Mike Tyson is a professional heavyweight boxer whose name remains the most recognizable among his colleagues to this day. For the force of the blow and aggressive behavior in the ring, he was once nicknamed the "killer boxer". Olympic champion among juniors, absolute world champion, many times recognized champion in versions of WBC, WBA, IBF, The Ring. A quick knockout master, many of whose records have not been broken so far.

Childhood and youth

Michael Gerard Tyson was born in June 1966 in the Brownsville area of ​​New York. His father was Purcell Tyson, but he left the family before his son was born. Michael was the youngest child: the eldest daughter Denise and son Rodney were growing up in the family. In early childhood, Tyson was very vulnerable. He was offended by his peers, courtyard boys and even his older brother. He could not stand up for himself and often suffered because of this, coming home with bruises and no pocket money.

In June 2005, Mike met in the ring with a little-known Irish boxer Kevin McBride. Of course, the fans put on Tyson. But in the 5th round, the champion's fatigue began to appear, and in the 6th he sat down on the floor and refused to participate in the 7th round. After this fight, Mike announced that he decided to end his career.

Movies and books

The life story of the popular heavyweight was taken as the basis for several documentaries. These are the mid-90s film Fallen Champion: The Untold Story of Mike Tyson and the 2000s Beyond Glory and Tyson.

Mike Tyson (06/30/1966) is one of the most famous boxers in the world. Heavyweight champion in various versions for several years (1986-1990, 1996). He has 50 wins in his track record, 44 of them by knockout. He set several records, many of which have not been broken so far.

“I have lived my life recklessly, and do not indulge myself with empty hopes. When I meet with God, he will surely be unhappy with me. I know that I will definitely go to hell for everything that I have done in my life. True, this does not in the least prevent me from enjoying what is here and now. "

Childhood

Mike Tyson is a native of New York. He was born on June 30, 1966. His parents - Jimmy Kirkpatrick and Lorna Smith lived in the Brooklyn area. True, Jimmy was not Mike's father. His real dad left the family even before the birth of his son, but the name of the future boxer was given to his biological father - Tyson.

Now it's hard to believe, but as a child, Mike Tyson was a very cowardly and weak child. All the neighboring boys mocked him, and even his brothers never missed an opportunity to play a trick on him. And this life continued until Mike turned 10 years old. At this age, dramatic changes have occurred to him, perhaps the child is simply tired of enduring resentment. And one unpleasant incident contributed to this. One of the local hooligans snatched a pigeon from Mike's hands and in his eyes twisted the bird's neck. At this moment, Tyson broke through. He attacked the guy and brutally beat him.

From that moment on, none of the boys on the street risked bullying Mike anymore. Moreover, he was gladly accepted into one of the local gangs. There, the teenager learned to rob shops and climb into pockets, for which the boy was more than once caught by the police and sent to various correctional institutions for minors. But, by the way, it was these events that determined the further fate of Tyson. During one of the arrests, he met the famous Mohammed Ali, who came to communicate with difficult teenagers. After talking with the boxing legend, Mike also decided to take up the sport.

First steps in boxing

At the age of 13, Mike Tyson got into a special school for difficult teenagers. And the former boxer Bobby Stewart worked as a physical education teacher at this institution. He agreed to coach the teenager, but in return he had to promise that he would no longer violate discipline, and also noticeably improve his performance in other disciplines. Mike agreed to Stewart's terms and very quickly turned from a “poor student” into a quite diligent student.

After intense training, Mike Tyson has achieved impressive results. For example, already at the age of 13 he easily “pressed” a 100-kilogram barbell. And at some point, Bobby Stewart realized that he gave his student everything he could. The guy needed further development, and therefore the coach recommended him to the legendary manager Cas D'Amato. It was this man who later made a promising boxer Mike Tyson an absolute world champion.

Amateur boxing career

For the first time, Mike Tyson entered the ring in 1981 at the age of 15. In the first year of his performances, he fought six fights and won five of them. For his stubbornness and dimensions he was immediately nicknamed "tank". And a year later, the teenager took part in his first Olympic Games among youths. The debut turned out to be more than memorable. At the tournament, he laid down his opponent just 8 seconds after the starting bell. And this can be considered a kind of record. The rest of Tyson's opponents held out a little longer, but none of them was able to provide adequate resistance. Mike won his first gold medal of his career.

“Knockout in 8 seconds - then I was proud of it. Not anymore. Over time, I realized that there are things that are much more important. For example, I bought a hospital and now I am helping children. This is really an achievement. "

In the years that followed, Mike Tyson continued to churn out victories. His main goal was a trip to the "adult" Olympics in Los Angeles (1984). But it didn't work out. In the decisive match, he met with Henry Tillman. In the first round, Mike hit him so hard that he even flew out of the ring. But Tillman managed to come to his senses and subsequently the judges gave the victory to him. The audience greeted this decision with an indignant whistle, but this could not influence the referee's decision. Many experts then considered that Tyson was deliberately sued. They allegedly did not want to let him into the Olympics due to his too aggressive fighting style and criminal past.

Subsequently, Mike Tyson will take revenge on Tillman. This will happen in 1990 already in the professional ring. Mike will lay down his opponent in the first round. But that defeat of Mike gave rise to his coaches to think that it was time to release his ward into the professional ring.

Professional boxing career

Mike Tyson made his professional debut on March 5, 1985. His first rival was Hector Mercedes, who did not hold out for long against the future champion. Tyson had 15 fights this year and won all of them. Not a single opponent was able to hold out even until the 5th round.

There have been many fights in Mike Tyson's career. But some of them stand apart and it is impossible not to mention them.

