Mike Tyson refused to let his life be ruled by a childhood molestation.

The former heavyweight boxing champion of the world has revealed he was subjected to the horrific incident during his younger years, but insisted it "did not [have] a big impact" on his life and he "outgrew" thinking about it when he became a professional fighter.

He said: "It was nobody's business to know. It doesn't make me any less of a man, because it happened. I never told anyone about it.

"It doesn't make me uncomfortable, it's just something that happened. Not a big impact in my life.

"I think I outgrew that during my fighting days."

Despite insisting the incident didn't have much of an effect on him, the 51-year-old star admitted he has since been determined that nobody would ever pick on him like that again.

When 'ESPN E:60' interviewer Jeremy Schapp asked Tyson if he "carried that rage" throughout his career, he responded: "I could have ... definitely. No doubt about it. If you put it in that perspective. Yeah. Nobody is never going to pick on me again."

Tyson got emotional when the subject of his mentor Cus D'Amato, who died of pneumonia in November 1985, a year before the boxer won his first ever world championship, came up and he broke down in tears.

The former fighter added: "He just met me. I'm a little kid, he says, 'You're going to be the world champ.'

"I don't know what he said. How do I do an interview about him, I start crying? How did this guy know? How did he know I was the one?"