Mike Tyson

Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966, Brooklyn, New York, USA), also known as "Malik Abdul Aziz" via Islamic conversion, is a former American professional boxer and World Heavyweight Champion, and is considered by many to be one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. In his prime, he routinely defeated prominent opponents in devastating fashion, and was one of the most feared boxers in the sport, known by such nicknames as "Iron" Mike Tyson, Kid Dynamite, and The Baddest Man on the Planet.

His once immensely promising career was undermined by serious personal problems, lack of preparation, and periods of imprisonment. Upon release following his first prison sentence, he made a heavily anticipated comeback, but failed to reclaim his previous dominance. On June 11, 2005, Tyson suffered a defeat to journeyman Kevin McBride, and shortly thereafter retired from the sport.

Early years

Tyson was born and raised in the notorious Brownsville section of Brooklyn to parents Lorna Smith Tyson and Jimmy "the Weasel" Kirkpatrick. His early childhood was marked by poverty and unhappiness, and his mother had to fend for the entire family following the departure of his father when Tyson was two years old. He grew up on the streets of Brownsville, where he would sometimes savagely beat those who ridiculed his high-pitched, lisping voice. As a youth, he was constantly in trouble with the police over petty crime and thuggery. Tyson was passed in and out of juvenile detention centers, and was expelled from high school for fighting. He was discovered by Bobby Stewart, who noted his raw boxing ability and awesome potential for the ring. Tyson was an outstanding physical specimen, weighing 200lbs at the age of 13 and bench pressed more than his own weight. Stewart trained him for a few months, then introduced him to the legendary Cus D'Amato.

Tyson was later removed from reform school by D'Amato, a well-known boxing trainer whose proteges included former champions Floyd Patterson and José Torres. He saw the young boxer's potential and took him off Stewart's hands to train him; he later became Tyson's legal guardian, and Tyson has often referred to his love for D'Amato as a father figure. D'Amato died in 1985, early in Tyson's professional career; some speculate that his death was the genesis of many of the troubles Tyson was to experience as his life and career progressed. Teddy Atlas is another trainer who worked with Tyson in his early career with D'Amato.

Rise to stardom

Mike Tyson made his professional debut on March 6, 1985, in Albany, New York, a match which he won by a first round knockout. He fought frequently in his first two years as a professional, staying undefeated and winning all of his fights by knockout, almost always in the first round. His quality of opposition gradually increased to journeyman fighters and borderline contenders, and his impressive win streak attracted much media attention, leading to his being billed as the next great heavyweight champion. On November 22, 1986, Tyson was given his first title shot, fighting Trevor Berbick for the WBC heavyweight title. Tyson won the title by second round knockout, and at the age of 20 years and 4 months became the youngest heavyweight champion ever. Tyson aged 20 was around 222lbs (101kg), having approximently 5.5 percent body fat, and very stocky for his height (1.75 m). He had an outstanding physique, even though he allegedly never used weights. His neck was said to be as thick and as strong as many peoples legs. Feared for his brute strength, many fighters were too scared to hit him and this was backed up by his incredible hand-speed, accuracy, co-ordination, very powerful hits and timing and was a force to be reckoned with. Perhaps what was most underlooked was Tyson's defensive abilities. Holding his hands high in the peek-a-boo style taught by his mentor Cus D'Amato, he would slip and weave out of the way of the opponent's punches while closing the distance to deliver his own devastating attacks.

Expectations for the young champion were extremely high, and he embarked on an ambitious campaign to fight all the top heavyweights in the world. In 1987, Tyson defended his title against James 'Bonecrusher' Smith on March 7 in Las Vegas, Nevada. He won by unanimous decision and added Smith's WBA title to his existing belt. 'Tyson mania' in the media was becoming rampant. He beat Pinklon Thomas in May with a knockout in the sixth round. On August 13 he took the IBF title from Tony Tucker, winning by unanimous decision to become "undisputed heavyweight champion of the world". His only other fight in 1987 was in October against the 1984 Olympic champion Tyrell Biggs, a great performance from Tyson which ended with a victory by knockout in the seventh round.

Tyson had three fights in 1988. He faced an aged but still game Larry Holmes on January 22, and defeated the legendary former champion by fourth round knockout. He fought contender Tony Tubbs in Tokyo in March, fitting in an easy two round victory amid promotional and marketing work. On June 27, Tyson brutally knocked out former IBF heavyweight champion Michael Spinks at 1:31 of the first round. This fight is often regarded as the climax of Tyson's career because at the time Spinks was believed to be the most legitimate contender and had never lost a fight before meeting Tyson.

