‘I can’t stop’: Boxing icon Tyson admits marijuana use before Jones Jr fight to ‘numb’ him and says weed is ‘how I’m going to die’

Mike Tyson has said he continued his daily ritual of enjoying marijuana before his draw with Roy Jones Jr on Saturday and has even smoked during fights, adding that there is "no explanation" for an addiction that has "no end."

The former heavyweight champion returned in an exhibition event that did not test the veterans for marijuana beforehand, and Tyson has confirmed that he "absolutely" smoked ahead of his first fight in 15 years at the age of 54.

Both fighters were tested by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association ahead of the bout in Los Angeles, but Tyson's fondness for marijuana - he has his own ranch and strain which has been sampled by the likes of ex-UFC champion Conor McGregor - did not come under scrutiny in the checks.

“I can’t stop smoking,” confessed "Iron Mike" after returning for the lucrative scrap that attracted a huge pay-per-view audience.

“I smoked during fights. I just have to smoke. I’m sorry. I smoke every day. I never stopped smoking.

“It’s just who I am. It has no effect on me from a negative standpoint. It’s just what I do and how I am and how I’m going to die.

"There’s no explanation. There’s no beginning. There’s no end. It just numbs me. It doesn’t numb the pain.”

Speaking in the build-up to the much-anticipated fight, Tyson told broadcaster Joe Rogan that he had "pretty much stopped" smoking cannabis, explaining that his return was "all about change".

His post-match revelations contradict that claim, although he said he had stopped using cocaine around two-and-a-half years ago.

Tyson and Jones Jr did not disgrace themselves in a competitive encounter that many had feared would be dangerous for two fighters in their 50s, and Tyson repeated his pledge to raise money for good causes while continuing to suggest that he could face some of the sport's elite current names.

“My ego is taking the money, buying some planes, some nice houses, picking up a bunch of chicks and having some orgies and stuff," he said.

“This is not who I am right now. That guy was just somebody that had to be. Eventually, he was a platform to become me. In a perfect world, I’m a missionary.

“Maybe we [can] do something [else] in the south of France. Monaco or in Saint-Tropez.

"We can do something out there, one of the European fighters out there or something. Anything is possible. The sky is the limit.”