Boxer Mike Tyson labels his life a "total waste" now his ruined career has forced him to turn to pals and homeless shelters in a desperate search for a bed.

The former heavyweight champion has been living rough since filing for bankruptcy last October (03) and is humiliated the drug dealers he's encountering are more cash rich than him, despite his years of glory in the ring.

But Tyson - who has just been handed a lifeline after accepting a $14 million (GBP7.7 million) settlement from promoter DON KING - doesn't crave the wealth he once experienced, because it turned him into an animal.

He says, "For the past two years, I have been a bum, truly a bum in the streets. I've got nowhere to live. I've been crashing with friends, sleeping in shelters.

"Unsavoury characters are giving me money, and I'm taking it. I need it. The drug dealers, they sympathise with me. They see me as some sort of pathetic character. They have got more money than me. Imagine that.

"When I had money I was an animal. I wasn't that nice a person. Just because you buy mansions and cars doesn't mean you know what money is worth. I lost it all across the board. My life has been a total waste."

28/06/2004 13:57