Mike Tyson revealed the three brutal nicknames he was given before boxing career

Mike Tyson once revealed the three brutal nicknames he was given before he began his boxing career.

With Tyson set to return to the ring on July 20 to fight YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, there's a good chance you'll hear the boxing legend referred to by several different nicknames.

Over the years the former world heavyweight champion has been bestowed with nicknames including "Iron Mike," "Kid Dynamite" and "The Baddest Man On The Planet".

However, there are three names only a very brave person would dare call Tyson to his face.

In his autobiography "Undisputed Truth," which was released in 2013, the boxer revealed the three names that bullies game him during his childhood in Brooklyn, New York.

"I was scared to be in the house and I was also scared to go outside," Tyson revealed in the book.

"By then, I was going to a public school and that was a nightmare. I was a pudgy kid, very shy, almost effeminately shy and I spoke with a lisp.

"The kids used to call me 'Little Fairy Boy' because I was always hanging out with my sister, but my mum told me I had to stay around Denise as she was older than me.

"They also called me 'Dirty Ike' or 'Dirty Motherf*****' because I didn't know about hygiene back then."

Tyson explained that he couldn't shower as his family's home didn't have heated water, and oftentimes there was no gas to boil water.

"My mother tried to teach me about it [hygiene] but she didn't do a very good job. She used to take soap and fill a bucket up with hot water and wash me.

"But when you're a young kid, you don't care about hygiene. Eventually, I'd learn it in the streets from older kids - they told me about Brut and Paco Rabanne."

Tyson dropped out of school at seven due to bullying, and by 13 he had been arrested 38 times.

After being introduced to boxing he dropped out of high school as a junior and never looked back.

There have been concerns raised about a 58-year-old Tyson fighting Paul - 31 years his junior - but the boxing icon is already busy training for his return to the ring.

Topics: Mike Tyson, Boxing, Jake Paul

Alex Brotherton

Alex Brotherton is a Sports Trends Writer at SPORTbible. He has previously worked with publications including the Manchester Evening News, GOAL and BBC Sport. He is a football fanatic, but also dabbles in tennis and American football. He enjoys running, cooking and watching non-league football.

@alex_brotherton