• Trevor Berbick (1986). It was a fight for the WBC world title. Mike won in the second round. Moreover, the final blow was so powerful that after it Berbik tried to get up twice, but each time he still fell into the ring. And Tyson, meanwhile, became the record holder for the youngest heavyweight champion.
• Tony Tucker (1987). Tyson won the undisputed heavyweight title.
• Michael Speaks (1988). It was a fight between two absolute world champions - the present and the former. And Mike won the first round.
• Evander Holyfield (1996). This fight was held after Tyson served time in prison and was named "Fight of the Year". Having started confidently, Mike by the middle of the meeting allowed the enemy to seize the initiative. There was even a moment when Holyfield almost knocked out Tyson. The gong prevented the last blow. And nevertheless, the judges ultimately gave the victory to Holyfield, and he received the world title.
• Evander Holyfield (1997). The rematch ended in the famous bitten off ear scandal. This happened in the middle of the meeting, and for this incident Tyson was stripped of his boxing license. And the title, of course, remained with Holyfield.
• Lennox Lewis (2002). This fight became the highest grossing in the history of boxing. He raised over one hundred million dollars. Interestingly, Tyson, although he was then a challenger, was considered a favorite among the bookmakers. But their alignment turned out to be wrong. In the middle of the fight, Mike became clearly tired, and Lewis, after some time, knocked out the ex-champion.
• Kevin McBride (2005). This fight was the last in Tyson's professional career. In the 7th round, he refused to continue the fight, and after that he announced that he would tie up with boxing forever.

Hobbies

After retirement, Mike Tyson tried to actively act in films. He had been invited by directors before, but because of training, he could only appear in episodic roles. From 2005 to the present, Tyson has starred in about 10 films.

Also, the former world champion organizes his show periodically. He performs with a monologue performance, in which he simply talks about his difficult life. And people go to his concerts with pleasure. Still, Mike Tyson is the most famous boxer, second in popularity, perhaps, only to Muhammad Ali.

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Biography, life story of Mike Tyson

Michael Gerard Tyson (Mike Tyson) is an American professional boxer.

short information

Date of birth: 06/30/1966.

Birthplace: New York, USA.

Height: 180 cm.

Distance of attack: 180 cm.

Track record: 50 wins (44 knockouts), 5 defeats, 2 fights without a result.

Titles: WBC heavyweight champion (1986-90, 1996), WBA heavyweight champion (1986-90, 1996), IBF heavyweight champion (1987-90), The Ring champion (1988-1990), undisputed champion World Heavyweight Professional (1987-1990).

Childhood and youth

Michael Gerard Tyson was born on June 30, 1966 in New York to Lorna Kirkpatrick (née Smith) and Jimmy Kirkpatrick. The surname Tyson went to Mike from his mother's first husband, Purcell Tyson. Jimmy Kirkpatrick left the family before Mike was born, and Lorna and her children (Mike had an older brother, Rodney, and an older sister, Denise) moved to Brownsville, one of the most disadvantaged neighborhoods in New York, inhabited mainly by blacks. Due to the difficult financial situation, their family had to huddle in a house for several years, where there was no heating or hot water.

As a child, Mike was distinguished by an extremely gentle character and inability to stand up for himself. His older brother Rodney and the boys of the neighborhood, and later his classmates, constantly bullied him, beat him, took away the trifles and sweets that his mother gave him. However, at the age of either 9 or 11 years old, Mike suffered a fracture. As he himself says, once one of the members of the local street gang, who was several years older, snatched his beloved pigeon from his hands (breeding pigeons was Mike's favorite pastime since childhood and remained his main hobby in adulthood) and tore his head off. An enraged Mike lashed out at his abuser and brutally beat him. The episode earned Mike the respect of the local teenage thugs, who took him into their company and taught him to pocket, steal, and rob stores. All these activities, naturally, turned into repeated visits to correctional facilities for juvenile delinquents. During one of these visits, Tyson managed to meet with those who came to the correctional center to communicate with difficult teenagers and try to set them on the right path. Tyson himself later recalled that it was after meeting with him that he first thought about a boxer's career.

CONTINUED BELOW

At the age of 13, Tyson was sent to a special school for juvenile delinquents located in the northern part of New York. By this time, he was considered incorrigible and was distinguished by enormous physical strength for his age: when Mike lost his temper, he could only be pacified by the joint efforts of several adult men. At the school where Tyson was assigned, former boxer Bobby Stewart worked as a physical education teacher. Once in a punishment cell for another violation of the regime, Mike suddenly asked for an opportunity to talk to him. Stewart came to him and Mike announced that he wanted to become a boxer. Stewart agreed to coach him on the condition that Mike did not violate discipline.

After that, Mike's behavior really changed for the better, and after a while Stewart entered into another agreement with him: the better Mike does at school, the more Stewart is engaged in boxing with him. And it worked: Tyson, who was previously considered mentally retarded, managed to noticeably improve his academic performance. He was so caught up in boxing that the school staff would sometimes catch him training at 3-4 a.m. boxing with a shadow or shaking his muscles in his room. In a later interview, Stewart recalled that Tyson, who was then 13 years old, literally knocked him off his feet with his jab, and Bobby himself was a good amateur boxer and just five years earlier, speaking in light heavyweight, he won the prestigious tournament "Golden Gloves".

After a while, Stewart realized that his student had already outgrown him, and brought Mike to the legendary coach and manager Cas D "Amato, who raised two world champions - super heavyweight and light heavyweight Jose Torres, as well as a number of strong boxers. "Amato asked Stewart how they feed juvenile delinquents at their school: 13-year-old Mike weighed 80 kilograms at the time and was well muscled. And when Tyson and Stewart entered the ring, Cas made sure that this teenager had all the makings of a future world champion.

By this time, D'Amato had almost completely retired from big boxing and was mainly engaged in working with difficult teenagers. After a while, Mike moved to his house, joining the motley company that lived there, and after the death of Tyson D's mother, Amato formalized custody of him.

