Mike Tyson wished Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs the “best” just minutes before the disgraced rap mogul was denied bail for a third time.
In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, the 58-year-old boxing legend was asked about his ties to 54-year-old Combs, who will stand trial in May 2025.
Tyson, who has known Combs for decades, seemed shocked when he was informed of the speculation surrounding his name in the wake of the rapper’s arrest on a host of sex trafficking and racketeering crimes last month.
“Wait, I’m synonymous with Diddy? Well, that’s cool,” he said. “I never knew that.”
When asked if he had anything to say, he replied: “I wish him the best. I wish him the best in his life.”
Mike Tyson wished Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs the ‘best’ just minutes before the disgraced rap mogul was denied bail for the third time
In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, the 58-year-old boxing legend was asked about his ties to Combs, 54 (pictured together at a party at the Cannes Film Festival)
Combs has been locked behind bars since he was arrested on September 16 and charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Since then, more than 120 victims have come forward, but Combs maintains his innocence.
He appeared in court on Thursday, surrounded by his family, where his bail application was rejected for the third time.
A judge, at the request of his high-powered legal team, offered a trial date of May 5, 2025.
Prosecutors said they estimate their case will last about three weeks, while Combs’ attorneys say they will need about a week to argue their case.
Following Combs’ arrest, videos have surfaced of the Bad Boy Record founder allegedly acting inappropriately with other celebrities — one of those videos from 1998 features Tyson.
Combs and Tyson joke around on a couch during an interview with Damon Wayans.
While talking about a time he fell on stage, Combs puts his hand next to Tyson’s leg.
“I wish him the best,” he said of the record label mogul. ‘In life I wish him the best’
Tyson, who has known Combs for decades, seemed shocked when he was informed of the speculation surrounding his name in the wake of the rapper’s arrest (pictured together in 2017).
Tyson grabs Combs’ hand and points to his fancy watch in what is interpreted as an apparent attempt to de-escalate the situation.
“It’s really about the Benjamins that we see,” Tyson says.
The former world heavyweight champion has been pictured with Combs at multiple events over the years, with the pair partying together at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008 and enjoying a boxing match at Madison Square Garden in 2004.
They also sat down together to watch the super welterweight boxing match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor in August 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Tyson opened up about their friendship in an interview last year, describing Combs as “amazing” and jokingly calling him “Sugar Diddy.”
“I’ve just known him for a long time,” he told PBD Podcast host Patrick Bet-David. “I knew him before he was Diddy, and for a long time. When I first became champion, I knew him.
“I remember he had crates when he was at my after-parties and stuff. Even when they threw parties.’
Bet-David said: ‘So many people in the music and Hollywood world were afraid of this man “Diddy”, as if he was untouchable.’
Tyson replied: ‘Oh sugar Diddy.’
Combs appeared in court on Thursday, surrounded by his family (pictured), where his bail request was rejected for the third time
The rapper was denied bail for a third time, with a judge offering a trial date of May 5, 2025 at the request of his high-powered legal team.
Tyson’s recent comments were a far cry from those of Kevin Hart, who tried to distance himself from the disgraced music mogul when questioned by DailyMail.com last month.
The comedian, 45, was asked if he remembers seeing one of the now infamous bottles of baby oil found at Combs’ home while hosting “parties” for the Bad Boy founder.
“When I hosted Diddy? You’re asking the wrong person the wrong question,” he hit back.
When he asked if Combs would be safe in jail, Hart again tried to deflect.
“Wrong person, wrong question,” he replied before heading to dinner with his bodyguard and wife Eniko Hart, 40.
Tyson, nicknamed ‘The Baddest Man On The Planet’, was the undisputed world heavyweight boxing champion in the 1980s.
But his career was overshadowed by his controversies.
In 1992, he was convicted of raping teenage beauty queen Desiree Washington in Indiana and served three years in prison.
In 1997, just a year after his release, he bit rival Evander Holyfield in both ears. He was disqualified and temporarily suspended from boxing.
Tyson’s recent comments were a far cry from those of Kevin Hart, who tried to distance himself from Combs last month when questioned by DailyMail.com.
In divorce papers, his ex-wife, actress Robin Givens, alleged that their marriage in the late 1980s was marked by “unprovoked fits of violence and destruction.”
Tyson went bankrupt in 2003 and retired from professional boxing in 2006.
He has since appeared on the TV shows Entourage and Brothers, and had a cameo in the hit 2009 comedy film The Hangover.
He is currently preparing to fight Jake Paul four months later than planned after having to withdraw due to a stomach ulcer.
‘Iron Mike’ was initially scheduled to fight Paul on July 20, but suffered a health issue during a flight from Los Angeles to Miami, forcing him to postpone the highly anticipated fight.
“I ate too much bad food and stuff and I got sick,” he told DailyMail.com.
Last month, Paul said he would give Tyson $5 million more if he could last more than four rounds, but said the former undisputed world heavyweight champion would have to get “I love Jake Paul” tattooed on him if he couldn’t achieve that goal reaches. .