Legendary boxer Mike Tyson launches cannabis company Tyson 2.0

Mike Tyson, Tyson 2.0 Chief Brand Officer and Chad Bronstein, Tyson 2.0 Chairman joins the Yahoo Finance Live panel with the latest on his new cannabis venture, Tyson 2.0.

Video Transcript

ZACK GUZMAN: Welcome back to "Yahoo Finance Live." Of course, Mike Tyson, last year, one of the greatest of all time to ever step into the ring, made history coming out of retirement in his fight with Roy Jones, Jr. last year, showing off an impressive form in the ring. And now the man is stepping back into the ring, so to speak, in the world of cannabis, launching his Tyson 2.0 brand at a multitude of price points. And he joins us right now, the legend himself, "Iron" Mike Tyson, alongside Chad Bronstein, Tyson 2.0 chairman along here for the chat as well.

Gentlemen, thanks so much for taking the time to chat. Mike, we'll start with you though, because there are a lot of, I guess, celebrities, sports icons getting into the cannabis space right now. And it's taking a long time for politicians to legalize at a federal level. But why did you want to launch Tyson 2.0 right now?

MIKE TYSON: Hey, Tyson 2.0 is the way to go. And listen, it's just the history of cannabis of which I believe. And I believe I have a dream team of the cannabis world. And Chad's one of them.

ZACK GUZMAN: Yeah, Chad, I mean, when we talk about what Tyson 2.0 is trying to do, there are a lot of companies, obviously, in the cannabis space. It's been growing. A lot more states have been legalizing. You guys are teaming up with multi-state operator Columbia Care. Talk to me about what the brand is going to try to do to differentiate itself.

CHAD BRONSTEIN: Yeah, so I think what Mike said, Mike didn't do himself justice. But Mike has been very vocal in the cannabis space for several years. And so we met through a company called Wesana. And with Tyson 2.0, Mike has a clear vision to really treat people the same way he's been treated, both from psychedelics as well as cannabis.

And so we partnered with Columbia Care to really give us national footprint. Columbia Care obviously has licenses in several markets. And so we're working with Columbia Care and our CEO Adam Wilkes to really bring Tyson 2.0 products to market.

We'll be doing some exclusive drops here in November and December and then going and doing a full launch come January and February. So our differentiation is going to be, obviously, our products, the focus on what we're bringing to market, as well as Mike's input and Adam's input on really what we believe our consumers are looking for.

AKIKO FUJITA: Mike, to Zack's point, there are clear business opportunities in the cannabis space. That's why we've seen so many big names getting into this space. But you've talked about your personal story and the role that cannabis has played in your life. Can you talk a bit about that and why it was so important for you to bring this product to market?

MIKE TYSON: Well, listen let me tell you my experience with cannabis. I stopped smoking cannabis at 18 years old. But I kept drinking. And my life was just miserable. I was out of control. I was fighting with anybody. If somebody came to ask for an autograph, I'd punch them in the face. I was just a mess.

And then after I retired, I started smoking. And what a mistake that was. I should have smoked my whole career. I should have smoked when I was fighting because it put me in this different state of mind. I'm very relaxed. And the more relaxed you are, the better fighter you are, at least in my case I am.

And so I always started using marijuana and cannabis then. And plus, my family will tell you, I'm a totally different person with or without.

ZACK GUZMAN: Yeah, I mean, it's interesting to hear you say you should have started using it earlier, but I think we've heard from a lot of athletes talking about the regenerative effects, NFL athletes talking about it as well. The thing is, you're 55-- you came out of retirement--

MIKE TYSON: And allow me to say, in one of my fights, I did smoke marijuana with Andrew Galata. I broke his cheekbone, an eye socket, his rib. And I should have been doing this from the beginning. And I said, why didn't I? I got fined for that, of course. But it was worth every bit of it.

ZACK GUZMAN: Well, times have changed. I guess, in terms of how people look at cannabis, it's obviously changed a lot. But in terms of your longevity, people talk a lot about Tom Brady still playing in the NFL at age 44. You're stepping back into the ring and fighting at age 55. So I mean, I'm not sure how much cannabis played into that. But I mean, do you think you deserve more respect for still being there fighting at 55?

MIKE TYSON: Well, listen, I won't say cannabis, but I think psychedelics have a big role to play in that. It's just inconceivable if I tried to explain it. And I can't explain it.

[INTERPOSING VOICES]

MIKE TYSON: Excuse me?

AKIKO FUJITA: Mike, I'm going to let you finish your thought.

MIKE TYSON: I was saying, I don't want to say anything disrespectful. I think it's an enhancer. It makes me better, even in the ring. The punches doesn't even hurt as much. You hardly feel them. So it has a lot to do with my comeback, the psychedelics.

AKIKO FUJITA: Chad, let's go back to the business part of the discussion here. I mean, you talked about the opportunities that you see. Can you elaborate a bit more on how you see yourself scaling this business and the upside that you see in terms of the specific markets you're looking to target?

CHAD BRONSTEIN: Yeah, so I'm the founder and CEO of a company called Fivo which is a big technology company in cannabis. And we've always seen, obviously, the huge opportunity.

With Tyson 2.0, the key is going to be, obviously, retail scale. And now with all the multi-state operators that are growing, that gives us the opportunity to grow our product and have retail scale in all markets. But let's talk about even New York specifically. That's always been Mike--

Mike's from New York. It's something that is really special to him. And now with New York being rec and medical, we'll be able to actually have a large footprint in New York in 2022-2023. So there's a lot of opportunity in all markets. And I think we'll see more markets coming on board over the next few years.

So the opportunities are endless in cannabis. We think there's extreme momentum in the space. And again, with Mike being very vocal about it and his products and the rigor we're putting behind it, I think that will have a lot of success.

ZACK GUZMAN: Yeah. And obviously, Columbia Care flexing their First to Flower there in the state of New York, as cannabis sales come on board there. Mike, if I can return to kind of what you just said there in terms of cannabis and psychedelics helping you back in the ring. Of course, people are looking ahead to what you might have planned in terms of the next fight. Rumors looking out to maybe potentially you fighting Logan Paul, the YouTuber, in 2022. What are you looking to do now, I suppose, if you're feeling good back on it?

MIKE TYSON: Anything's possible because, by doing this, we have a great exponent of charities to give to. So the charities win both ways.

ZACK GUZMAN: Yeah, they won when you fought Roy Jones, Jr. too last year as well. I suppose a lot of money could come in with a fight with Logan Paul. You think you could take him on?

MIKE TYSON: You talking to me about that? [LAUGHS] All right, yeah, I think maybe. I'm an old man. I don't know what I can do now. I love this guy.

ZACK GUZMAN: Yeah, no. It's been interesting to watch. And like I said, man, fascinating to see you still do it at age 55, one of the greatest of all time, "Iron" Mike Tyson joining us there. Congratulations again on the launch of Tyson 2.0. Our thanks to Chad Bronstein for joining in here.

MIKE TYSON: Tyson 2.0 is the way to go, baby.