Mike Tyson immobilized a shark on a dive for Discovery’s ‘Shark Week’

Mike Tyson admitted he was scared when he joined Discovery’s Shark Week for Tyson vs. Jaws: Rumble on the Reef. Tyson was asked to join a team of scientists on a dive in the Bahamas where he would need to wrangle a shark and coax it into a sleep-like state, known as tonic immobility, so a scientist could attach a camera to the shark’s dorsal fin.

Video Transcript

- Mike, she's coming behind you. You got her! Don't let it go, Mike.

- Mike, just be real calm with it.

- As part of Discovery's Shark Week, former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson joined a team of scientists in the Bahamas, where he was asked to wrangle a shark and coax it into a sleep-like state so they could put a camera on it.

- OK, I got its snout, you rub its back.

- That was incredible, you [BLEEP] nailed it! Mike Tyson is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the shark!

- Amazing!

- While Tyson may have pulled it off, leading up to that dive was anything but smooth sailing.

- Mike, hold on, Mike. Slow down. Nice and slow.

- You don't want to lunge at them, Mike. Stay calm.

MIKE TYSON: But they're all over the place.

- Tyson admitted to being scared about swimming with sharks. And that was all too obvious before jumping in.

MIKE TYSON: [BLEEP]

- You all right, mate?

- And Tyson explained why he was doing it, despite being so afraid.

- This is something that I'm doing from an egotistical perspective. It connects with everything I think about myself. I'm the most ferocious, the meanest, the baddest, animal that breathes air. You know, that fits in with my ego and stuff.