Mike Tyson has recently found himself back in the spotlight as a boxing promoter, but the former heavyweight champion of the world is now in the news for other reasons.

In a press conference at the Turning Stone Casino in upstate New York, Tyson opened up about his secret addiction to drugs and alcohol, which he claims has put him "on the verge of dying."

"I'm a bad guy sometimes," Tyson said to reporters. "I did a lot of bad things, and I want to be forgiven. So in order for me to be forgiven, I hope they can forgive me. I wanna change my life, I wanna live a different life now. I wanna live my sober life. I don't wanna die."

Although not many people may have known about his most recent relapse, there have been some clear red flags in the last couple years. In a 2012 interview with Yahoo! Sports, Tyson admitted to being "high on cocaine" when he was acting in The Hangover movie series.

"(During) the first Hangover, the guys just had my back so much," he said in last year's interview with Graham Bensinger. "They carried me real good. I was a mess. I was overweight... I was a pig...They had to know I was messed up. I couldn't talk. I had the cocaine talk..."

Tyson said last week that he had not had a drink or used drugs in almost a week, which he called a miracle.

"I've been lying to everybody else," he said. "I'm not [sober]. This is my sixth day."

Tyson had 50 wins and 6 losses in his career, which started when he was 18 years old. He won his first 19 fights by knockout and continued to fight until his retirement in 2006. "Iron Mike" was known for his infamous and bloody fight with Evander Holyfield in which Tyson was disqualified for biting Holyfield's ear.