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Mike Tyson
Statistics
Real name Michael Gerard Tyson
Nickname(s) Iron Mike;
Kid Dynamite;
Baddest Man on the Planet
Rated at Heavyweight
Nationality American
Birth date June 30, 1966
Birth place Brooklyn, New York, USA
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights 58
Wins 50
Wins by KO 44
Losses 6
Draws 0
No contests 2

Michael Gerard Tyson, a.k.a. "Malik Abdul Aziz" (via Islamic conversion) - born June 30, 1966, Brooklyn, New York, USA - is a former American professional boxer and World Heavyweight Champion, and is considered by many to be one of the greatest and most feared 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 after unofficially retired from the sport.

Contents

[edit] Early years

Born and raised in the notorious Brownsville section of Brooklyn to parents Lorna Smith Tyson and Jimmy Kirkpatrick, Tyson has a respect and knowledge of his sport's history, and has been called boxing's most vicious practitioner. 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. 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. 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 Jose 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.

[edit] Boxing career

[edit] 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 almost all of his fights by knockout, usually 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 220lbs, very stocky for his height (5 ft 8 in - 5ft 10 in). He had an outstanding physique, even though he allegedly never used weights.

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 on a unanimous points 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 1 he took the IBF title from Tony Tucker, winning on points 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 workmanlike performance from Tyson which ended with a seventh round technical knockout (TKO).

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 TKO. 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 in a mere 92 seconds into 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 who never lost a fight before meeting Tyson.

[edit] 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 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 [1].

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 42-1 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, in the tenth round, Douglas unleashed a crushing combination of jab, right uppercut, left hook, right cross, left hook. 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. Despite post-fight protests by his manager over a "slow count" in the eighth round when he floored Douglas with a powerful uppercut, Tyson lost all of his championships. However, his two other fights in 1990 were confidence-regaining first round knockouts.

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.

[edit] The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame...

{{npov-section}} In October 2005, ESPN Classic aired, as part of its regular series, The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame... Mike Tyson for Losing to Buster Douglas. The reasons they listed:

  • 5. Cus D'Amato, Tyson's first trainer, who had previously trained Floyd Patterson to become heavyweight champion and Jose Torres to be light heavyweight champion, died early in Tyson's pro career. D'Amato had taken Tyson off the rough streets of the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, and kept him away from the thug influences that had already worked their way into Tyson's life. Had D'Amato lived, many have suggested, Tyson would not have turned back to that lifestyle, and would have remained more conscientious in his training.
  • 4. Robin Givens, Tyson's first wife and an actress, had been a major personal distraction during their marriage and subsequent divorce, taking his attention away from boxing.
  • 3. Tyson's cornermen were terribly inexperienced. Three years after the death of D'Amato, and two years into his reign as champion, Tyson fired D'Amato aides Kevin Rooney and Teddy Atlas, who had themselves been professional boxers, as his trainers (There has been speculation that this was done at the behest of promoter Don King.) D'Amato, Rooney and Atlas would have known better how to handle an atypical Tyson fight, one that did not end with an early-round knockout.
  • 2. Tyson was overhyped and overrated. Despite being 37-0 with 33 knockouts, his flaws were exposed not just by Douglas in their fight, but later on by Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis. Great fighters, when faced with fighters capable of exposing their flaws, find ways to win anyway, and Tyson did not.
  • 1. Douglas fought the fight of his life, refusing to be intimidated by Tyson the way good fighters like Michael Spinks and James "Bonecrusher" Smith had been. Holyfield and Lewis took note, and also treated Tyson with a lack of fear, and also beat him.

These claims are disputable, however, as some feel that Tyson was not the same man during and after his loss to Douglas as he was when he dominated the heavyweight division in 1986-1989.

[edit] Rape, prison, and aftermath

Image:Tysonmug1.jpg
Mike Tyson's mugshot, taken in 2004.

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. Many of Tyson's supporters claimed that he was innocent, some noting that Washington had willingly gone into his hotel room where the rape supposedly took place. At trial, the prosecutor pointed out that even though Washington might have been naive for doing this, it did not make Tyson any less guilty. 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".[2]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. In September 1996 Tyson won back the WBA title in 93 seconds from Bruce Seldon, having paid Lennox Lewis $4 million to "step aside". 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. 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.

[edit] The Holyfield fights

On November 9, 1996 Tyson faced a tougher challenge in Evander Holyfield, with the bout lasting eleven rounds. Holyfield won with a TKO to become a three-time world champion.

Tyson did not fight again until June 28, 1997, when there was a hugely anticipated rematch with Holyfield for the WBA title. After losing the first two rounds on all three scorecards, Tyson came out fast in the third round, hitting Holyfield with halfway blocked punches in the first 15 seconds of the round, and again with a straight right towards the middle. About 15 seconds later after seeming to get his rhythm, Tyson bit a chunk from Holyfield's ear. After receiving a two-point deduction from the referee Mills Lane, they were allowed to fight again. Tyson again bit Holyfield's other ear and was disqualified. Tyson stated in his defense that the ear bite was in retaliation against Holyfield's alleged illegal head butting, an infraction which Lane declined to acknowledge during the bout. Shortly before the fight, Tyson's former trainer Teddy Atlas predicted Tyson would do something to get himself disqualified. On July 9 Tyson was banned from boxing for one year and fined $3 million.

[edit] Decline

In January 1999 Tyson fought the South African Francois Botha and while Botha initially controlled the fight, 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 in 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 failed a doping test. 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.

[edit] Retires 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.

In 2005, Tyson admitted that he had discussions with associates of porn star Jenna Jameson and considered a career in the adult entertainment industry.

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 [3]. He has signed on as a referee for mixed martial arts bouts with British MMA organization World Cage Fighting Championship. [4]

Mike Tyson has been on a world tour. He has been to Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, China, L.A. and Russia.

Tyson will make a cameo appearance in Scary Movie 4 as Cindy Campell's opponent in a boxing match, who turns out to be a giant woman with male features.

[edit] Children

Tyson's children are Gena, D'Amato, Mikey, Rayna, Amir, Miguel, and Exodus.

[edit] Trivia

[edit] 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 an episode of Family Guy, Peter claims that the whole family hasn't went out since they saw Mike Tyson get beat. 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. It is considered to be one of the best games released for the NES, and is highly regarded to this day.
  • 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.
  • Rapper CL Smooth has occasionally referenced Tyson, and names him one of his favourite media personalities.
  • 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).
  • In the manga series Hajime no Ippo (the anime series is called Fighting Spirit in the US) by Morikawa Jyoji, Tyson is mentioned in the first chapter and is brought up numerous times thereafter. The main character of the series, Makunouchi Ippo uses the Peek-a-Boo style like Tyson and fights a lot like him.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Preceded by
Trevor Berbick		 Heavyweight boxing champion (WBC)
1986–1990		 Succeeded by
Buster Douglas
Preceded by
James 'Bonecrusher' Smith		 Heavyweight boxing champion (WBA)
1987–1990
Preceded by
Tony Tucker		 Heavyweight boxing champion (IBF)
1987–1990
Preceded by
Frank Bruno		 Heavyweight boxing champion (WBC)
1996		 Succeeded by
Lennox Lewis
Preceded by
Bruce Seldon		 Heavyweight boxing champion (WBA)
1996		 Succeeded by
Evander Holyfield