Controversy

However, Tyson's problems outside boxing were also starting to gain prominence. His marriage to Robin Givens was heading for divorce, and his future contract was being fought over by Don King and Bill Cayton. In late 1988, Tyson fired longtime trainer Kevin Rooney, the man many credit for honing Tyson's craft after the death of D'Amato. Without Rooney, Tyson's skills slowly deteriorated and he became more prone to looking for the one-punch knockout. In addition, he lost his fabulous defensive skills and began to barrel straight in toward the opponent, neglecting to jab and slip his way in. In 1989, Tyson had only two fights amid personal turmoil. He faced the popular British boxer Frank Bruno in February in a below-par fight, and managed a one round knockout of Carl Williams in July.

In 1989 Tyson was granted an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters from Central State University in Ohio. Many in the academic community expressed displeasure at this (as well as at the practice of giving honorary doctorates to celebrities in general), claiming that it cheapened the value of such awards, particularly for those who had worked years in their fields to earn them ^*.

By 1990 Tyson seemed to have lost direction, and his personal life and training habits were in disarray. In a fight on February 11 he faced outsider James "Buster" Douglas in Tokyo. On paper it looked like an easy victory for Tyson, but Douglas was at an emotional peak after losing his mother to cancer three weeks prior to the fight. Tyson failed to find a way past Douglas's lightning fast jab that had a crippling thirteen-inch reach advantage over his own, and, 35 seconds within the start of the 10th round, Douglas unleashed a crushing combination of blows. Tyson hit the canvas for the first time in his career and did not get back up. The sight of the then 37-0 undefeated champion rolling around on the floor trying to put his mouthpiece back in was an image that contrasted deeply with many boxing fans' perceptions of Tyson up to that point. Tyson lost all of his belts.

In 1991 Tyson fought Donovan "Razor" Ruddock twice, once in March and again in June. These fights were notable because of Tyson's bizarre "jailhouse" talk towards his opponent. He told Ruddock, "Everyone knows you're a transvestite and you love me. I'm gonna make you my girlfriend. I can't wait to get my hands on a pretty thing like you". There was some controversy over the first fight which Tyson won in the seventh round; many believe the referee, Richard Steele, stopped the fight prematurely. Tyson won the rematch comprehensively in a unanimous points decision.

Rape, prison, and aftermath

In 1992, Tyson went on trial in Indiana after being arrested there in 1991 for the alleged rape of Miss Black Rhode Island, Desiree Washington, in an Indianapolis hotel room. Tyson was convicted on the charge of rape on February 10, 1992.

He was given a sentence of 6 years and was released in May 1995 after serving 3 years. Under Indiana law, a defendant convicted of a felony must begin serving his prison sentence immediately after the sentence is imposed. While in prison, Tyson converted to Islam and adopted the name "Malik Abdul Aziz".^* The facts of the Tyson/Washington case are similar to, and probably the inspiration for, the plot of the 2002 film Undisputed, which starred Wesley Snipes and Ving Rhames.

Tyson did not fight again until 1995. After two comeback bouts against Peter McNeeley and Buster Mathis Jr., he regained one belt by easily winning the WBC title from Frank Bruno in March 1996 in three rounds. Tyson was criticized by many for fighting such inferior opposition in his two comeback bouts prior to fighting Bruno. For example, it was pointed out that McNeeley's opponents had lost nearly three-quarters of their fights. Mathis was a mediocre, light-hitting puncher whose only claim to fame was that his father had also been a boxer who fought Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali. In September 1996 Tyson won back the WBA title in 93 seconds from Bruce Seldon, having paid Lennox Lewis $4 million to "step aside". Seldon was subjected to much ridicule for his first round loss to Tyson because he seemed to go down and out from a very light punch. Many accused him of being so scared that he simply gave up.

The Bite Fight

On June 28 1997, Tyson fought Evander Holyfield with Mills Lane as the referee, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It was dubbed "The Sound and the Fury," the $100-million rematch between these titans, since Holyfield had knocked Tyson out 8 months earlier, and the rematch was drawing more attention than the first bout, with Tyson getting $30 million, Holyfield $35 million, and pay per view fees set at $49.95.