Amateur boxing

At the age of 15, Tyson began his amateur career, which was not at all as successful as one might expect: according to various sources, Mike spent from twenty-five to thirty fights in the amateur ring, suffered at least six defeats (he lost two fights ahead of schedule, and once even knocked out; he was knocked out by a certain Tybius Flowers, for whom this was the only more or less noticeable achievement in boxing). In 1984, Tyson nevertheless became one of the candidates for the US Olympic team, but he did not make it to the Olympics, since he lost twice in the qualifying competitions to Henry Tillman, who later became the Olympic champion (in professionals, Tyson took a convincing revenge from Tillman by knocking him out in first round).

Professional boxing

4 (according to other sources - 6) March 1985 Mike Tyson first entered the professional ring. Living with Casa D'Amato, Mike watched a lot of videos with old professional fights and, being impressed by what he saw, he chose a rather unusual image for himself at that time: he entered the ring without music, without a dressing gown, in simple black shorts and boxers on bare foot. Tyson's first professional rival was a certain Hector Mercedes, who was knocked out in the first round. During the first year of his performances in the professional ring, Tyson had 15 fights and won early victories in all. Experts began to say that Cas D "Amato managed to raise the ideal heavyweight, who will definitely become the world champion. However, Cas himself did not live to see this: in November 1985, the 77-year-old coach died of pneumonia.

The death of D "Amato was a heavy loss for Mike, but he was still surrounded by the best boxing team in the world, consisting of trainer Kevin Rooney, as well as managers Jim Jacobs and Bill Keyton, and he continued his way to the top. Tyson in 1986, there were only two in which his rivals managed to leave the ring on their own feet: first, fragile (for a heavyweight) James Tillis ran away from him for ten rounds (at the end, Mike began to catch up with him and managed to knock him down, however Tillis still made it to the final bell), and in the next fight this “achievement” was repeated by Mitch Green.Since neither Tillis nor Green were considered particularly strong boxers, these results gave a number of journalists a reason to say that Tyson stopped progressing and in general experiences serious problems in meetings with high rivals.However, a few skeptics could not affect the general euphoria about the future champion, and Tyson was quickly found excuses, recall Niv that Tillis is a rather technical boxer who could have achieved more if he had better physical training, and Green, who came to the boxing ring literally from the street, was once a member of a gang that rivaled the one Tyson was a member of, and therefore had a frantic motivation to fight.

After spending six more fights and defeating, among others, Marvis Fraser, the son of former world heavyweight champion Joe Fraser, on November 22, 1986, at the age of twenty years and five months, Tyson entered his first championship fight. His rival was Jamaican-Canadian boxer Trevor Berbick, who won the WBC title a few months earlier in a fight with Pinklon Thomas. Berbick, in principle, was considered a good, albeit very unstable boxer, but in the fight with Tyson he was previously assigned the role of a victim. And so it happened: having barely survived the first round, in the second, Berbick hit the floor twice (more precisely, even four times, since after the second knockdown he tried to get up twice, but fell again), and the referee Mills Lane stopped the meeting. "I am the world champion and I am ready to fight anyone in the world"- said Tyson in a post-match interview.

Three months later, it was the turn of the WBA champion, James "Bonecrusher" Smith. Despite this intimidating nickname, "Bonecrusher" was a very ordinary boxer who went down in history only because he became the first world heavyweight champion to have a college degree. Smith turned pro when he was already under 30, and by the time of the fight with Tyson, he had only had 24 fights, winning 19 of them and losing five. Nevertheless, it was not at all easy for Mike to defeat him: Smith constantly tied his hands, never giving him a single clean blow for the whole fight, and in the end he exploded himself and almost became the author of a sensation, having managed to put Tyson on the brink of knockdown. As he recalled a few years later, it was this fight that he most often watched, preparing for his meeting with Tyson, since many of the shortcomings of Mike's technique became very clearly visible in it, in particular, the weak effectiveness of his actions in close combat. But be that as it may, Tyson won by unanimous decision and added a second championship belt to his collection.

Mike spent the next fight less than three months later. His opponent was former world champion Pinklon Thomas, who managed to hold out for less than six rounds. On the same day, Tony Tucker and James "Buster" Douglas were figuring out which of them would become the new IBF champion and Tyson's next rival. Tucker won by TKO in the tenth round. It is worth noting that the fight was fairly equal, but Douglas either fizzled out, or psychologically broke down, and at some point he simply stopped responding to punches.

The fight between Mike Tyson and Tony Tucker took place on August 1, 1987 and began with a slight surprise: at the beginning of the first round, Tucker seriously shook Tyson with a left uppercut and almost knocked him down. Only by the end of the round did Mike manage to come to his senses and even out the course of the fight. In the second round, Tucker injured his arm, but nevertheless, up to the middle of the fight, he waged a completely equal fight and by the sixth round he lost quite a bit in the judges' notes. However, then the IBF champion went into deep defense and only in the twelfth round tried unsuccessfully to spurt. As a result, Tyson won this fight by unanimous decision and became the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.

Over the next two years, Tyson fought six fights, alternately defeating 84 Olympics champion Tyrell Biggs, ex-world champions, Tony Tubbs and Michael Spinks, future world champion Frank Bruno, as well as the rather strong heavyweight champion Karl Williams.

At the same time, an event took place in Tyson's life, which, as many believe, had an extremely negative impact on his psychological state and boxing career: Mike married an aspiring actress Robin Givens. Their marriage lasted only about a year, but it was a very tumultuous year: Mike had to go through loud scandals, public humiliation and even fights (fragile Robin, on occasion, did not hesitate to slap her husband in the face). All this put Tyson on the brink of a nervous breakdown and, apparently, seriously undermined his mental health. Starting in 1987, he began to neglect training, and then completely dispersed his team, consisting of managers and coaches who had worked with him since the days of Cus D'Amato, and came under the patronage of the notorious promoter Don King. In 1988, Tyson suffered a concussion after crashing his car into a tree. According to one version, it was a suicide attempt.

