every guest was on the podcast. Fans also loved Mike Tyson’s anecdotes and stories about his life and career.

According to IMDb, the podcast has done about 257 episodes. The unique setting and the laid-back environment of the podcast, where the guests and hosts are hotboxing, made this podcast a resounding success. The podcast has garnered more than 900,000 subscribers to date, with the Joe Rogan episode getting more than 11 million views.

While the exact numbers on Spotify aren’t confirmed, it constantly ranked in the popular categories. It became a staple in American pop culture, with fans raving about the podcast all over social media.

But as time passed, several struggles started popping and views started to decline. As the later episodes struggled to cross even 500,000 views, the cost of continuing with the podcast became burdensome. Mike Tyson ultimately decided to end the podcast in 2024.

Why did Tyson shut down his podcast?

The biggest reason for the dwindling numbers was the exit of Eben Britton from the show. Fans used to love the duo of Tyson and Britton and what both of them brought to the table. But the former NFL player left the show after some time, which led to a plethora of co-hosts, but no one was able to create the same chemistry.

Furthermore, several controversies arose due to the unfiltered and brash nature of the episodes. Hotboxin’ received a huge backlash on social media due to this. But this was also one of the show’s appeals where anything could happen at any moment. Still, the team found a way to continue with the podcast.

Then there was the fight. One of the main reasons for the show shutting down was Tyson’s upcoming fight with Jake Paul, which was earlier scheduled for July. He also had to look after his Tyson 2.0 can**bis brand, which was making newer inroads every day.

The last straw came when Mike Tyson was not able to juggle the podcast with his other personal commitments. Shooting a single episode of Hotboxin’ was a long task, and with Mike Tyson being embedded in several new ventures, he could not find time to make it work. On 20th March 2024, the Brooklyn native posted, “A Message to my Hotboxin’ fans 🥊,” on his Instagram account announcing the end of the show.

“Ladies and gentlemen, these are my final recordings of HotBoxin. I really enjoyed being a part of this journey and all the people that I met, the remarkable people that I met in interviews. And by now, for me, this is my next chapter in life. Please enjoy the following socials at Mike Tyson and MikeTyson.com for my next venture, please. I love you all,” Tyson expressed.

The former heavyweight champion now uploads videos on his main channel, which receive millions of views. Tyson uploads montages of his training, his latest ventures, and even his series, ‘Behind The Mike,’ on his main channel.

What are your thoughts about Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson? Do tell us your favorite moments from the show down below.