RIYADH (AFP) – Former boxing champion Mike Tyson, who converted to Islam while in jail in the 1990s, is visiting the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina on pilgrimage, a Saudi daily reported on Saturday.

Tyson, who was world heavyweight champion from 1986 to 1990, arrived on Friday in Medina with the Canadian Dawa Association for the umrah, or minor pilgrimage, the newspaper Okaz said.

From Medina he will travel on to Mecca and also plans to visit other Saudi cities, it reported.

Tyson, 44, converted to Islam while serving a 10-year prison sentence, later commuted to three years, for raping a US beauty queen in 1991.

After prison he attempted a comeback, but was never able to regain his title and finally gave up professional boxing in 2005.

Last January, he took part in a WWE Raw pro wrestling event in the United States.