He retired in 2005 after losing to Kevin McBride and since then remains a history maker. His rise from a delinquent childhood to a boxing champion puts him at the centre of media’s attention and makes him an inspiration to so many hopeless individuals. Mike has been through the rough and awry side of life but is today a proof that things can always get better. Read on to see his family life and how he has coped as a father.
In 1988, Tyson was accused of spousal abuse by his wife, Robin Givens, and, at one point, the police were called to his home when he began throwing furniture out the window and tried to force his wife and her mother out of the house. His wife eventually filed for divorce, and Tyson counterfiled.
Tyson’s first post-prison opponent was Boston-based journeyman Peter McNeely. McNeely’s record was 36-1. On paper he seemed good enough, but his opponents’ combined records were 148-436. His only loss came against an opponent with a winning record. Despite his own shaky record, McNeely maintained his brave face throughout the pre-fight pomp and circumstance though everyone knew the fight would go to Tyson. Tyson knocked down McNeely twice and then McNeely’s manager threw in the towel after 89 seconds of the first round.
“It is somewhat remarkable that they didn’t shy away from the rape or allow Tyson his version of events,” says Jessica Luther, an investigative journalist who has written extensively on the intersection of sports and gendered violence and is the author of Unsportsmanlike Conduct: College Football and the Politics of Rape. “‘Mike’ is showing a very popular celebrity athlete as the villain in a real-life case. That does feel different and, I think, makes everything around that feel novel, but I’m still conflicted about .”
Tyson attempted to defend the WBA title against Evander Holyfield, who was in the fourth fight of his own comeback. Holyfield had retired in 1994 following the loss of his championship to Michael Moorer. It was said that Don King and others saw former champion Holyfield, who was 34 at the time of the fight and a huge underdog, as a washed-up fighter.
According to several reports, Desiree was invited to Tyson’s hotel room in Indianapolis on July 19, 1991. The following day, she checked into the local emergency room and reported that she had been raped.
Whether or not he deserves our sympathy is a fair question. It is easy, and not entirely unjustified, to look at Mr. Tyson, his left eye ringed by a Maori tattoo, his head shaved clean, and see a self-pitying, self-justifying man who squandered his talent and good fortune and caused much more hurt than his brutal profession required. He started out as a street criminal in Brownsville, Brooklyn, and was plucked from juvenile detention by Mr. D’Amato and his associates, who disciplined the young man’s natural volatility and turned him into a fighter.
Sadly, no one even bothered to call him when his mom died in 1981, and tragedy would soon come knocking again in 1990 when his sister, Denise Anderson, died of apparent cardiac arrest at the age of 24, The New York Times reported.
Despite his remarkable success, Mike Tyson’s life was not without its share of setbacks and controversies. In 1990, Tyson suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of Buster Douglas, in what is considered one of boxing’s biggest upsets. This loss, coupled with personal turmoil and legal issues, marked a turning point in Tyson’s life and career.
with his mother to the Brownsville section of the borough during his early years. He knew who his father was but had little contact with him. By fifth grade, the future icon was a habitual truant and could barely read. He was also large and powerful for his age and became known for being able to knock down full-fledged teenagers in street fights. He fell into a bad crowd and compiled a lengthy juvenile record for armed robbery and other transgressions.
Tyson was The Ring magazine’s Fighter of the Year in 1986 and 1988. A 1998 ranking of “The Greatest Heavyweights of All-Time” by The Ring magazine placed Tyson at number 14 on the list. Despite criticism of facing underwhelming competition during his run as champion, Tyson’s knockout power and intimidation factor made him the sport’s most dynamic box-office draw. According to Douglas Quenqua of The New York Times, “The began with Mike Tyson, considered by many to be the last great heavyweight champion, losing his title to the little-known Buster Douglas. Seven years later, Mr. Tyson bit Evander Holyfield’s ear in a heavyweight champion bout—hardly a proud moment for the sport.”
Instead of presenting a chronological telling of his life, “Mike” has its titular star, Trevante Rhodes of Moonlight fame, relay his story in a loose, jokey fictional one-man stage show, as the real-life Tyson did in his Spike Lee–directed Broadway monologue, Undisputed Truth.
The boxing scenes in “Mike” are highly stylized, as if the people behind “mike tyson life story rights” recognized they couldn’t possibly fully convey Tyson’s ferocity in the ring. Fans would be better served spending days watching YouTube clips of the actual Tyson. The bloody mouthpieces flying across the screen are more akin to a John Woo film than Million Dollar Baby. For example, viewers are thrust into the Douglas bout after a hard jumpcut from Tyson in a hotel suite, surrounded by naked women, partying in Tokyo instead of training. The champion holds a glass of liquor while wearing a tiger-striped robe—the same playboy outfit he dons when he’s felled by Douglas’ knockout blows. This isn’t the pseudo-realism of the original Rocky or Creed, or the recreated chaos of Raging Bull.