Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard Tyson was born on the 30th of June 1966 at Cumberland Hospital in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. He grew up in Bedford-Stuyvesant before his family moved to Brownsville when he was ten years old. The neighborhood had a high rate of crime and violence that shaped his early life. By the age of thirteen, he had been arrested thirty-eight times for petty crimes and fighting those who mocked his lisp. His mother worked as a prostitute while his stepfather Jimmy Kirkpatrick abandoned the family shortly after Mike's birth. He ended up at the Tryon School for Boys in Johnstown, New York where boxing was discovered by counselor Bobby Stewart. Stewart noted that Tyson could bench press more than his own weight. Through Stewart, Tyson met boxing manager Cus D'Amato who became his legal guardian after his mother died when he was sixteen.
Tyson made his professional debut as an eighteen-year-old on the 6th of March 1985 in Albany, New York against Hector Mercedes. He won via first-round technical knockout and went on to win twenty-six of his first twenty-eight fights by KO or TKO. Sixteen of those victories came in the opening round alone. On the 22nd of November 1986, Tyson defeated Trevor Berbick to claim the World Boxing Council heavyweight championship at just twenty years and four months old. This made him the youngest heavyweight champion in history. He added the WBA title by defeating James Smith on the 7th of March 1987 in Las Vegas. Then on the 1st of August 1987, he took the IBF belt from Tony Tucker in a twelve-round unanimous decision. Tyson became the first heavyweight boxer to simultaneously hold all three major belts. His explosive punching technique involved crouching before throwing hooks or uppercuts to add leg power. He knocked down Lorenzo Boyd, Jesse Ferguson, and Jose Ribalta with this signature combination. In June 1988, he knocked out Michael Spinks in ninety-one seconds during their lineal championship bout.
On the 11th of February 1990, Buster Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson in Tokyo to end his undisputed reign. The fight was considered one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. Tyson was a forty-two-to-one betting favorite entering the match. Douglas recovered from an eighth-round knockdown to deliver a brutal uppercut in the tenth round that sent Tyson down for the first time in his career. Referee Octavio Meyran counted him out after a four-punch combination of hooks. Just thirty-five seconds into the round, the previously undefeated baddest man on the planet fell. The Tyson camp complained afterward about slow counting procedures. Douglas had taken longer than ten seconds to get back on his feet according to Tyson's team. This loss marked a turning point in public perception of the fighter who had been considered invincible. Tyson later said losing to Douglas was the greatest moment of his career because it made him a better person and fighter.
Tyson was arrested in July 1991 for raping eighteen-year-old Desiree Washington at the Canterbury Hotel in Indianapolis. Washington was a contestant in the Miss Black America pageant rehearsals held in the city. Her testimony described how Tyson called her around 1:45 AM to tour the city before taking her back to his hotel room. She stated he pinned her down and raped her after she refused his sexual proposition. Three days after the assault, Washington went to police with her accusations. The trial lasted from January 26 to the 10th of February 1992 at Marion County superior court. On the 10th of February 1992, Tyson was convicted of rape after jury deliberation lasting nearly ten hours. He received six years in prison along with four years probation. Tyson was assigned to the Indiana Youth Center in April 1992 where he served less than three years before release. He left on parole in March 1995 with tattoos of tennis player Arthur Ashe and Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong. Tyson dates his tattoo of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara to this time period. He has continued to maintain his innocence throughout his life.
After being released from prison in 1995, Tyson won comeback bouts against Peter McNeeley and Buster Mathis Jr. His first fight back grossed more than ninety-six million dollars worldwide including a United States record sixty-three million for pay-per-view television. One point five two million homes purchased the viewing setting both viewership and revenue records. In March 1996, Tyson regained the WBC title by knocking out Frank Bruno in the third round. He added the WBA belt by defeating Bruce Seldon in September that year. The rematch against Evander Holyfield took place on the 28th of June 1997 at Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena. The highly anticipated event drew even more attention than the first bout and grossed one hundred million dollars. Tyson received thirty million while Holyfield earned thirty-five million as the highest paid professional boxing purses until 2007. The fight was stopped at the end of the third round when Tyson bit Holyfield's ears twice. Referee Mills Lane deducted two points after the first bite but disqualified him following the second incident. A piece of Holyfield's right ear was found on the ring floor after the severe first bite. Three million dollars were immediately withheld from Tyson's purse by the Nevada state boxing commission.
Tyson filed for bankruptcy in August 2003 after years of financial struggles despite earning over three hundred million dollars during his career. Media reported he had approximately twenty-three million dollars in debt at the time. On the 30th of July 2004, he lost to Danny Williams in Louisville, Kentucky by knockout in the fourth round. This marked his fifth career defeat and led to surgery for a torn ligament four days later. His manager Shelly Finkel claimed Tyson could not throw significant punches due to the knee injury. He quit before the start of the seventh round against Kevin McBride on the 11th of June 2005 ending his professional boxing career. Tyson stated he fought McBride for a payday without anticipating victory while being in poor physical condition. After losing three of his last four fights, he said he would quit because he felt he had lost his passion for the sport. In 2000, accountants prepared statements showing he started the year three point three million dollars in debt but earned sixty-five point seven million that same year.
Tyson appeared in movies including Rocky Balboa released in 2006 and The Hangover from 2009. His autobiography Undisputed Truth was published in November 2013 appearing on The New York Times Best Seller list. He received the Sportel Special Prize for best autobiography at the Golden Podium Awards Ceremony. Iron Ambition followed as his second memoir published in May 2017 detailing his time with trainer Cus D'Amato. Both books were written with Larry Sloman. Tyson launched Mike Tyson's Legends Only League in July 2020 partnering with Sophie Watts and Eros Innovations company. The first event featuring Roy Jones Jr. took place on the 28th of November 2020 at Staples Center becoming the highest selling pay-per-view event of that year. He made an extended cameo appearance in the Telugu-Hindi movie Liger which released the 25th of August 2022. Tyson has been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame alongside Julio Cesar Chavez and Kostya Tszyu on the 12th of June 2011. He also entered the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame in 2013 and Southern Nevada Hall of Fame in 2015.
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Common questions
When and where was Mike Tyson born?
Michael Gerard Tyson was born on the 30th of June 1966 at Cumberland Hospital in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. He grew up in Bedford-Stuyvesant before his family moved to Brownsville when he was ten years old.
How did Mike Tyson become a professional boxer?
Counselor Bobby Stewart discovered boxing talent at the Tryon School for Boys in Johnstown, New York after noting that Tyson could bench press more than his own weight. Through Stewart, Tyson met boxing manager Cus D'Amato who became his legal guardian after his mother died when he was sixteen.
What happened during the Mike Tyson versus Buster Douglas fight on the 11th of February 1990?
Buster Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson in Tokyo to end his undisputed reign despite Tyson being a forty-two-to-one betting favorite entering the match. The fight ended in the tenth round when Douglas delivered a brutal uppercut that sent Tyson down for the first time in his career.
Why was Mike Tyson convicted of rape in 1992?
Tyson was arrested in July 1991 for raping eighteen-year-old Desiree Washington at the Canterbury Hotel in Indianapolis following her testimony about the assault. On the 10th of February 1992, Tyson was convicted of rape after jury deliberation lasting nearly ten hours and received six years in prison along with four years probation.
When did Mike Tyson retire from professional boxing?
Mike Tyson quit before the start of the seventh round against Kevin McBride on the 11th of June 2005 ending his professional boxing career. He stated he fought McBride for a payday without anticipating victory while being in poor physical condition.