In February 1990, Mike Tyson came to Japan to defend his titles again against James Douglas, who at that time was considered no more than a decent second-tier boxer. The same Douglas who, in 1987, missed his chance to win the championship title by surrendering the fight to Tony Tucker. Few then doubted Tyson's victory. Bets on the battle were 45 to 1 in his favor. However, on February 11, 1990, the most sensational event in boxing history took place in front of thousands of spectators who filled the Tokyo Dome and millions who watched the fight live. Hopeless outsider Douglas boxed like never before in his life, and on all counts defeated the undisputed champion, winning almost every episode, and then knocking out Tyson in the tenth round.

So Mike found himself in the role of the challenger again. He fought two more fights in 1990, winning both by first-round knockout, and faced popular Canadian heavyweight champion Donovan Ruddock twice in 1991. Ruddock, a physically strong but very limited boxer, lost both fights, but nevertheless managed to demonstrate to everyone how much Tyson really does not correspond to the image of the "ideal boxer" that journalists and the public had created for him by that time. Almost not inferior to Tyson in physical strength, Ruddock simply did not allow himself to be crushed, as happened with Mike's other rivals. Suddenly it turned out that if the enemy manages to withstand a rough force "bulk", Tyson cannot rebuild and beat him.

In the summer of 1991, another episode occurred in Tyson's life that radically changed his fate. Mike attended the Miss Black America beauty pageant, where he met one of the participants - a certain Desiree Washington. Miss Washington graciously accepted the ex-champion's courtship, they rode together in his car, hugged outside the hotel where Mike lived, and then went up to his room. A day later, Washington said that Tyson had raped her. Despite the mass of circumstantial evidence and testimony, confirming that everything happened by mutual consent, the court sided with the victim, and Mike was sentenced to six years in prison, of which he served about three. He was released only in March 1995, having managed to convert to Islam in prison and get acquainted with the works of Voltaire, Mao Zedong, etc.

Tyson fought his first fight after returning from prison on August 19, 1995 against hereditary boxer Peter McNealy. Already in the first round, McNealy hit the floor twice and was disqualified for the fact that his seconds jumped into the ring. After spending another warm-up fight after that, in March 1996, Tyson went to the WBC champion Frank Bruno and defeated him by TKO in the third round.

According to the WBC rules, Tyson had to defend his title against the mandatory challenger, which he was at that time, before September 2, 1996. Mike's team, however, did not want this fight, and offered $ 4 million in compensation for him to give it up. agreed, but the WBC still stripped Tyson of the title, not wanting to sanction his unification fight with WBA champion Bruce Seldon. However, Tyson did not stay without a title for long: the fight with Seldon still took place on September 7, 1996, and it took Mike less than two minutes to break the resistance of the completely demoralized champion.

In November 1996, the long-awaited fight between Mike Tyson and finally took place, preparations for which began even before Mike went to jail. The favorite in this fight was Tyson (bets on him were taken at the rate of 22 to 1), however, who by that time was considered an old and "broken" fighter, managed to surprise all boxing experts and fans, having won a difficult but indisputable victory. The first five rounds of the fight passed with varying success, in the sixth Tyson was knocked down, and starting from the ninth the advantage became overwhelming. In the tenth round, he simply beat Tyson, who miraculously kept his feet, and in the eleventh the referee stopped the fight, fixing Mike's defeat by TKO.

Despite the fact that the victory was very confident, for the rematch, which took place on June 28, Tyson again came up in the rank of favorite. The fight was surrounded by an unprecedented excitement: suffice it to say that all 16 thousand tickets for it were sold out on the very first day. However, instead of an exciting boxing match, this time the audience saw something completely unexpected: in the third round, Mike, offended by the fact that he hit him with his head several times, bit off a piece of his right ear, and then pushed him in the back. Referee Mills Lane called the doctor, who examined the ear and ruled that he could continue the fight. Lane removed two points from Tyson (one for a bite and a push), and the fight continued. After a while, Tyson again bit his opponent's ear, this time on the left, and was disqualified. When Tyson left the ring, disappointed spectators shouted insults at him and threw garbage at him. After that, the cannibal label was forever attached to Tyson, and even in Madame Tussauds, his wax figure was moved from the sports hall to the horror hall, placed next to the figure of the cinematic man-eater Hannibal Lector.

The next time Mike had a chance to enter the ring only a year and a half later. In principle, he was disqualified for the incident for life, but the popularity of Tyson and the income generated by his fights could not leave the boxing officials indifferent, who, having sustained the pause required by propriety, still allowed him to speak. Meanwhile, over the past year and a half, Mike managed to prove himself from the worst side. He became completely uncontrollable and went through several extremely unpleasant incidents, ranging from the beating of two elderly men with whom he had a conflict due to a small traffic accident, and ending with an outbreak of aggression at a meeting of the boxing commission, which considered the issue of lifting his disqualification. ... In 1998, psychiatrists who examined Tyson determined that he suffered from low self-esteem and was experiencing severe bouts of depression.

Unfortunately, the fight with François Botha, which took place in January 1999, only confirmed the fact that Mike's psyche was not all right. The first round ended just at the moment when Mike openly tried to break his opponent's arm, and the seconds had to drag him away from Botha with the help of the local security personnel. Despite Tyson's victory by knockout in the fifth round, his boxing reputation suffered greatly after this fight. Mike's shots lost their accuracy, he missed a lot, his win did not look logical at all.

Tyson spent his next fight in October 1999, after being released from prison, where he served three and a half months for a fight. His rival was the former world heavyweight champion Orlyn Norris. This meeting ended without the announcement of the result, as Norris was unable to get out of the corner after Tyson stabbed him after the signal to end the round. The fight with Norris was followed by quick victories over Julius Francis, Lou Savarese and Andrzej Golota (the result of this fight was canceled after traces of marijuana were found in Tyson's analyzes). Following this, Mike again took a year-long pause and next time entered the ring only in October 2001 against the Dane Brian Nielsen. The fight was won by technical knockout in the seventh round (Nielsen refused to leave the corner after the break), but Mike looked rather pale in it.

