Mike Tyson said his daughter convinced him to deal with Boosie’s homophobia

“I used to be Boosie.”

That is Mike Tyson explaining why he felt compelled to go up against the rapper Boosie Badazz on his history of gay discrimination comment … says he knows what it feels like to go from stupid to enlightenment.

Tyson got right to the point with Boosie during a recent recording for his podcast, “Hotboxin ‘with Mike Tyson” … condemned Boosie’s insulting comments about Dwyane Wadechild of Zaya, WHO recently launched as a transgender girl.

In the podcast, Tyson emphasized Boosie about the cause of his hatred – wondering if Boosie’s aggression stemmed from his insecurity about his sexuality.

It was a powerful moment that seemed to have resonated with Boosie … and Tyson was cheered for the way he handled it.

But, Tyson told “TMZ Live” the conversation probably wouldn’t have happened without his daughter – who passionately told the boxing legend why Boosie needed to be bluntly addressed.

“My daughter,” Tyson said … “She flew all the way from New York City to Los Angeles, California for me to be there because she thought Boosie lacked respect for her so she had to go up against him. . “

Yeah, you read it right.

Instead, Mike listened to what his daughter said and ended up believing she came up with a solid score.

Mike said his daughter argued that Boosie’s comments were “disrespectful to the community” – and she was so passionate about confronting him, mike worried things would go wrong.

“But, he behaves like a gentleman,” Tyson said of Boosie … “Everything went well. Things weren’t going as I expected. My daughter has a lot of courage and a lot of things.”

Now, Tyson says he’s cheering for Boosie to grow out of their conversation and “win the fight with those demons.”

Also … Tyson also explained to Harvey and Charles the reason why he decided back to boxing and why he predicted “PAIN” for his upcoming rival Roy Jones Jr. as they clashed at the Staples Center on November 28.