JAMIE FOXX TO PORTRAY MIKE TYSON IN NEW BIOPIC.

All of those years of Jamie Foxx hilariously clowning and spoofing former heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson on stage and on television has paid off. The Oscar-winner will portray Tyson in a Hollywood blockbuster biopic about his controversial career. Tyson, who will also produce the film, personally handpicked Foxx for the lead role. "Jamie Foxx and I will be working together. He will play me in the film about my life. We already talked about it several times," says Tyson. As for Foxx, three years ago, the funnyman-turned-actor, who is also a long time friend of Tyson, sought to acquire the rights to the troubled boxer's life story. Foxx told film website Moviehole.net, “I think the Mike Tyson story is the most interesting thing. Nobody knows the stuff that I know, the stuff that I found out. It would blow your mind. Mike Tyson gives you phrases that, if you listen to it, it’ll blow your mind. They (media) said ‘Mike, how do you feel?’ and he said, ‘I’m happy. I’m more happy now that I don’t have any money,' ‘and they said, ‘Why, Mike?’ Mike said, ‘I don’t have to worry about anything. I’m just here.’ And I said, ‘That’s where you go. Do the story about that and about how he feels now - after he looks back on what all happened.”

Between 1987 and 1990, Tyson reigned as the world's undisputed heavyweight boxing champion, but went into decline after a tumultuous marriage with actress Robin Givens and a rape conviction that landed him in jail in 1992. Tyson's turbulent career continued when he bit off a chunk of Evander Holyfield's ear during a 1997 bout.

AFTER THE JUMP, CONTINUE READING THIS STORY & WATCH FOXX CLOWN TYSON (HE REFERS TO HIM AS A 'PITBULL WITHOUT A LEASH') IN A CLASSIC CLIP FROM ONE OF HIS STAND-UP COMEDY SHOWS.

These days, Tyson insists he is finally free of drugs for the first time in years, admitting he was never completely sober, even in his boxing heyday. He says, "Even when I was training for a fight, there were no drugs, but I would drink. I had never been clean and sober my whole life. This is the first time. I'm tired of losing. I lost the trust of my family, my five kids. I didn't like that way of life and decided to change. I saw the devil and didn't want that." The 41-year-old was jailed for 24 hours last November after pleading guilty to one felony count of cocaine possession and one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence and is currently serving three years' probation.