Nevertheless, Tyson's next rival was supposed to be the universally recognized world heavyweight champion, with whom there had been talks about a meeting for several years. The fight was supposed to take place on April 6, 2002 in Las Vegas. However, the joint press conference of the boxers held on January 22 of the same year turned into a fight, during which Tyson attacked the bodyguard, and then in the resulting dump he grabbed the champion's leg with his teeth. At the same time, the Las Vegas police announced their intention to charge Tyson with another rape that allegedly took place in September 2001 (the charge was never brought). As a result, the Nevada State Boxing Commission refused to return Tyson's boxing license, and the organizers of the match had to look for a new venue.

As a result, Tyson's fight with took place on June 8, 2002 in Memphis. Journalists who attended Tyson's training before the fight noted that he was in very good shape, and, to the surprise of many, the bookmakers also made Tyson a favorite in this meeting. However, soon after the start of the fight, it became clear that Tyson had little to oppose the champion. If the first round was even more or less equal, then the battle began to take on a completely one-sided character. Even the apparent bias of the referee, who at every opportunity made comments and tried in every possible way to help Mike, could not seriously change the pattern of the fight. inflicted dozens of unanswered blows, and Tyson managed to reach his tall rival only a few times. The denouement came in the eighth round, when Tyson was first knocked down, and then ran into a strong counter blow, after which he could no longer get up. At the post-match press conference, Tyson told reporters that he was very glad that he managed to leave the ring alive that evening.

Immediately after the fight, talk began about a rematch, and, having received the largest fee in his life for the first fight, he was not at all averse to meeting Mike again. However, Tyson frankly admitted that he did not want to be beaten again and would like to preliminarily hold a couple of fights against weaker opponents in order to get in shape.

Tyson spent his next fight in March 2003 against the boxer Clifford Etienne, who was considered quite promising at that time. The fight lasted only 49 seconds and ended with Etienne, who found himself on the floor after the first serious blow, could not (or did not want) to get up. During the preparation for this fight and after it, many noticed that Mike had changed. He seemed to have lost much of his aggressiveness, becoming, in his own words, "Domesticated animal".

Mike promised that immediately after the fight with Etienne he would return to the gym, but the pause that followed was one of the longest in his career. At one time it seemed that Mike would never enter the ring again, but the dire financial situation (in August 2003, Tyson declared himself bankrupt), as well as the emergence of some "vacuum" in the heavyweight division stimulated his return to boxing.

On July 31, 2004, Mike Tyson entered the ring against the rather famous British boxer Danny Williams. The first round of this fight was one of the best rounds Mike had in recent years, but then Tyson surrendered abruptly, began to miss punches and clinch on his own initiative, and in the fourth round, after a long series of Williams, he was on the floor and could not get up until the end referee countdown. The explanation for this unexpected defeat followed immediately: it turned out that in the first round, Mike suffered a serious knee injury, which made it impossible for him to move around the ring normally and invest in punches. A few days later, Tyson underwent surgery, and he spent several weeks in a cast.

Mike returned to the professional ring on June 11, 2005. Oversized, but rather weak Irishman Kevin McBride, who did not have a single victory over a decent boxer, was chosen as his opponents. Nevertheless, even such an opponent turned out to be too tough for 38-year-old Tyson: from the very beginning of the fight he looked slow and allowed McBride to keep an advantageous distance for him, and by the sixth round he was completely exhausted and refused to continue the fight.

In a post-match interview, Mike Tyson stated that he did not want to disgrace his favorite sport by losing to rivals such as Mikebride, and therefore retired from boxing. It is impossible to say right away whether this decision was final or whether the multimillion-dollar debts hanging over it will still push the most popular boxer of all time to another return. But after a while, boxing fans realized that Mike was not joking. Although in 2006 Tyson launched a world tour with demonstration fights with the most famous boxers -

Mike Tyson was born in New York, Brooklyn, in the Brownsville area. His parents were Lorna Smith and Jimmy Kirkpatrick. However, Mike inherited his last name from his mother's first husband. His father left the family before Mike was born. Mike has an older brother, Rodney, and an older sister, Denise.

Mike's childhood was full of hardships and various misfortunes. He had a very gentle nature and did not know how to stand up for himself, besides, at that time Mike was fat. His older brother Rodney and the boys in the neighborhood, and later his classmates, constantly bullied children under his age and Mike too. They beat, took away the change and sweets that their mothers and fathers gave them. Tyson was no exception. Until the age of 10, he was pathologically unable to defend himself. However, at the age of 9-11, Mike suffered a fracture. As he himself says, once one of the members of the local street gang, who was several years older (namely, 3 years), snatched his beloved pigeon from his hands (breeding pigeons was Mike's favorite pastime since childhood and remains his main hobby to this day day) and tore off his head. Furious, Mike lashed out at his abuser and brutally beat him. From that moment on, Mike was respected among the local juvenile bandits, who took him into their company and taught him to climb pockets, steal and rob stores. Activities of this kind led to arrests, visits (moreover, repeated) to correctional institutions for juvenile offenders, during one of which Tyson managed to see Mohammed Ali, who came there to communicate with difficult teenagers and try to set them on the right path. Tyson himself later recalled that it was after meeting with Ali that he first thought about a career as a boxer.

To understand the conditions in which Mike had to survive, it is interesting to recall another case related to pigeons. Poor teenagers sometimes did not even have money to eat, so there was no talk of buying pigeons. The birds were simply stolen. So, one day Mike and a friend climbed into one of the strangers' dovecotes and tried to drag off a few pigeons. The owners noticed them and immediately caught them. They decided to punish the guys "in a peculiar way" - just hang them! Since there was only one rope, we decided to hang it in turn. Mike's friend was chosen first. Tyson stood and watched as his friend's legs twitched in convulsions ... Tyson himself was saved only by the fact that the neighbors saw what was happening and threatened to call the police. For the boy's psyche, such things could not pass without a trace. As Mike later recalled, after this incident he did so all his life and "remained awaiting execution."

