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Tyson says he’s used to putting life on stage

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ASSOCIATED PRESS
This image released by Starpix shows, former boxer Mike Tyson, right, holds hands with his wife Kiki Tyson at the curtain call for the opening night of "Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth," Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012 at the Longacre Theatre in New York. The one man show starring Tyson was directed by Spike Lee, and written by Kiki Tyson. (AP Photo/Starpix, Amanda Schwab)
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DONALD TRAILL/INVISION/AP
Director Spike Lee, left, Lakiha Tyson, center, and her husband and former boxer Mike Tyson takes part in a curtain call following his 'Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth" performance on Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012, in New York. (Photo by Donald Traill/Invision/AP)

NEW YORK >> Pounding out the details of his personal life on a Broadway stage doesn’t seem to faze Mike Tyson. The former heavyweight champ says that’s what’s used to doing, “and at least now I don’t have to go to hospital every time.”

The 46-year old Tyson is appearing in the one-man show, “Mike Tyson Undisputed Truth.” Directed by Spike Lee, the nearly two-hour show chronicles Tyson’s life from childhood and his early boxing career to his public divorce from Robin Givens and his time spent in prison. He even talks about an incident with Brad Pitt.

“I’m just joking and stuff. I’m not mad at anyone. I hope he gives me a damn job,” Tyson told The Associated Press Thursday when asked about the incident.

Lee chimed in: “He asked for a job.”

Lee, famous for chronicling stories about Brooklyn in such films as “Crooklyn,” “She’s Gotta Have It,” and the upcoming “Red Hook Summer,” feels this work adds nicely to collection.

“You can’t get more Brooklyn than Mike Tyson. And if you remember the film, “Do the Right Thing,” the great Robin Harris (playing Sweet Dick Willie) had many references to Mike. And the side of Sal’s Famous Pizzeria we painted a mural, Brooklyn’s Finest: Mike Tyson, so this is history,” Lee said.

While Tyson’s life has been tumultuous at times, the boxer says he can deal with telling intimate details to a room full of strangers simply because “it’s a job to be done.”

“Even though it’s real, it’s not real. It’s an illusion,” Tyson says.

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