Mike Tyson is a professional heavyweight boxer whose name remains the most recognizable among his colleagues to this day. At one time he was nicknamed the “killer boxer” for his punching power and aggressive behavior in the ring. Olympic champion among juniors, absolute world champion, repeatedly recognized champion according to WBC, WBA, IBF, The Ring. A master of quick knockouts, many of whose records have not yet been broken.
Childhood and youth
Michael Gerard Tyson was born in June 1966 in the Brownsville area of New York. His father was Purcell Tyson, but he abandoned the family before his son was born. Michael was the youngest child: the eldest daughter Denise and son Rodney were growing up in the family. In early childhood, Tyson was very vulnerable. He was offended by his peers, the yard boys and even his older brother. He could not stand up for himself and often suffered because of this, coming home with bruises and without pocket money.
In June 2005, Mike met in the ring with little-known Irish boxer Kevin McBride. Of course, the fans bet on Tyson. But in the 5th round the champion's fatigue began to show, and in the 6th he sat down on the floor and refused to participate in the 7th round. After this fight, Mike announced that he had decided to end his career.
Movies and books
The life story of the popular heavyweight was taken as the basis for several documentaries. This is the mid-90s film "Fallen Champion: The Untold Story of Mike Tyson" and the 2000s works "Beyond Glory" and "Tyson".
Mike Tyson is a world legend, a boxer who for a long time held the title of the best fighter in the world ring, was born on June 16, 1966 in New York, USA.
Childhood
It's hard to believe now, but little Mike was a very soft and vulnerable child. He had a difficult childhood. The father left the family as soon as he learned that another child would be born. But Michael’s mother did not dare to have an abortion and ended up left completely alone with three babies - the newly born baby and his older brother and sister.
In childhood
Naturally, she had to work hard all the time to provide her children with at least the necessities. Michael spent most of his time in the care of his elders, who were not eager to babysit him. The older brother and his company made the baby the object of constant ridicule and often beat him for no reason.
For a long time, Mike endured all the bullying, and by the age of 10 he had developed many complexes. But sooner or later even angelic patience ends. When one of the guys, wanting to bring him to tears once again, in front of the baby’s eyes, tore off the head of one of the pigeons that Mike was constantly feeding, he, as if maddened, rushed at the offender and beat him soundly.
Since then, the boy's life has changed dramatically. He felt confident in himself, and people in the yard even began to fear him. Very soon local bandits drew attention to him, which was very flattering for a boy who grew up in a black neighborhood that lived by its own harsh laws.
He was accepted into one of the local groups, and gradually he became involved in their ordinary life - robberies, theft, night parties.
By the age of 13, he managed to earn a certain authority in the criminal world and was sent to a colony for juvenile offenders. Who knows what the boy’s fate would have been like if you hadn’t had a chance meeting with the legendary Mohammed Ali, who came to the boarding school to talk to difficult teenagers.
This man was then the idol of all the boys. And when he talked about his fate, which began in the same way as the life of young Tyson, he first thought about a boxing career.
Soon Mike was released and practically forgot about this meeting, again plunging into a life of crime. But, once again finding himself behind bars, he learned that their sports classes were taught by a former boxer. The coach seriously talked to the boy and set conditions for him - he would train him only if the boy began to study normally and stopped being rowdy.
By that time, they had long ceased to believe in the possibility of Michael’s correction. He gained fame as a cruel and psychotic fighter who is completely uncontrollable. But his first coach, Bobby Stewart, managed to direct these qualities in the right direction and even teach the guy to control his own emotions.
True, it was not very good - he was able to restrain aggression only for a while.
Carier start
Tyson turned out to be a very capable student, also stubborn and capable of working in the gym for hours. Very quickly he mastered all the techniques that his first coach could teach him and he, realizing that the boy needed to develop further, asked his friend and colleague Casa D’Amato for help.
He met with the teenager and became convinced that Mike was simply obsessed with boxing. By this time, the boy had noticeably improved at school and had no complaints about discipline.
The new coach receives permission to take him to his own home and begins to actively prepare him for his first competitions. When Tyson's mother dies of an incurable disease, he takes custody of him. They maintained a very warm relationship throughout their lives, and Casu D’Amato always remained an indisputable authority for Mike.
In 1981, Tyson entered the amateur ring for the first time. Nobody takes the aspiring teenager seriously, and for many of his opponents this became a fatal mistake. Tyson knocks out one of the first ones just 8 seconds after the gong. After this, not only spectators, but also professional agents of promotion companies begin to closely monitor his career.
During his debut year, Tyson managed to fight more than 30 times, losing only six. Then his career develops rapidly. He actively takes part in competitions at any level and constantly replenishes his piggy bank with awards. In 1984, the coach decides that he is ready to participate in the Olympics. But at the qualifying competitions, Tyson lost the main battle for a place in the team.