At the age of 13, Tyson was sent to a special school for juvenile delinquents (due to his behavior in a regular school), located in the northern part of New York. By this time, he was considered incorrigible and was distinguished by enormous physical strength for his age: when Mike lost his temper, he could only be pacified by the joint efforts of several adult men. At the school in which Tyson was assigned, former boxer Bobby Stewart worked as a physical education teacher. Once in a punishment cell for another violation of the regime, Mike suddenly asked for an opportunity to talk to him. Stewart came to him and Mike announced that he wanted to become a boxer. Stewart agreed to coach him on the condition that Mike did not violate discipline. After that, Mike's behavior really changed for the better, and after a while Stewart entered into another agreement with him: the better Mike does at school, the more Stewart is engaged in boxing with him. And it worked: Tyson, who was previously considered mentally retarded, managed to noticeably improve his academic performance. He was so caught up in boxing that the school staff would sometimes catch him training at 3-4 a.m. boxing with a shadow or shaking his muscles in his room. In a later interview, Stewart recalled that Tyson, who was then 13 years old, literally knocked him down with his jab. At the age of 13, Mike could lift a 100 kg barbell in the bench press. After a while, Stewart realized that his student had already outgrown him, and introduced Mike to the legendary coach and manager Cas D'Amato. Mike devoted all his free time to training. Cas D'Amato already knew then that Mike was the future world champion. Cas created a professional team around Tyson: coaches, seconds, masseurs and others. Thus, a disciplined athlete emerged from the street bandit.

Living with Casa D'Amato, Mike watched a lot of videos with old professional fights and, being impressed by what he saw, he chose a rather unusual image for himself at that time: he entered the ring without music, without a dressing gown, in simple black shorts and boxers on bare foot.

After the death of his coach Cus D'Amato on November 4, 1985, Mike broke down mentally. His defeat to Buster Douglas on February 11, 1990, in Japan, is still considered the greatest sensation in boxing history, with bets on Douglas winning 42 to 1.

1986-07-26 Mike Tyson - Marvis Fraser

In July 1986, Tyson met with the son of the famous heavyweight champion Joe Fraser, Marvis Fraser. At that time, Marvis was considered Tyson's most dangerous rival, in his asset he had 16 victories, among which were victories over James Tillis, Joe Bugner, James "Boncrusher" Smith and only one defeat, which he suffered from Larry Holmes. However, in a fight with Tyson, he suffered the most humiliating defeat of those rivals whom Tyson beat. At the beginning of the 1st round, Tyson drove the opponent into a corner and carried out a right uppercut. Fraser was shocked. Tyson immediately carried out another series of strong blows. The enemy fell. The referee began counting, but seeing Fraser lying insensible, he stopped counting. It was a tough knockout. Fraser regained consciousness a few minutes later. It took Tyson only 30 seconds to knock out Fraser. This fight was the shortest in Tyson's professional career. After this fight, Marvis Fraser spent three more fights with little-known boxers and retired from boxing in 1988.

1986-11-22 Mike Tyson - Trevor Berbick

In November 1986, Mike Tyson entered the ring against WBC World Champion Trevor Berbick. Berbick won the title of champion only in February 1986 and made only the first defense. In the 2nd round, Tyson carried out a right uppercut to the jaw, and after that he hit Berbick with a left hook. Berbick pressed against Tyson for a moment, and then fell. Berbick tried twice to get up, but each time he lost his balance. On the third try, he got up, but he was very shaky. The referee stopped the fight. After this fight, Berbick's career began to decline. After this fight, Tyson set a world record, becoming the youngest heavyweight champion. Simultaneously with him, the record was set by Kevin Rooney (at that time he was 30 years old), becoming the youngest coach who led the ward to the champion title.

1987-03-07 Mike Tyson - James Smith

In March 1987, Tyson fought the WBA spoiler world champion James "Boncrusher" Smith. Smith, in order to escape Tyson's attacks, constantly clinched. Tyson dominated the entire fight. At the end of the 12th round, Smith made a spurt attack, but it was too late. Tyson won on points with a crushing score.

1987-05-20 Mike Tyson - Pinklon Thomas

In May 1987, Tyson entered the ring against former champion Pinklon Thomas. In the 6th round, Tyson performed a series of uppercuts and hooks from both hands, some of which hit the challenger's jaw. Thomas staggered. After another left hook, the challenger fell to the canvas. He did not have time to get on the account "10". The referee stopped the fight.

1987-08-01 Mike Tyson - Tony Tucker

In August 1987, a fight for the title of undisputed world heavyweight champion took place between undefeated WBC and WBA champion Mike Tyson and undefeated IBF champion Tony Tucker. In the first round, Tucker succeeded in something that no other Tyson's opponent had managed to do, with the strongest uppercut he touched Tyson's chin, thus forcing him to take a couple of steps back, but he could not develop his success. In the future, Tucker avoided the fight with Tyson, running from him in the ring and clinching. Tyson won by unanimous decision to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Tucker suffered the first defeat in his career and set a kind of record: he held the IBF title for only 64 days. In turn, Tyson set a world record: he became the youngest undisputed heavyweight champion. Subsequently, Tucker called the catastrophic lack of time required to prepare for such a battle as the reason for his defeat.

1987-10-16 Mike Tyson - Tyrell Biggs

In October 1987, a fight took place between two undefeated boxers - the absolute world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and the Olympic champion Tyrell Biggs, who defeated Lennox Lewis and Francesco Damiani at the 1984 Olympics. Fighting Tyrell Biggs is Tyson's dream come true in 1987. Mike wanted to prove to everyone that he, too, could represent America at the Olympics and decided to punish Tyrell Biggs. Tyrell Biggs hoped to beat Tyson with his quick movements and a jab that Tyson had blocked more than once in this fight. However, Tyson continued a series of punches to the face and body, which later allowed him, already in the 7th round, to inflict a left hook, knocking down Tyrell Biggs. Tyson immediately after the fight said: "I could have beat Tyrell Biggs in the third round, but I wanted him to remember my blow and this night for a long time."

