Mike Tyson's Abandoned Ohio Mansion to Become Church

Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson |

American boxer Mike Tyson's former mansion in Southington, Ohio has been abandoned for several years but it will now be transformed into something beautiful.

The Hollywood Reporter said that the mansion, where Tyson lived during the late 1980s and early 1990s while training at Don King's facility will be transformed into a church.

The property was purchased by a church back in December 2014 and they are planning to transform it into the "Living Word Sanctuary."

As a sign of respect to its previous owner, the church has even invited Tyson to the first service it will conduct in the sanctuary. However, there have been no further reports whether or not Tyson will agree to grace the event.

The mansion currently has five bedrooms, an indoor pool, a marble bathroom and even a "Mike Tyson" iron entrance gate, according to photographer and Empty Spaces author Johnny Joo.

In other news, Tyson's life will be hitting the big screen soon. He will be portrayed by Jamie Foxx in the biopic which will be directed by Oscar-winning Martin Scorsese.

Foxx revealed the news during an interview with New York's Power 101.5 station, during their Breakfast Club morning show.

"I just went in with Paramount with Mike Tyson. So I'm going to do the Mike Tyson story. Listen, to be in the same room pitching Mike Tyson to Paramount, Mike Tyson is on one side, I'm on the other side and doing Mike Tyson at the same time. And Martin Scorsese at the helm. This will be the first boxing movie that Martin Scorsese has done since Raging Bull," he said.

Tyson has had a very colourful and controversial career, and has seen both success and losses during his glory days. The retired boxer was formerly the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, but his reputation took a nosedive after he bit off the ears of his opponent Evander Holyfield during a match.

Moreover, his personal life's twists and turns far outshine his career. One of the most controversial issues that hounded him was his arrest for the rape of 18-year-old Desiree Washington, who won Miss Black Rhode Island.

According to the beauty pageant contestant, Tyson invited her to his hotel room in Indianapolis for a party on July 19, 1991, but when she got to his room, he made sexual advances against her will and raped her.

Tyson lost the case and was deemed guilty on March 26, 1992. He was sentenced to six years in prison, with four years on probation. During his incarceration, the boxer converted to Islam.