I'm A Vicious Alcoholic On The Verge Of Dying - Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson has not been living the sober life … not by a long shot … in fact he says his alcohol addiction is so dire he's on the "verge of dying."

Tyson dropped the bombshell at a press conference Friday in New York … telling reporters he's been lying to everyone for years about staying sober. He confessed, "I wanna change my life, I wanna live a different life now. I wanna live my sober life. I don't wanna die. I'm on the verge of dying, because I'm a vicious alcoholic."

Tyson — who has been in and out of rehab over 3 times — said he's been drug and alcohol free for 6 days now and never wants to drink again. The 47-year-old former champ was in New York to promote his upcoming fight card with Iron Mike Productions. A rep for Mike tells TMZ..

"Unfortunately Mike has made some mistakes recently but fortunately he now recognizes them and is willing to fight his way back to the road of recovery."