Professional career
Then the coach decides to transfer his ward to professional boxing. After another year of preparation, they organized his first fight, which he brilliantly won. During 1985, he entered the ring 15 more times and was always triumphant.
Although it was this stellar year, which rapidly raised the boxer in the world rankings, that was very difficult for him. The most significant person in his life has passed away - the coach who gave him a ticket to big-time sports - Casa D'Amato.
The coaching baton was picked up by the former famous boxer Kevin Rooney, who had his own small managerial staff. Tyson's professional career began to actively develop, and at the age of 20 he entered his first championship fight.
Everyone who was interested in boxing knew that his opponent Trevor Berbick had virtually no chance of retaining the title. And so it happened - after the 2nd round, Tyson was declared champion.
Until 1991, Tyson remained unbeaten and was number one in the world boxing rankings. From time to time he leads a rather wild life, gets into trouble with the police and even dabbles in drugs, but before each entry into the ring he manages to curb himself and win the next battle.
But in 1991 he goes to prison on charges of rape. It is still believed that it was partially fabricated. However, prison took Tyson almost 5 years.
Although Tyson continued to train behind bars and was physically absolutely ready to successfully continue his career, his psyche suffered quite seriously - he became more and more aggressive and uncontrollable every day.
In 1995 he regained the championship title. But in 1996, during the championship fight, Tyson bit off a piece of his opponent’s ear, for which he was disqualified.
The boxer's reputation was greatly shaken after this incident, and for a long time none of the fighters agreed to enter the ring with him. The next fight was organized only in 1999. But this time, Tyson behaved unsportsmanlike - in the first seconds of the fight, he performed a “dirty” move, trying to break his opponent’s arm. He lost the next three fights and in 2005 announced his retirement from his sports career.
Nevertheless, he forever entered the annals of world boxing and, even twice, into the Guinness Book of Records - as the youngest heavyweight champion and as the athlete who performed the most lightning-fast knockouts. Tyson, who escaped poverty from black neighborhoods, is still an example for black boys who inspires them to take up boxing.
Personal life
Tyson was married three times. His first divorce from aspiring actress Robin Givens caused him severe psychological trauma and lightened his pockets by $10 million. Perhaps it was clear to everyone except Tyson himself that this alliance was concluded solely for the sake of money, which the ex-wife eventually received.
With Robin Givens
After his release from prison, Tyson falls in love with a calm, sweet woman pediatrician, who gives birth to two charming children - a son and a daughter. It would seem that this idyll had to be protected with all our might. But Tyson's dark side prevailed again. In 2003, having accused her husband of treason, Monica Turner filed for divorce.
With Monica Turner
Tyson denied it for a long time, but an examination established his paternity. The mother of the child, born in 2002, turned out to be another boxer’s mistress. After the divorce, he goes to her, and soon a girl is born. At the age of 4, she tragically dies after falling into the ropes of a home exercise machine, but Tyson already has a backup option again.
The future world boxing star - Mike Tyson was born on June 30, 1966 in Brooklyn, New York. Grew up without a father. He has an older brother named Rodney and an older sister named Denise. Nothing foreshadowed the results that the future boxer subsequently achieved.
Mike Tyson's childhood
As a child, one of the greatest boxers of our time had a gentle character. Even his older brother, along with the neighboring boys, often mocked him. But this did not last long. Little Mike loved pigeons very much, and one day, when he was 11 years old, a teenager from a street gang snatched his favorite bird from his hands and broke the pigeon’s neck. Mad with anger, Mike brutally beat the guy, and there was a turning point in his character.
Young Mike Tyson was accepted into a street gang, where he quickly gained the respect of teenagers and began stealing and robbing with them. He often ended up in the police station. One day he managed to see the legendary Mohammed Ali, who visited correctional institutions for difficult teenagers. This meeting changed the whole life of the future boxing star; he had a desire to take up this sport.
First coach
At the age of 13, Mike ends up in a special school for juvenile delinquents - at that time he was considered incorrigible. A former boxer, Bobby Steward, worked there as a physical education teacher. After Tyson once again ended up in a punishment cell, the guy decided that he would become a boxer. The steward agreed to train him, but only on the condition that Mike began to study well and correct his behavior. Under the guidance of a teacher, Mike, who was considered completely incorrigible, begins to demonstrate success in boxing and school.
After some time, Bobby Steward began to realize that he could no longer give more to his talented student, and introduced him to the legend, an excellent coach, manager and person, Cass D'Amato. This specialist noticed the talent of the young boxer and created an excellent team of specialists around him. After that, Mike Tyson (height, weight, see below) at the age of 15 (in 1981) made his debut as a boxer at the Holyoke club in New York, where he received the nickname “Tank”. Cass D'Amato replaced his father, and thanks to him, Mike became what he is now.
Mike Tyson's height and weight
For boxers this is an important ratio. According to some reports, Mike Tyson was 180 cm tall and weighed 96-108 kg. But official data varies. There are claims that this figure is 181 cm. So how tall is Mike Tyson really? His height is 178 cm, and his working weight in his best years is 98 kg.