Problems started when a clash of heads in the second round opening a three inch cut over Tyson's right eye. Tyson had repeatedly complained about head butting in the first bout between the two. A time-out was called briefly, but since there was no indication that Holyfield had intentionally fouled Tyson, no deduction was taken from Holyfield. Tyson continued the second round with blood trickling into his eye. As the third round was about to begin, Tyson came out of his corner without his mouthpiece, but Lane noticed this and ordered Tyson back to his corner to get his mouthpiece. The two got back into position and the fight resumed. Tyson rushed hard at Holyfield, catching him with a solid right and then a ferocious combination. The crowd went wild, chanting "Tyson! Tyson!" Suddenly, with 40 seconds left in the 3rd round, the fight took a unexpected turn. Holyfield got Tyson in a clinch, and Tyson rolled his head above Holyfield's shoulder. He spat out his mouthpiece and bit Holyfield's right ear, severing it. Holyfield pushed Tyson away and started hopping up and down in pain, spinning around in a circle holding his ear.

Lane abruptly called for a time-out, Holyfield turned to walk to his corner, and Tyson ran up to Holyfield to push him in his back, startling the crowd and Holyfield who fell into the ropes. Lane quickly moved Tyson and directed Holyfield back to his corner as Tyson walked calmly back to his. The fight was delayed for several minutes as Lane told Tyson he was penalizing him with a two-point deduction, a physician examined Holyfield's ear and determined he could continue to fight.

The fight resumed with 30 seconds left in the round. The two fought into another clinch. Tyson craned his neck around again and bit Holyfield's left ear with 22 seconds left. Holyfield threw his hands around to get out of the clinch and jumped back as Tyson waved his arms in a "come on" motion. Lane did not stop the fight this time, so the two men continued fighting until time expired. The men walked back to their respective corners when the fight was then stopped. After the fight was stopped, Tyson still tried to get at Holyfield and Holyfield's trainer Brooks while they where still in their corner. Tyson took swings at anyone who got in his way, including a police officer, until he was finally held back into his corner. Announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. read the unprecedented decision: "Referee Mills Lane has disqualified Mike Tyson for biting Evander Holyfield on both of his ears."

Later, Tyson was walking back to his locker room when a fan tossed a full bottle of water in Tyson's direction. Tyson climbed over a temporary railing and up into the stands, made obscene gestures to the crowd, and made his way up the side of a stairway before he was dragged to his locker room. Tyson was suspended and his license withheld. Tyson told reporters later: "Holyfield butted me in the first round and then he butted me again in the second round, as soon as he butted me I watched him He looked right at me and came right at me he kept on going down and coming up,then charged into me, and no one warned him no one took any point from him what am I supposed to do? This is my career, I can't continue getting butted like that, I've got children to raise and He keeps butting me, I gotta retaliate. Holyfield is not the warrior he claims he is. He got a little nick on his ear and he quit, I got one eye, hes got ears hes not impaired ,I got one eye, peep this, if he take one, I got another one, he didn't wanna fight I'm ready to fight him right now.... He didn't want to fight, regardless of what I did.... (Tyson points to his eye)look at me man, look at me, I gotta go home and my kids are gonna be scared of me now, look at me!"

Decline

In January 1999 Tyson fought the South African Francois Botha and while Botha initially controlled the fight, Tyson attempted to break Botha's arms during a tie-up. Nonetheless, Tyson landed a straight right-hand in the fifth round that knocked Botha out.

On February 5 Tyson was sentenced to a year's imprisonment, fined $5,000, and ordered to serve 2 years probation and perform 200 hours of community service for assaulting two people after a car accident on August 31, 1998. He served nine months of that sentence. After his release he fought Orlin Norris on October 23, 1999. Tyson knocked Norris down with a left hook he threw after the bell sounded ending the first round. Norris injured his knee when he went down and said he was unable to fight on. The bout was ruled a no contest.

In 2000 Tyson had three fights. The first was staged at the MEN Arena, Manchester, England against Julius Francis. Following controversy as to whether Tyson should be allowed into the country, he knocked out Francis in the second round. He also fought Lou Savarese in June 2000 in Glasgow, winning in the first round. The entire fight only lasted 38 seconds. Tyson continued punching after the referee had stopped the fight, accidentally knocking him to the floor as he tried to separate the boxers. In October Tyson fought the similarly controversial Andrew Golota, winning in round three, a result that was changed to no contest after Tyson tested positive for marijuana. Tyson fought only once in 2001, beating Brian Nielsen in Copenhagen with a seventh round TKO.

