Former world heavyweight king Mike Tyson is ready to consign boxing to the past so he can move on with his life.

The man who became the youngest heavyweight champion of the world 20 years ago when he knocked out Trevor Berbick comes to Sussex on Friday as a guest on an amateur boxing show at the Effingham Park Hotel at Copthorne.

Tyson is still considered to be one of the greatest - as well as one of the most feared heavyweights - of all time.

In his prime he routinely beat all- comers in devastating fashion earning him the nickname Iron Mike and the Dynamite Kid.

However, the headlines he made in the ring were matched outside it.

In 1992 he was convicted of rape and served half of a six-year sentence.

Iron Mike suddenly had a new nickname - the Baddest Man on the Planet - but his image then is at odds with how the 39-year-old New Yorker wants to live his life now.

He is currently touring Britain and Ireland and is a more philosophical individual than the self-proclaimed 'monster' of his fighting days.

Brighton's former British heavyweight champion Scott Welch is promoting the show with Lee Greenwood.

Tyson said: "I'm sure when Scott was a fighter he was not the same person that he is now.

"Boxing brought out a lot of demons, aggression and militant characteristics in me.

"I don't like that person any more and I don't want that person as part of my life anymore either.

"I get too extreme. My personality is very extreme and there is no balance. I could be very extreme in an aggressive sense and I'm very extreme in a docile sense too. I need a balance in my life."

Tyson seems surprised at the attention he gets on his tours and the pleasure he gives.

He admitted: "For some reason people enjoy asking me questions and talking to me.

"We go to charities and sometimes visit children's hospitals or Down Syndrome children.

"The children get very excited. Some of them are depressed because they are very sick but I have conversations with the children and I try to encourage them and make them happy.

"I try to make them laugh. They ask me if I know some of the rappers in the States and whether I have met them or know them. I talk about them to the children."

Welch, who is acting as a minder for Tyson on his tour, also coaches at Hove Amateur Boxing Club and has put a lot back into a sport which catapulted him from the world of amateur ranks to a tilt at the world title.

But Tyson does not think he will be following Welch's route into training even though he learned from the best after starting his career with the legendary Cus D'Amato, who also trained former champion Floyd Patterson.

Tyson said: "At this moment in my life I am not responsible enough to do that (coach). I am dealing with a lot of situations in my life and a lot of demons and I am not responsible or mature enough right now. I'm too selfish."

Tyson, however, is looking forward to coming to the county and will drop in at the Hove gym to meet Sussex's fighters of the future.

He said: "I don't believe I have ever been to Sussex before and don't know much about it but I am really looking forward to having a good time."

Tyson may need a little update on the Sussex scene although he does not expect to meet up with old friend Chris Eubank, Brighton's former middle and super-middleweight champion.

He said: "I know Chris very well and always liked talking to him as he is a very interesting person and wonderful guy. In my situation maybe I'm too poor to hang out with Chris. He's a very elite chap nowadays."

When it was pointed out that Eubank had his own financial concerns Tyson replied: "I don't think Chris can be like that, he's too great. He's not reckless like I am."

One person who will want to speak to Tyson is Hove lightweight Ben Murphy who is a student of his style and nicknamed 'Mini Tyson' at the gym. Tyson said: "I don't like fighting but if he asks me anything and I can tell him then I will."

Tickets for the show are available on 01273 775503 or from Lee Greenwood on 07774 520204. There are a number of walk-in tickets at £25 for the question and answer session with Tyson and boxing as well as tickets to the dinner which will be attended by former WBC heavyweight champion Frank Bruno.