Amateur career
Young Mike Tyson, whose growth in skill was rapid and rapid, won the right to participate in the 1982 Youth Olympic Games, the final of which he won by a brutal knockout over Joe Cortez. It only took him a few seconds to do this. In 1983, Mike lost only one fight to Al Evans. Despite the defeat, the boxer won the right to compete in the prestigious Golden Gloves tournament, but at these competitions he only won a silver medal, suffering a controversial defeat in the final from Craig Payne. This fight was very controversial, and the audience booed Craig after the winner was announced.
1984 Mike Tyson (whose height and weight are 178 cm and 98 kg, respectively) started off great and won all his fights. He dreamed of going to the Olympic Games, which were to be held this year in Los Angeles. Tyson had a qualifying match against Henry Tillman and started successfully, knocking him down in the first round, but did not finish and lost to him with a score of 3:2. According to many experts, Tyson won the fight. He then faced this boxer in another qualifying match, and the judges' decision was the same. Tillman won 3-2 and went on to win the Olympic gold medal. Rumors spread that they simply did not want to let Tyson into the Olympic Games because of his harsh boxing style.
Mike Tyson (height and weight in his best years was small for this category) in 1990 will take revenge on this guy, but in the professional ring, knocking him out in the first round. Mike would win another significant Tammer tournament, held in Tampere in 1984.
The meteoric rise of Mike Tyson's professional career
On March 5, 1985, the professional career of a boxer begins, which will be talked about for many years all over the world. This is the man who will change boxing beyond recognition, his name will become the most popular. All this is Iron Mike Tyson. The growth of his popularity was incredible. In 1985, Mike had 15 fights and won everything, attacking his opponents brightly and swiftly, knocking them out in the first rounds.
The first opponent who was able to hold out in the ring with Iron Mike until the 5th round was Jameson, but most likely this was influenced by the fact that Tyson fought only 13 days ago and did not have time to fully recover. In 1986, Tyson boxed against Jesse Fergusson and broke his nose with a beautiful uppercut at the end of the 5th round, but Jesse miraculously was able to withstand the fierce pressure of the young fighter and was ultimately disqualified for unclean work, since he constantly kept Tyson’s hands in the clinch. This decision was subsequently revised and reclassified as a victory by technical knockout.
July 1986 will be remembered by boxing fans for the fight that many were waiting for. The son of the legendary boxer Joe Frazier, Marvis and Mike were considered the most promising boxers at that time. Mike Tyson's height and weight were considered small for heavyweight boxers, but Iron Mike was able to knock out his opponent in 30 seconds, and this fight became the fastest in his professional career.
1986 was the best year of Mike Tyson's career, he was able to win the championship title and become the world's youngest professional heavyweight champion at the age of 20. But his legendary trainer Cass D’Amato did not live to see this fight - he died shortly before the championship fight. Everyone thought that Mike would not be able to box, but he was able to pull himself together and dedicate the victory to his coach. Before this fight, Kevin Rooney became his new mentor, who received the title of the youngest coach to train a world champion. His opponent was the current world champion in the most prestigious version of the WBC - Trevor Berbick. Mike was simply wonderful and was able to knock out his opponent in the 3rd round. The rapid growth of Mike Tyson at the age of 20 as a heavyweight boxer aroused great interest among all world experts.
Personal life
The great boxer was married several times. His first wife was actress Robin Givens. The marriage of the famous boxer and actress did not last long, about 1 year. It was marked by a large number of scandals and caused great psychological trauma to Mike. The divorce also cost a hefty sum - $10 million. Then Tyson married two more times. The chosen ones were Monica Thorner and Lucky Spicer. With his second wife, Mike had a daughter, Raina, and a son, Amir. Mike cheated on his wife and led a wild lifestyle, which logically led to divorce. After this, Tyson began to live with his mistress, who gave birth to his daughter Exodus, but her fate was tragic. She accidentally hung herself on a loop from a rope that was attached to the exercise machine.
In 2009, at the age of 42, the legendary boxer got married again. From this marriage he has a son, who was born in 2011. Mike also has illegitimate children: Miki, Lorna, Deamata and Kilrain.
Imprisonment
1991 completely broke the boxer's career. Mike met a girl named Desiree Washington, who competed in the Miss Black America beauty pageant, and Tyson visited him. The very next day, the girl accused the boxer of rape. The ex-champion, despite the unconfirmed charges, was sentenced to 6 years in prison. While in prison, the great boxer converted to Islam and received the name Malik Abdul Aziz. In 1995, Tyson, who had been in a correctional facility for 3 years, was released early (for good behavior).
Health problems
Mike had lung problems since childhood and was hospitalized quite often.
The famous boxer also experienced problems with drinking alcohol, which began after his divorce in 1989. There was a period when he even stopped training. After Mike fought against Douglas, he decided to sign up for treatment.
