Mike Tyson said he has been vaccinated for COVID-19 but 'didn’t do it willingly'

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Mike Tyson said he has been vaccinated for COVID-19, but the legendary boxer sounded compelled to share something about his decision to get the shot.

“I didn’t do it willingly," Tyson told USA TODAY Sports during an interview at his cannabis company. “I’m a little apprehensive of that. I was pretty much beaten into submission to do this because I travel internationally. And if I don’t travel, we don’t eat.

“So I decided to take the risk and take the shot. And people, they have their own choice. I never got sick.’’

Read the complete Q&A with Tyson, including his thoughts on death, Donald Trump and his new film with Bruce Willis.

Tyson, 55, said he thinks he might have had COVID-19 at one point “because I was coughing a lot and I was in this place with a lot of people. The whole day I was just coughing, throwing up water, so I was dehydrated."

But the symptoms passed, he said.

“I might have caught it, but I feel great now,’’ he said. “I really feel well. The best I ever felt."