Tyson sought to fight Lennox Lewis in 2002 in Nevada, but the Nevada boxing commission refused him a license to box as he was facing possible sexual assault charges. Tyson made inflammatory remarks to Lewis prior to the eventual bout stating, "I want your heart, I wanna eat his children". A scuffle at a press conference finally removed any chance of a Nevada fight. The fight actually occurred on June 8 in Memphis, Tennessee. Lewis dominated the fight and knocked out Tyson in the eighth round.

On February 22, 2003, Tyson beat fringe contender Clifford Etienne 49 seconds into round one, once again in Memphis. The pre-fight was marred by rumours of Tyson's lack of fitness and that he took time out from training to party in Las Vegas and get a new facial tattoo.

In August 2003, after years of financial struggles, Tyson finally filed for bankruptcy. His bank balance was said to have been only $5,000. In 2003, amid all his economic troubles, he was named by Ring Magazine at number 16 among the 100 greatest punchers of all time.

On July 31, 2004, Tyson faced the unregarded Englishman Danny Williams in another comeback fight staged in Louisville, Kentucky. Tyson dominated the opening two rounds. The third round was more even, with Williams getting in some clean blows and also a few illegal ones, for which he was penalized. In the fourth round Tyson was surprisingly knocked out. It transpired that Tyson was trying to fight on one leg, having torn a ligament in his other knee in the first round. This was Tyson's fifth career defeat. He underwent surgery for the ligament four days after the fight. His manager Shelly Finkel claimed that Tyson was unable to throw meaningful right-hand punches after the knee injury.

Retirement from boxing

On June 11 2005, Tyson stunned the boxing world by quitting before the start of the seventh round in a close bout against journeyman Kevin McBride. After losing the third of his last four fights, Tyson said he would quit boxing because he hasn't "got the fighting guts or the heart anymore." (BBC Sport).

Tyson has stayed in the limelight by promoting various websites and companies. In April 2005, he joined a group of strippers on the roof of a strip club in New York to promote skill gaming site FortuneFun.com. Tyson has also endorsed online gaming site Casino Fortune and previously lent his name to a popular Nintendo game, Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!. In June 2004, sportswriter Max Kellerman suggested that Tyson should move out of boxing and into product endorsement, as this had worked well for former boxer George Foreman. In the past Tyson had shunned endorsements, accusing other athletes of putting on a false front to obtain them.

On the front page of USA Today on June 3, 2005, Tyson was quoted as saying: "My whole life has been a waste - I've been a failure." He continued: "I just want to escape. I'm really embarrassed with myself and my life. I want to be a missionary. I think I could do that while keeping my dignity without letting people know they chased me out of the country. I want to get this part of my life over as soon as possible. In this country nothing good is going to come of me. People put me so high; I wanted to tear that image down."

Tyson now spends much of his time tending to his coop of around 350 pigeons in Phoenix, Arizona He shares his house with his pug, Meatball. He has signed on as a referee for mixed martial arts bouts with British MMA organization World Cage Fighting Championship. [http://sport.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1729599,00.html

As of May 24 2006, Mike Tyson was in negotiations with Bob Arum to accept a commentating position with Top Rank Inc. Tyson has reputedly expressed great interest in getting behind the mic, and is widely expected to be ringside for the Rahman Vs Maskaev II fight. Arum is quoted, "We're looking forward to having him on board, nobody will dispute his knowledge and I think he's going to make the most of this opportunity."

Marriage & Children

Tyson has 7 children: Gena, D'Amato, Mikey, Rayna, Amir, Miguel, and Exodus.

First marriage was to actress Robin Givens from February 7 1988 - February 14, 1989.

Rayna (born February 14, 1996) and Amir (August 5, 1997) are from his second marriage to Monica Turner. Monica Turner is a pediatric resident at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington DC.

Admits paternity of an 8-month-old girl born to Kimberly Scarborough of New York. (March 28, 1991).