1988-01-22 Mike Tyson - Larry Holmes

In January 1988, an important battle for Tyson took place against the world famous Larry Holmes. Tyson dominated all four rounds and knocked out Holmes in the fourth round. Larry Holmes spent the last five seconds of the fight in shock, he did not understand what was happening in the ring. A doctor was urgently called and helped to get Holmes to his feet. As Larry Holmes later stated, “Tyson is much better than I thought. His speed and tactics of strikes are well developed. He's a real champion. " For Tyson, Holmes's words were very gratifying. In response, Tyson mentioned that Larry Holmes is the best boxer with whom he had a chance to fight in the ring.

1988-03-21 Mike Tyson - Tony Tubbs

In March 1988, Tyson entered the ring against former champion Tony Tubbs. In the second round, Tyson struck the left side. Tubbs stumbled backward and fell before he could get up before the end of the count.

1988-06-27 Mike Tyson - Michael Spinks

In June 1988, a fight took place between two undefeated boxers - the undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and the former undisputed light heavyweight champion, as well as the former IBF heavyweight champion Michael Spinks. In the middle of the 1st round, Tyson delivered a left uppercut to the chin, and then added a right hook to the body. Spinks dropped to one knee. He got into the account "3". Immediately after the resumption of the fight, Tyson again sent the opponent to the canvas with a right uppercut to the head. Spinks was still on the floor for the score of "10" and the referee stopped the fight. Tyson won the Ring magazine title and became the line champion. In this fight, Tyson set a kind of record: at that time he earned the largest fee in boxing history ($ 22 million) in the shortest time (91 seconds).

1989

In February 1989, Tyson knocked out the strongest British heavyweight Frank Bruno.

1989-07-21 Mike Tyson - Karl Williams

In July 1989, Tyson entered the ring against Karl Williams. In the middle of the 1st round, Tyson sent the challenger to the floor with a left uppercut to the jaw. Williams called the "8", but referee Randy Newmann looked at him and stopped the fight. The decision was controversial. The referee said in a post-match interview that Williams did not answer the question about his readiness to continue the fight. Williams also gave a post-match interview in which he stated that he was knocked down, not knocked out, that he was ready to continue the fight, and when the referee asked about his readiness to continue the fight, raised his hands, and did not understand why the referee stopped the fight.

1990-02-11 Mike Tyson - James Douglas

On February 11, 1990, Mike Tyson met with James "Buster" Douglas in Japan. Tyson underestimated his opponent and poorly prepared for the fight. At the end of the 8th round, Tyson delivered a right uppercut to the jaw, and Douglas fell to the floor. He was on the floor for more than 10 seconds, the referee counted very slowly, stopped counting at seven, turned around twice and continued counting. At 10, Douglas was still on the floor, the gong rang and the referee stopped counting. Douglas was lying on the floor for a while. The usual count would be 16 seconds. In the middle of the 10th round, Douglas delivered a right uppercut to the jaw, and then a combination - a left cross, a right cross and again a left cross. Tyson fell. His mouthpiece flew out. Tyson got up almost immediately, but the referee quickly counted to 8 and stopped the fight. At the time of the stoppage of the fight, the score of the judges was a draw: Larry Rosadilla (82-88 Douglas), Ken Morita (87-86 Tyson), Masakazu Uchida (86-86). After the fight, Tyson's promoter Don King said that the referee had considered the knockdown for Douglas for too long, and in fact there was a knockout. The fight received the status of "Upset of the Year" according to the "Ring" magazine. After this fight, Douglas was briefly the undisputed champion and made only one defense against Evander Holyfield in March 1991, to whom he lost by knockout in the 3rd round, after which he would retire from boxing for 6 years, and after returning lost in 1998 by a knockout in 1 round Lou Savarizu, who was then defeated by Mike Tyson in the same 1st round. Years later, Douglas will say that it was necessary to end his career after the fight with Tyson, since after him he felt like a deflated ball. Before this fight in his career, Tyson showed indiscipline, later he commented: "I did not train at all."

1990-06-16 Mike Tyson - Henry Tillman

In June 1990, Tyson entered the ring against Henry Tillman. At the end of the 1st round, Tyson sent the opponent to the canvas with a right hook to the top of the head. At 10, Tillman was still on the floor. Pure knockout. Interestingly, Tillman defeated Mike in amateurs twice.

1990-12-08 Mike Tyson - Alex Stewart

In December 1990, Tyson entered the ring against Alex Stewart Avenue. At the beginning of the 1st round, he sent Stewart to the floor with a right hook on the top of his head. Stewart went up to the score 5. A minute later, with the same blow, Tyson again sent his opponent to the canvas. Stewart got up to 10 and the referee let the fight continue. A minute later, Tyson, with a right hook to the jaw, sent Stewart to the floor again. This time, Stewart didn't even try to get up. Tyson's victory by pure knockout.

Tyson did not like the criticism from the famous HBO commentator Larry Merchant. He delivered an ultimatum to the management of the TV channel: "Either Merchant, or me." The management has chosen the Merchant. Tyson left HBO for Showtime.

1991-03-18 Mike Tyson - Donovan Ruddock

In March 1991, Tyson met with Donovan Ruddock. By that time, Ruddock was considered one of the strongest heavyweights, their fight was planned back in 1990, but Tyson then refused, citing illness. In the 7th round, he hit Ruddock in the jaw with a left hook. Ruddock staggered and leaned on the ropes. Referee Richard Steele suddenly stopped the fight. The decision was very controversial. After the fight stopped in the ring, a scuffle between two corners began. After the intervention of the security guards, the fight was stopped.

