A Sneak Peek View Into Master Pugilist – Micheal Gerard Tyson provides us with an opportunity to explore the incredible and exciting life and glorious career of Mike Tyson.
The man who rose from the backstreet of Brooklyn to the global pinnacle of the boxing world.
Early Years
He was on the 30th of June, 1966, in Brooklyn, New York, United States
Mike Tyson was known to be a member of numerous street gangs, popularly known as “Gangster” in his early childhood.
Rise To Stardom
Photo Credit – CNN
At 12, he was sent to rehab school, also known as “reform School,” in New York.
There, he met a Social Worker and Boxing enthusiast, Bobby Steward.
He unravelled his boxing potential and talent and introduced him to a famous Trainer, Cus D’Amato, who eventually became his guardian.
Tyson compiled an overwhelming and convincing 24-3 record as an amateur boxer and became a professional at age 19 in 1985.
His trainer, D’Amato, trained him and taught him the peekaboo boxing style, an almost impenetrable style with a tight defence that deters opposition punches.
Being a boxer with an average height, one would never think he would make it to the heavyweight level because he lacked a basic heavyweight boxer’s physique.
Still, his quickness and aggressiveness in the boxing rings made him get the best of his opponents.
He became, on 22nd November 1986, the youngest heavyweight champion in the history of boxing after he knocked out Trevor Berbick in the second round to claim the crown of the World Boxing Council (WBC)
On March 7, 1987, he won the World Boxing Association (WBA) belt after defeating James Smith.
Also, on 1 August 1987, he beat Tony Tucker and was immediately recognised as champion by all three sanctioning and governing bodies (WBC, WBA, and International Boxing Federation [IBF]).
Tyson aligned with controversial promoter Don King after the demises of D’Amato and his manager, Jimmy Jacobs.
During this time, he defended his world heavyweight titles ten times and his hard-earned victories over former champions Larry Holmes and Michael Spinks.
Tyson’s Fall Begins
Photo Credit – Getty Images
Tyson’s first official and legal marriage came in 1988 when he married actress Robin Givens.
Still, the marriage could not stand the test of time, and they got a divorce in 1989 .
The divorce was followed by an alleged complaint that Tyson was consistently physically abusing her, which subsequently led to a charge filed against him.
Yet to recover from trauma, on February 11, 1990, then came one of the biggest upsets in the history of boxing when Tyson lost the championship to the infamous James Douglas, who, in the tenth round, produced a technical knockout.
Tyson recovered from the loss with four consecutive victories. And again, trouble struck in 1991.
He was accused of raping a beauty pageant contestant and convicted of the charge in 1992 and spent three years in prison.
Photo Credit – WBC
After his release from prison in 1995, he returned to boxing.
In 1996, he won back two of his championship belts with two convincing victories over Frank Bruno and Bruce Seldon.
On 9 November 1996, in a long-awaited bout with the two-time heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, Tyson lost again, the second loss in his boxing career, by technical knockout in the 11th round.
On 28 August 1997, they had a rematch.
However, he was disqualified during the match after biting Holyfield’s ear twice. As a result of this infraction, he lost his boxing license.
On January 16, 1999, Tyson got back his license and returned to the ring. He knocked out Franz Botha in the fifth round in his first about.
A few days later, on 6th February, he got a jail term of one year, two years of probation, and 200 hours of community service, and then fined $2,500 for pleading guilty to charges that he assaulted two older men.
Luckily, Tyson was released after serving a few months in jail rather than one year.
It Is Noted That Tyson’s Untamed Aggressiveness Cost Him
In June 2000, in a fight with American Lou Savarese, it appeared that Tyson continued punching his opponent after the referee had stopped the match and accidentally injured the referee.
In his post-match comment, Tyson infuriated boxing fans with obnoxious and derogatory remarks aimed at British heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/omaidhomayun/2019/08/26/3-career-lessons-from-iron-mike-tyson/
In his next about with Andrew Golota, in October 2000, Tyson won in the third round but the match was cancelled because Tyson tested positive for marijuana.
Tyson had his next game to prepare for with Lewis within two years (between October 2000 and June 2002).
It was challenging to schedule this fight because both boxers (Tyson and Lewis) were contracted to two promoters, including cable television.
Tyson’s boxing career was plagued with legal problems and untamed aggression, which had already made him bite Lewis twice before the about, propelling the sanctioning bodies of the U.S. states to deny him a boxing license.
It became apparent that Tyson struggled while fighting boxers of his calibre because they had already studied his techniques and skills.
This was settled when Lewis twice knocked Tyson out onto the ground in the eighth round.
However, Tyson’s final victory was a 49-second first-round knockout in 2003.
Photo Credit – NYT
Subsequently, he became bankrupt and was indebted to $34 million. Tyson earned over $400 million throughout his career.
The losing streak continued in 2004 and 2005, respectively, and he retired.
Again, in 2006, he was arrested for having hard drugs and driving under the influence, and in 2007, imprisoned for one day after he pleaded guilty to allegations.
Tyson’s biography and professional career are recorded in the documentary Tyson.
A Sneak Peek View Into Master Pugilist – Micheal Gerard Tyson