"Sometimes I feel like a bitch because I don't want that person to come out ... 'cause if he comes out hell is coming with him."
That's Mike Tyson getting extremely emotional talking about the monster he used to be -- and although Mike says he's a changed man, he's deathly afraid of relapsing.
The boxing legend opened up with Sugar Ray Leonard on the "Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson" podcast ... saying he felt "empty" after his boxing career wrapped up.
"I know the art of fighting, I know the art of war.