Trivia

In 1989 Tyson was awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality Award.
Tyson was the special enforcer for a World Wrestling Entertainment match at WrestleMania XIV on March 29, 1998, in which he pretended to be a member of D-Generation X and ended up punching out Shawn Michaels after making the 3 count for "Stone Cold" Steve Austin to win the WWF Championship from Michaels.
Tyson was good friends with rapper Tupac Shakur, and often came out for a fight with a Tupac rap as his ringwalk music (most common song "Ambitionz Az A Ridah"). Shakur had been in attendance at a Tyson fight on the night he was killed in a drive-by shooting.
Ottawa Senators goaltender Ray Emery had a picture of Tyson on his goalie mask, before he was told by Senators management that this was unacceptable due to Tyson's reputation.
Mike Tyson has been on a world tour. He has been to Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, China, and Russia.
Tyson's well hyped and short bout with Peter McNeeley served as obvious inspiration for the parody film of that phase of Tyson's career, The Great White Hype, with a caricature of Tyson played by Damon Wayans and a caricature of Don King played by Samuel L. Jackson.
Tyson has a hobby of collecting pigeons, he has cared for pigeons throughout his life.

Cameos and parodies

Tyson's high-pitched voice and distinctive lisp have made him a popular target for comedians and impersonators throughout his career.

Comedian Artie Lange joked that Tyson's facial tattoo meant Tyson's life, already like a movie, is about to end, possibly by raping and killing inanimate objects.

In The Simpsons, boxer (and convicted felon) Drederick Tatum is clearly modelled on Mike Tyson.

In an episode of Family Guy, Peter claims that the whole family hasn't been out since they saw Mike Tyson beaten. This is followed by a cut-away of Mike getting beaten in a spelling bee.

In 1987, Nintendo released Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, an NES game based on the arcade game Punch-Out!!, although there was later a version released in 1990 that replaced Mike Tyson with a fictional character, "Mr. Dream", after Nintendo's license with Tyson expired. Defeating Tyson (through mini-boxer Lil' Mac) is extremely difficult, as he can knock Mac down with a single "lightning punch", modeled after the real-life Tyson's devastating right upper-cut.

In 1989, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince scored a #23 R&B/#58 Pop hit with "I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson", in which the Fresh Prince envisages himself taking on the heavyweight champion (and taking a beating in the process). Tyson appears as himself in the song's music video.

In the Japanese version of Capcom's Street Fighter II series, Balrog is called Mike Bison, as a parody of Mike Tyson, possibly with the full name of "Michael Gerard Bison". Capcom USA switched the names of the Shadaloo Grandmasters around for the American versions in order to avoid a potential lawsuit from Mike Tyson.

Tyson appeared in a music video by rapper Ice-T in the early nineties.

Tyson was shouted out by Jeru the Damaja at the end of the 1994 "Return of the Crooklyn Dodgers" rap track (also featuring OC and Chubb Rock.

Rapper CL Smooth has occasionally referenced Tyson, and names him one of his favourite media personalities.

Tyson made a special cameo appearance in Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles, where he played an extremely peaceful man meditating in a park.

In 1998 Tyson featured on an underground rap hit, "Second Round K.O" by Canibus. Tyson gives the rapper advice over how to defeat his lyrical opponent (rapper LL Cool J).

Tyson appeared with Bobby Brown on Jimmy Kimmel's late night TV show, with Brown and Tyson performing a duet of "Monster Mash" in an unusual fashion.

In 1999 he made another movie cameo appearance, playing himself in James Toback's Black and White, a serious look at race, sex and hip hop music in Manhattan. Tyson appears in When Will I Be Loved, another film by Black and White's director James Issa Toback, in 2004.

In the 1999 album I Am... by rapper Nas there is a reference in the song "Nas Is Like" with the line: "Nas is like.. Iron Mike, messiah type." Which is clearly a reference to Tyson's nickname of "Iron Mike."

In the manga series Hajime no Ippo (the anime series is called Fighting Spirit in the US) by Morikawa Jyoji AKA George Morikawa, Mike Tyson's highlight reel is shown in the first chapter and he is brought up numerous times thereafter. The main character of the series, Makunouchi Ippo uses the same Peek-a-Boo style as Tyson and is often compared to him. To view the highlight reel visit here - http://www.dynamiteglove.com/miketyson.shtml

Tyson collaborates with R&B artist Ginuwine in his 2003 album "The Senior" in which Tyson gives Ginuwine his "stamp of approval" in the introduction of the album.

Rap duo Jedi Mind Tricks sample several of Mike Tyson's famous quotes on their 2003 release Visions of Gandhi.

Sept 21, 2003, rap artist 50 Cent purchased Mike Tyson's 48,000-square-foot mansion in Farmington, Connecticut for $4.1 million.

External links

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