Mike also had a severe drug addiction in the mid-90s until 2010. In this regard, the boxer had problems with the law, and the result was a severely traumatized psyche. His weight increased dramatically and he experienced great discomfort.
In 2007-2010, Mike Tyson, who is not very tall, weighed 160 kilograms. Therefore, starting in 2009, the boxer decided to become a vegetarian and began to train intensively, thanks to which he lost almost 50 kg.
The end of the career of a great boxer
In the 90s of the last century, the career of the great champion began to decline. After he lost to Buster Douglas, and the protest related to the result of the fight from Mike's promoter, Don King, was not accepted, in addition, the opponent refused to hold a rematch, Tyson had to act as a contender for the world title. Thomas Hearns set strict conditions for the boxer to hold the fight. Mike needed to lose weight to 90 kg. Tyson's opponent was Olympic champion Tillman, and Mike successfully took revenge from him for his defeat in the amateur ring.
Then Mike Tyson tried to box for a long time, but constant scandals, as well as alcohol and drug abuse, did not give the great champion a chance to successfully return to the ring after imprisonment. There were famous 2 fights with Evander Hollifield, in one of which Mike bit off a piece of his ear. There was a fight with Briton Lenox Lewis, but Tyson was consistently losing and could not do anything about it.
In 2006, Tyson planned a farewell world tour, but was only able to fight a single fight against little-known boxer Corey Sanders (not to be confused with South African Corey Sanders) and won. Thus ended the career of the legendary boxer. Mike Tyson (the celebrity's height and weight did not seem to foretell the achievement of such high results in the heavyweight division) forever inscribed his name in boxing history as one of the greatest boxers who ever lived on the planet.
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Biography, life story of Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard Tyson (Mike Tyson) is an American professional boxer.
brief information
Date of birth: 06/30/1966.
Place of birth: New York, USA.
Height: 180 cm.
Attack distance: 180 cm.
Track record: 50 victories (44 knockouts), 5 defeats, 2 fights without announcing the result.
Titles: WBC heavyweight champion (1986-90, 1996), WBA heavyweight champion (1986-90, 1996), IBF heavyweight champion (1987-90), The Ring champion (1988-1990), absolute champion world in the heavy weight category among professionals (1987-1990).
Childhood and youth
Michael Gerard Tyson was born on June 30, 1966 in New York City to Lorna Kirkpatrick (née Smith) and Jimmy Kirkpatrick. Mike got the surname Tyson from his mother’s first husband, Purcell Tyson. Jimmy Kirkpatrick left the family before Mike was born, and Lorna and her children (Mike had an older brother, Rodney, and an older sister, Denise) moved to Brownsville, one of the most disadvantaged areas of New York, populated predominantly by blacks. Due to the difficult financial situation, their family had to huddle for several years in a house where there was neither heating nor hot water.
As a child, Mike was distinguished by an extremely gentle character and inability to stand up for himself. His older brother Rodney and the neighboring boys, and later his classmates, constantly mocked him, beat him, took away the change and sweets that his mother gave him. However, at the age of either 9 or 11 years old, Mike experienced a turning point. As he himself says, one day one of the members of a local street gang, who was several years older, snatched his beloved pigeon from his hands (breeding pigeons was Mike’s favorite pastime since childhood and remained his main hobby in adulthood) and tore off its head. Enraged, Mike attacked his attacker and brutally beat him. This episode earned Mike the respect of local juvenile bandits, who accepted him into their company and taught him to pick pockets, steal and rob stores. All these activities, naturally, resulted in repeated visits to correctional institutions for juvenile offenders. During one of these visits, Tyson managed to meet with, who came to the correctional center to communicate with difficult teenagers and try to set them on the right path. Tyson himself later recalled that it was after meeting with him that he first thought about a boxing career.
CONTINUED BELOW
At the age of 13, Tyson was sent to a special school for juvenile offenders located in northern New York. By this time, he was considered incorrigible and was distinguished by enormous physical strength for his age: when Mike lost his temper, he could only be calmed down by the joint efforts of several adult men. At the school where Tyson was assigned, former boxer Bobby Stewart worked as a physical education teacher. Having once found himself in a punishment cell for yet another violation of the regime, Mike suddenly asked for the opportunity to talk to him. Stuart came to him and Mike said he wanted to become a boxer. Stuart agreed to train him on the condition that Mike would not violate discipline.
Mike's behavior after this really changed for the better, and after some time Stuart made another agreement with him: the better Mike does at school, the more Stuart practices boxing with him. And it worked: Tyson, who had previously been considered mentally retarded, managed to significantly improve his academic performance. He was so obsessed with boxing that school staff would sometimes find him training at 3 or 4 a.m., shadow boxing or working out muscles in his room. In a later interview, Stewart recalled that Tyson, who was then 13 years old, literally knocked him down with his jab, but Bobby himself was a good amateur boxer and just five years earlier, competing in the light heavyweight division, he won the prestigious Golden Gloves tournament.
