Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson has revealed that he is "vicious alcoholic" who is scared that he is "on the verge of dying".

Tyson appeared as a guest pundit on ESPN's Friday Night Fights and admitted he has been suffering for longer than many people had previously thought.

"I wanna live my sober life. I don't wanna die. I'm on the verge of dying, because I'm a vicious alcoholic.

"I'm a bad guy sometimes. I did a lot of bad things, and I want to be forgiven. So in order for me to be forgiven, I hope they can forgive me. I wanna change my life, I wanna live a different life now.

"I haven't drank or took drugs in six days, and for me that's a miracle.

"I've been lying to everybody else that think I was sober, but I'm not. This is my sixth day [of being sober]. I'm never gonna use again."

Tyson successfully defended his world heavyweight title nine times in the late 1980s.