The former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson Planning Mercy Trip to Burma

August 17, 2010 08:16:04 GMT

The former heavyweight champion will not do the mercy mission 'in the name of God or any religion but in the name of self-dignity.'

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© Katherine Christine/WENN

Mike Tyson has vowed to make his kids proud of him now he's turned his life around - he's eying a mercy mission to Burma. The former boxing champion, who shot to fame in 1986 when he became the youngest ever winner of the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title at the age of 20, recently vowed to devote his life to caring for others after a string of personal controversies.

His allegedly abusive marriage to actress Robin Givens in the late 1980s began to overshadow his sporting achievements and in 1992, Tyson was convicted of raping Desiree Washington, for which he served three years in prison.

Tyson later turned to drugs, but now retired and clean, the sports star admits he regrets the first 44 years - branding them a "f**king waste". He's now determined to help others less fortunate than him and he's planning a trip to Burma, south-east Asia to aid impoverished communities.

Tyson tells Sports Illustrated magazine, "I want to count for something. Not in the name of God or any religion but in the name of self-dignity." He further reveals, "I feel I'm a clown, I'm a joke. I just want to do nice things so my kids can respect me. I want to live in a hut in Burma."