After some time, Stewart realized that his student had already outgrown himself, and brought Mike to the legendary trainer and manager Cus D'Amato, who trained two world champions - heavyweight and light heavyweight Jose Torres, as well as a number of other strong boxers. When he first saw Mike, D “Amato asked Stuart what they fed the juvenile delinquents at their school: 13-year-old Mike weighed 80 kilograms at the time and had well-developed muscles. And when Tyson and Stewart entered the ring, Cas was convinced that this teenager had all the makings of a future world champion.
By this time, D’Amato had almost completely moved away from big boxing and was mainly working with difficult teenagers. After some time, Mike moved into his house, joining the motley crew who lived there, and after the death of Tyson’s mother, D’Amato took out official guardianship over him.
Amateur boxing
At the age of 15, Tyson began an amateur career, which was not as successful for him as one might have expected: according to various sources, Mike spent from twenty-five to thirty fights in the amateur ring, suffered at least six defeats (he lost two fights ahead of schedule, and once he was even knocked out; he was knocked out by a certain Tybius Flowers, for whom this became the only more or less noticeable achievement in boxing). In 1984, Tyson nevertheless became one of the candidates for the US Olympic team, but never made it to the Olympics, because in the qualifying competitions he lost twice to Henry Tillman, who later became an Olympic champion (as a professional, Tyson took convincing revenge from Tillman, knocking him out in first round).
Professional boxing
On March 4 (according to other sources - 6), Mike Tyson entered the professional ring for the first time. While living with Cus D'Amato, Mike watched a lot of videos of old professional fights and, impressed by what he saw, chose an image for himself that was quite unusual for those times: he entered the ring without music, without a robe, in simple black shorts and boxer shorts. barefoot Tyson's first professional opponent was a certain Hector Mercedes, who was knocked out in the first round. During his first year in the professional ring, Tyson had 15 fights and won early victories in all of them. Experts began to say that Cas D'Amato managed to raise an ideal heavyweight who would definitely become a world champion. However, Cas himself did not live to see this: in November 1985, the 77-year-old coach died of pneumonia.
The death of D'Amato was a heavy loss for Mike, but he still had the best boxing team in the world around him, consisting of trainer Kevin Rooney, as well as managers Jim Jacobs and Bill Caton, and he continued his path to the top. Among the fights held Tyson in 1986, there were only two in which his opponents managed to leave the ring on their own feet: first, the fragile (for a heavyweight) James Tillis ran away from him for ten rounds (at the end Mike began to catch up with him and managed to knock him down, however Tillis still made it to the final bell), and in the next fight this “achievement” was repeated by Mitch Green. Since neither Tillis nor Green were considered particularly strong boxers, these results gave a number of journalists reason to say that Tyson had stopped progressing and in general is experiencing serious problems in meetings with high opponents. However, several skeptics could not influence the general euphoria about the future champion, and Tyson quickly found excuses, remembering that Tillis is a rather technical boxer who could have achieved more if he had better physical training, and Green, who came to the boxing ring literally from the street, was once a member of a gang that rivaled the one that Tyson was a part of, and therefore had simply a frenzied motivation to fight.
After fighting six more times and defeating, among others, Marvis Frazier, the son of former world heavyweight champion Joe Frazier, on November 22, 1986, at the age of twenty years and five months, Tyson entered his first championship fight. His opponent was Jamaican-Canadian boxer Trevor Berbick, who had won the WBC title a few months earlier in a fight with Pinklon Thomas. Berbick, in principle, was considered a good, albeit very unstable boxer, but in the fight with Tyson he was assigned the role of a victim in advance. And so it happened: having barely survived the first round, in the second Berbick was on the floor twice (more precisely, even four times, since after the second knockdown he tried to get up twice, but fell again), and referee Mills Lane stopped the match. “I am a world champion, and I am ready to fight anyone in the world”“, Tyson said in a post-match interview.
Three months later it was the turn of WBA champion James “Bonebreaker” Smith. Despite such a terrifying nickname, “Bonebreaker” was a very ordinary boxer, who went down in history only by becoming the first world heavyweight champion with a higher education. Smith turned professional when he was already approaching 30, and by the time of the fight with Tyson he had only fought 24 fights, winning 19 of them and losing in five. Nevertheless, it was not at all easy for Mike to defeat him: Smith constantly tied his hands, not allowing him to land a single clean blow during the entire fight, and in the end he exploded himself and almost became the author of a sensation, managing to put Tyson on the brink of a knockdown. As he recalled several years later, it was this fight that he most often watched when preparing for his meeting with Tyson, since many of the shortcomings of Mike’s technique became very clearly visible in it, in particular, the poor effectiveness of his actions in close combat. But be that as it may, Tyson won by unanimous decision and added a second championship belt to his collection.
