Mike Tyson loves pigeons, but not the one that Jake Paul bought him. Case of bias? We are not sure. But the boxing legend ensured his opponents got a taste of his brutal and spine-chilling persona when he sat across him from the table.

Tyson, 58, and Paul, 27, appeared in a face-to-face interview, as they delivered some heavy predictions of a knockout and put on a fierce look. But the interaction turned a bit mellow when ‘Problem Child’ gifted his rival a new white pigeon.

However, ‘Iron Mike’ soon busted his bubble of happiness, as he labeled the pigeon as “low-budget” much to the chagrin of his young opponent. He said, “Thank you, Jake. This looks like a low-budget pedigree.” When Paul, at 10-1, explained that he paid thousands of dollars for the pigeon, Tyson, a pigeon expert, declared, “No one loves him. He has no bands or anything. So, he doesn’t belong to nobody.”

But when the YouTuber-turned-boxer insisted that he keep the pigeon, Tyson announced, “I’ll feed him to my falcon.” This even evoked a puzzling reaction from the host: “That’s f**ked up, Mike.” The Most Valuable Promotions then uploaded a clip on its Instagram handle after the interaction ended. In the clip, the fans could witness Paul walking ouyin a gloomy mood while holding onto the white pigeon in its cage. When enquired about it, he explained in a somber tone, “Mike didn’t take my pigeon as a gift.”

Interestingly, the former world champion had clarified in the interaction that he was joking about it. In addition, Tyson explained the reason for turning down the gift, as he couldn’t take the pigeon home with him. It was a heartfelt gesture by Paul, who knew how much the heavyweight boxer loved pigeons. Tyson’s love for pigeons dates back to his childhood.

Mike Tyson and his obsession with pigeons

The Brooklyn native has loved pigeons since the age of 9, as they seemed to have provided him comfort whenever the other kids bullied him for being overweight. Tyson admitted that he first picked up a fight to save his pigeon from an older bully, and after dropping his bully, he realized his potential to box.

He once reflected on the traumatic incident, noting, “The guy ripped the head off my pigeon. This was the first thing I ever loved in my life, the pigeon. That was the first time I threw a punch. I have loved pigeons since I was nine. They were my escape.”

He also credits Muhammad Ali for inspiration, which eventually made him take up boxing. What’s more? The two-time world champion even broke up with one of his girlfriends when she questioned his love for pigeons.

Despite his deep-rooted love of pigeons, it seems, that Jake Paul might have done something very wrong for Mike Tyson to reject a beautiful white pigeon. Or, maybe as Iron Mike said, it was just too “low budget” for him.

What do you make of the interaction between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul? Let us know in the comments below.