Mike Tyson says he used fentanyl “quite a few times” late in his boxing career to blunt pain, describing withdrawals that felt “like heroin,” the former heavyweight champion revealed in a new interview.

Speaking on The Katie Miller Podcast, Tyson, 59, said he first tried the powerful synthetic opioid in the late 1990s for a toe injury. “It was a painkiller… I used to use it to patch up my toe,” he said, adding that when it wore off he would start vomiting and feel classic withdrawal symptoms. He stopped, he added, after realizing the drug could trigger a failed test and was a narcotic.

Fentanyl—far more potent than morphine and associated with high overdose risk—has become a leading driver of U.S. opioid deaths, according to federal data frequently cited in coverage of Tyson’s remarks. News reports this week pegged fentanyl-involved deaths in the tens of thousands annually.

Tyson, who has long promoted cannabis for pain management and performance recovery, contrasted marijuana with substances like alcohol, cocaine, and fentanyl in the interview. He has been open for years about addiction struggles across his career.

Multiple outlets, including Fox News, People, and Yahoo, published accounts of Tyson’s comments after the podcast episode aired, each noting his description of the drug’s effects and his decision to stop using it during his competitive years.

Note on earlier claims

Some reports and social posts have linked Tyson’s anti-fentanyl advocacy to a 2009 collaboration with “acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba.” That timeline is incorrect: Habba’s contested appointment as U.S. Attorney in New Jersey occurred in 2025, not 2009.