Mike had his next fight less than three months later. His opponent was former world champion Pinklon Thomas, who managed to last less than six rounds. That same day, Tony Tucker and James “Buster” Douglas were finding out which of them would become the new IBF champion and Tyson’s next opponent. Tucker won by technical knockout in the tenth round. It is worth noting that the fight was fairly even, but Douglas was either exhausted or psychologically broken, and at some point he simply stopped responding to blows.
The fight between Mike Tyson and Tony Tucker took place on August 1, 1987 and began with a slight surprise: at the beginning of the first round, Tucker seriously shook Tyson with a left uppercut and almost knocked him down. Only towards the end of the round did Mike manage to come to his senses and even out the course of the fight. In the second round, Tucker injured his hand, but nevertheless, up until the middle of the fight he fought quite evenly and by the sixth round he lost very little in the judges’ notes. However, then the IBF champion went into full defense and only in the twelfth round he unsuccessfully tried to spurt. As a result, Tyson won this fight by unanimous decision and became the absolute world heavyweight champion.
Over the next two years, Tyson had six fights, alternately defeating the 1984 Olympic champion Tyrell Biggs, former world champions Tony Tubbs and Michael Spinks, future world champion Frank Bruno, and a fairly strong heavyweight Carl Williams.
At the same time, an event occurred in Tyson’s life that, as many believe, had an extremely negative impact on his psychological state and boxing career: Mike married aspiring actress Robin Givens. Their marriage lasted only about a year, but it was a very turbulent year: Mike had to go through loud scandals, public humiliation and even fights (fragile Robin did not hesitate to slap her husband on occasion). All this put Tyson on the brink of a nervous breakdown and, apparently, seriously undermined his mental health. Already in 1987, he began to neglect training, and then completely dispersed his team, which consisted of managers and trainers who had worked with him since the days of Cus D’Amato, and went under the patronage of the notorious promoter Don King. In 1988, Tyson suffered a concussion after crashing his car into a tree. According to one version, it was a suicide attempt.
In February 1990, Mike Tyson came to Japan to make another defense of his titles against James Douglas, who at that time was considered nothing more than a decent second-tier boxer. The same Douglas who in 1987 missed his chance to win the championship title by losing the fight to Tony Tucker. Few people then doubted Tyson's victory. Bets on the fight were made at a rate of 45 to 1 in his favor. However, on February 11, 1990, in front of thousands of spectators filling the Tokyo Dome and millions watching the fight live, the most sensational event in boxing history took place. A hopeless outsider, Douglas boxed like never before in his life, and in all respects defeated the absolute champion, winning almost every episode, and then knocking out Tyson in the tenth round.
So Mike again found himself in the role of a contender. He fought two more fights in 1990, winning both by knockout in the first round, and in 1991 he faced popular Canadian heavyweight Donovan Ruddock twice. Ruddock, a physically strong but very limited boxer, lost both fights, but nevertheless managed to demonstrate to everyone how much Tyson did not really live up to the image of the “ideal boxer” that journalists and the public had created for him by that time. Almost not inferior to Tyson in physical strength, Ruddock simply did not allow himself to be crushed, as happened with Mike’s other rivals. Unexpectedly, it turned out that if an opponent manages to resist a brute force attack, Tyson cannot rebuild and beat him.
In the summer of 1991, another episode occurred in Tyson’s life that radically changed his fate. Mike attended the Miss Black America beauty pageant, where he met one of the participants, a certain Desiree Washington. Miss Washington favorably accepted the ex-champion's advances, they rode together in his car, hugged near the hotel where Mike lived, and then went up to his room. A day later, Washington said Tyson raped her. Despite a lot of circumstantial evidence and testimony confirming that everything happened by mutual consent, the court sided with the victim, and Mike was sentenced to six years in prison, of which he served about three. He was released only in March 1995, having managed to convert to Islam in prison and get acquainted with the works of Voltaire, Mao Zedong and.
Tyson fought his first fight after returning from prison on August 19, 1995 against hereditary boxer Peter McNealy. Already in the first round, McNealy was on the floor twice and was disqualified because his seconds jumped into the ring. After having another warm-up fight, in March 1996, Tyson faced WBC champion Frank Bruno and defeated him by technical knockout in the third round.
According to WBC rules, Tyson had until September 2, 1996 to defend his title against the mandatory challenger, who at that time was. Mike's team, however, did not want this fight, and offered a $4 million buyout so that he would refuse it himself. agreed, but the WBC still stripped Tyson of the title, not wanting to sanction his unification fight with WBA champion Bruce Seldon. However, Tyson did not remain without the title for long: the fight with Seldon did take place on September 7, 1996, and Mike needed less than two minutes to break the resistance of the completely demoralized champion.
