Mike Tyson Says Losing to Buster Douglas Was 'Best Day' Of His Life

YouTube / ESPN

Until Mike Tyson stepped into the ring with Buster Douglas on the infamous night of February 11, 1990 ... he had never been beaten. Douglas shocked the world when he rocked Tyson and delivered a KO in the 10th round to give the undisputed heavyweight champ his first professional defeat. Even though the day was dismal for many fans of Tyson, the champ walked away with a valuable lesson that he still holds dear.

Tyson's podcast, "Hotboxin' With Mike Tyson," made a glorious return on Thursday evening and packed a punch with a double-header of live premieres on the show's YouTube channel.

Hotboxin' With Mike Tyson

Tyson and "Hotboxin'" co-host Eben Britton sat down with rapper, Noreaga, who brought along his entourage that he teamed up with for his own popular podcast, "Drink Champs." N.O.R.E. is a huge fan of Tyson's boxing career and was in awe while asking the champ about some of the fabled stories that made up his illustrious career.

Among them, Noreaga asked about Tyson's loss to Buster Douglas. Noreaga describes the loss -- which went down 30 years ago -- as the worst day of his life. In response, Tyson said it was actually the "best day" of his.

Hotboxin' With Mike Tyson

After taking a long pull from a joint, Tyson explains that, "ego's a motherf----r."

He said that even though he lost the fight to Douglas, he was paid between $30 - $40 million for his next bout -- so, "I never really lost."

He added:

"I learned a valuable lesson, you always need to prepare. I'd beat guys on intimidation alone, I got comfortable and somebody said, 'I'm gonna fight back.'"

N.O.R.E. also inquired about why a rematch never went down, and Tyson revealed that Douglas never wanted to step back in the ring with the baddest man on the planet.

YouTube / Boxing Hall of Fame Las Vegas

For the second live episode of "Hotboxin' With Mike Tyson," the champ sat down with another champ ... Evander Holyfield. The two obviously have a huge history of bouts, including the June 28, 1997 fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas when Tyson was disqualified for biting off part of Holyfield's ear.

Luckily, these days the guys have made up and have a good laugh about the situation now, but Tyson revealed that he has collected quite a bit of cash over the years from staging the infamous moment with fans.

Hotboxin' With Mike Tyson

"You know how many people pay me to take pictures of me biting their ear?!" Tyson exclaimed to his longtime competitor and friend. He added that he has "recouped my $3 million I was penalized for" in fan photos.

Holyfield was impressed but said he'd rather not let people bite what's left of his ear in photos. The interview between the two superstars was fantastic and truly showed how much both men have evolved over the years as both athletes and human beings.

"Hotboxin' With Mike Tyson" has an impressive list of celebs sitting down with the champ for a session of smoking and chatting. Future episodes will premiere on the show's YouTube channel and then available via the Hotboxin' Podcast website.