In November 1996, the long-awaited fight between Mike Tyson and Mike Tyson finally took place, preparations for which began even before Mike went to prison. Tyson was the favorite in this fight (bet on him was accepted at the rate of 22 to 1), however, who was considered by that time an old and “broken” fighter, managed to surprise all experts and boxing fans by winning a difficult but indisputable victory. The first five rounds of the fight took place with varying degrees of success; in the sixth, Tyson was knocked down, and starting from the ninth, the advantage became overwhelming. In the tenth round, he simply beat Tyson, who miraculously stayed on his feet, and in the eleventh round the referee stopped the fight, recording Mike's defeat by technical knockout.
Despite the fact that the victory was very confident, Tyson again approached the rematch, which took place on June 28, as a favorite. The fight was surrounded by unprecedented excitement: suffice it to say that all 16 thousand tickets for it were sold out on the first day. However, instead of an exciting boxing match, this time the audience saw something completely unexpected: in the third round, Mike, offended by having hit his head several times, bit off a piece of his right ear and then pushed him in the back. Referee Mills Lane called a doctor, who, after examining his ear, ruled that he could continue the fight. Lane deducted two points from Tyson (one each for biting and pushing), and the fight continued. After some time, Tyson again bit his opponent's ear, this time on the left, and was disqualified. As Tyson left the ring, disappointed spectators shouted insults at him and threw garbage at him. After that, the label of a cannibal stuck to Tyson forever, and even at Madame Tussauds, his wax figure was moved from the gym to the hall of horrors, placing it next to the figure of the movie cannibal Hannibal Lecter.
The next time Mike had a chance to enter the ring only a year and a half later. In principle, he was disqualified for life for the incident, but Tyson’s popularity and the income generated by his fights could not leave boxing officials indifferent, who, after taking a pause required by decency, still allowed him to compete. Meanwhile, during these year and a half, Mike managed to show himself at his worst. He became completely uncontrollable and had several extremely unpleasant incidents, ranging from beating up two elderly men with whom he had a conflict over a minor traffic accident, and ending with an outburst of aggression at a meeting of the boxing commission, which was considering the issue of lifting his disqualification . In 1998, psychiatrists who examined Tyson determined that he suffered from low self-esteem and experienced severe bouts of depression.
Unfortunately, the fight with Francois Botha, which took place in January 1999, only confirmed the fact that Mike’s psyche was not all right. The first round ended just as Mike openly tried to break his opponent's arm, and his seconds had to pull him away from Botha with the help of local security officers. Despite Tyson's victory by knockout in the fifth round, his boxing reputation suffered greatly after this fight. Mike's shots lost their accuracy, he missed a lot, and his winnings did not look logical at all.
Tyson had his next fight in October 1999, after leaving prison, where he served three and a half months for fighting. His opponent was former world cruiserweight champion Orlin Norris. That bout ended without a result being declared as Norris was unable to get out of the corner after Tyson struck him at the bell to end the round. The fight with Norris was followed by quick victories over Julius Francis, Lou Savarese and Andrzej Golota (the result of this fight was annulled after traces of marijuana were found in Tyson's tests). Following this, Mike again took a year-long break and next entered the ring only in October 2001 against the Dane Brian Nielsen. The fight was won by technical knockout in the seventh round (Nielsen refused to leave the corner after the break), but Mike looked rather pale in it.
Nevertheless, Tyson's next opponent was supposed to be the universally recognized world heavyweight champion, talk about a meeting with whom had been going on for several years. The fight was supposed to take place on April 6, 2002 in Las Vegas. However, the joint press conference of the boxers that took place on January 22 of the same year escalated into a fight, during which Tyson attacked the bodyguard, and then, in the ensuing melee, grabbed the champion’s leg with his teeth. At the same time, Las Vegas police announced their intention to charge Tyson with another rape that allegedly occurred in September 2001 (the charge was never filed). As a result, the Nevada State Boxing Commission refused to return Tyson's boxing license, and the organizers of the match had to look for a new venue.
As a result, Tyson's fight took place on June 8, 2002 in Memphis. Journalists who were present at Tyson's training before the fight noted that he was in very good shape, and, to the surprise of many, the bookmakers also made Tyson the favorite in this fight. However, soon after the start of the fight it became clear that Tyson could do little to oppose the champion. If the first round was even more or less equal, then the battle began to take on a completely one-sided character. Even the obvious bias of the referee, who made comments at every opportunity and tried in every possible way to help Mike, could not seriously change the pattern of the fight. struck dozens of unanswered blows, and Tyson only managed to reach his tall opponent a few times. The denouement came in the eighth round, when Tyson was first knocked down, and then ran into a strong counter blow, after which he could no longer get up. At the post-match press conference, Tyson told reporters that he was very glad that he managed to leave the ring alive that evening.
Immediately after the fight, conversations began about a rematch, and, having received the largest fee of his life for the first fight, he was not at all averse to meeting Mike again. However, Tyson openly admitted that he did not want to be beaten again and would like to first have a couple of fights against weaker opponents in order to get in shape.
Tyson had his next fight in March 2003 against Clifford Etienne, who was considered quite a promising boxer at the time. The fight lasted only 49 seconds and ended with Etienne, who found himself on the floor after the first serious blow, unable (or unwilling) to get up. During the preparation for this fight and after it, many noticed that Mike had changed. He seemed to have lost much of his aggressiveness, becoming, in his own words, "domesticated animal".
Mike promised that he would return to the gym immediately after the fight with Etienne, but the pause that followed turned out to be one of the longest in his career. At one time it seemed that Mike would never get into the ring again, but a difficult financial situation (Tyson declared himself bankrupt in August 2003), as well as the emergence of a certain “vacuum” in the heavyweight division, stimulated his return to boxing.
On July 31, 2004, Mike Tyson entered the ring against the rather famous British boxer Danny Williams. The first round of this fight was one of the best rounds spent by Mike in recent years, but then Tyson gave up abruptly, began to miss punches and go into the clinch on his own initiative, and in the fourth round, after a protracted series of Williams, he found himself on the floor and could not get up until the end referee's countdown. An explanation for this unexpected defeat followed immediately: it turned out that in the first round Mike received a serious knee injury, which deprived him of the ability to move normally around the ring and throw punches. A few days later, Tyson had surgery and spent several weeks in a cast.
Mike's return to the professional ring took place on June 11, 2005. His opponent was the large but rather weak Irishman Kevin McBride, who did not have a single victory over a boxer of a decent level. Nevertheless, even such an opponent turned out to be too much for the 38-year-old Tyson: from the very beginning of the fight he looked slow and allowed McBride to keep a favorable distance for him, and by the sixth round he was completely exhausted and refused to continue the fight.
In a post-fight interview, Mike Tyson said that he did not want to disgrace his favorite sport by losing to opponents like Mikebride, and therefore was retiring from boxing. It is impossible to say right away whether this decision was final or whether the multimillion-dollar debts hanging over him will still push the most popular boxer of all time to make another comeback. But some time later, boxing fans realized that Mike was not joking. Although in 2006 Tyson launched a world tour with exhibition fights with the most famous boxers -
Mike Tyson, whose children are undoubtedly proud of their father, a world boxing legend of the twentieth century, has set a dozen records that have not been broken to this day. He has starred in more than 50 films, TV series and shows. He became the prototype for many animated and computer characters. Moreover, he has three criminal records, three marriages and eight children.
Mike Tyson: wife
Mike Tyson first got married in 1988. His chosen one was actress Robin Givens, who by the time they met had managed to star in Playboy.
This marriage ended in scandal, litigation and Tyson's nervous breakdown.
Mike later stated that Givens forced him to marry by announcing her pregnancy, and the reason for their divorce was his wife’s affair with Brad Pitt.
Robin Givens, in turn, said in an interview that the marriage did not work out after a miscarriage, and Mike regularly beat her. In 2007, she released an autobiography in which she talked about how Tyson once raped her.
The couple divorced in 1989 on Valentine's Day. After the divorce, Givens received $10 million and the unspoken title of “The Most Hated Woman in America.”
She, like Tyson, had problems with the law. Robin was brought to court for traffic violations and tax evasion.
The second time Tyson decided to tie the knot was only in 1997. His chosen one was Monica Turner.
Even before the official marriage, Monica gave Mike a daughter, Ryan, and a year after the wedding, a son, Amir.
This marriage lasted six years. Monica then demanded a divorce, alleging Mike's numerous infidelities.
The last time the legendary boxer married was in 2009 to a woman who was more than ten years younger than him.
Mike met his beloved when she was 18 years old. Lakia Spicer, that was the girl’s name, often attended boxing matches with her father.
They got married when Lakia was already 32 years old. Moreover, before the wedding, she spent six months in prison for participating in her father’s scams.
Upon release, Lakia gave birth to Mike's daughter Milan. They still have a happy marriage to this day.
Mike Tyson: children
Another interesting part of life that Mike Tyson is proud of is his children. The legendary athlete is the father of many children.
The eldest - the boy Deamata Kilrain and Micki's daughter Lorna - appeared a year after Mike's first divorce, in 1990.
Although these children were technically born out of wedlock, Tyson supports them in every possible way.
During her second marriage, Monica Turner gave birth to Tyson's daughter Raina and son Amir. Today the boy is already 20 years old. He begins an acting career and appeared in an episode of the documentary "Tyson".
Turner's accusations of infidelity were not unfounded. When Mike was married to her, he had an illegitimate son, Miguel Leon, and a daughter, Exodus.
The girl died at the age of four in an accident. And her death radically changed the boxer’s life: he gave up all bad habits and became a vegetarian.
In Mike's last marriage, three children were born. While in prison, Lakia was pregnant. A few months after her release, she gave birth to a daughter, Milan. In 2011, the couple had another child, a boy, Morocco Elliya, and in 2013, their son Miguel was born.
Today Mike Tyson retired from sports. He no longer makes scandals and lives as a respectable family man with a loving wife and children.