1991-06-28 Mike Tyson - Donovan Ruddock (2nd fight)

Due to the controversial stop of the 1st fight, Tyson - Ruddock was assigned a second fight. It took place in June 1991. This time, Tyson won on points. Ruddock was knocked down in the 2nd and 4th rounds. Referee Mills Lane removed points for violations from Tyson in the 4th, 9th and 10th rounds, and from Ruddock in the 8th. After that, Ruddock's career began to decline, much later he said that he spent all his physical and mental strength on the fights with Tyson, that after these fights both Ruddock and Tyson ended.

After this fight, Tyson went to prison for 3 years.

1995-08-19 Mike Tyson - Peter McNealy

In August 1995, Tyson entered the ring against Peter McNealy. At the very beginning of the 1st round, Tyson sent his opponent to the floor with a right hook to the head. McNealy jumped up and suddenly ran around the ring. The referee grabbed his arm and began to count the knockdown. The fight continued. In the middle of the round, Tyson made a successful attack and knocked McNealy down with a right uppercut. Referee Mills Lane began the countdown. People from McNealy's corner entered the ring. The referee asked them to leave, but they refused, after which Lane decided to disqualify McNealy, but Peter shouted into the camera that he would return and show everyone what he was really capable of.

1995-12-16 Mike Tyson - Buster Mathis

In December 1995, Tyson entered the ring against the undefeated Buster Mathis Jr. In the 3rd round, Tyson sent Mathis to the floor with a right uppercut. Mathis did not manage to rise to the score of 10. The referee recorded a knockout.

March 16 Mike Tyson - Frank Bruno (2 fight)

The rematch between Tyson and Bruno took place on March 16, 1996. Everything became clear from round 1, when Tyson, already in the first seconds, kissed Bruno's head on the right. Bruno began to clinch at the first opportunity and did not want to let Tyson out of his arms. It got him through the first round, but it was already starting to piss off referee Mills Lane. But Iron Mike looked much better in this round than in his last battles before the prison. In the third round, Tyson struck with a right to the body, a left hook to the jaw, and then had a long streak with both hands, ending with several uppercuts on the right. Bruno fell into the ropes that kept him on his feet, and the referee saved him from further beating, and the WBC title passed to Mike Tyson. However, then the WBC management refused to sanction Tyson's combined fight with Bruce Seldon and Tyson was stripped of the title.

September 7 Mike Tyson - Bruce Seldon

In September 1996, Tyson met with WBA world champion Bruce Seldon. Tyson immediately went on the attack. Seldon, in order to save himself from Tyson's attacks, constantly clinched. In the middle of the round, Tyson struck a cross. Seldon collapsed to the canvas. He went up to the score 5. Immediately after the fight resumed, Tyson sent his opponent back to the canvas with his left straight to the head. Seldon was still on the floor at 10 and the referee stopped the fight. Tyson won the WBA title and became a three-time world champion

November 9 Mike Tyson - Evander Holyfield

1999-01-16 Mike Tyson - Francois Botha

In January 1999, Tyson met with South African Francois Botha. Tyson won the fight. At the end of the 5th round, Tyson sent his opponent to the canvas with a right cross to the chin. Botha got up to the count of 10, but immediately fell onto the ropes. The referee announced a knockout.

1999-10-23 Mike Tyson - Orlyn Norris

In October 1999, Tyson met with Eagle Norris. In the 1st round, Tyson sent the opponent to the canvas after the gong with a short left hook to the jaw. Norris stood up. The referee removed 2 points from Tyson. Norris did not make it to the 2nd round. He was examined by a doctor. On his advice, the fight was stopped. The fight was declared invalid.

2000

Due to legal problems, Tyson spent the next 2 fights outside the United States.

In January 2000, Tyson met with British champion Julius Francis. Francis fell 5 times. After the 5th fall, the referee stopped the fight. Tyson won by knockout in round 2.

2000-06-24 Mike Tyson - Lou Savares

In June 2000, Tyson met with Lou Savarise. Savaris defeated James Douglas in the last fight. At the beginning of the 1st round, Tyson knocked Savariz down with a left hook on the race. When the enemy got up, intending to continue the fight, Tyson pounced on him to finish off. Referee John Coyle, trying to end the beating of the helpless Savariz, tried to separate the boxers, but Tyson, ignoring the referee, continued to strike. Forgetting about caution, the dispersed boxer accidentally hit the referee with his fist and he fell into the ring. Coyle got up and again categorically demanded to stop the fight. This time Tyson complied. There was a hitch, no one knew what the verdict would be. In the end, despite the incident, the victory by TKO was awarded to Tyson. Savariz nevertheless shrugged his hands for a long time, as if not understanding why the referee did not allow him to continue the fight. In a post-match interview with Showtime, Mike Tyson said that he is Jack Dempsey and Sonny Liston rolled into one, he is invincible, and in the end he threatened to eat Lennox Lewis's children and rip out his heart.

2000-10-20 Mike Tyson - Andrzej Golota

In October 2000, Tyson met with Andrzej Golota. At the end of the 1st round, Tyson knocked down the opponent with a right hook to the jaw. Golota got up at once. In the interval between rounds 1 and 2, Golota told the coach that Tyson broke his jaw and asked him to stop the fight, but the coach did not believe it. In the interval between the 2nd and 3rd rounds, Golota refused to continue the fight. Angle Golota tried to persuade him to continue the fight, but to no avail. Golota fled from the ring. While he was leaving the hall, the audience threw various objects at him, mainly glasses of drinks. Near the exit, a can of ketchup hit him, which spilled over the boxer's body. Later, representatives of the Showtime TV channel said that Golota is a coward, and they will never show him on their channel again. Shortly after the fight, Tyson's doping test showed traces of marijuana in the blood, and the fight was declared invalid. In October 2001, Tyson went to Denmark to fight with a local fighter - Mike Tyson

Personal life

He was married three times: the first time to the actress Robin Givens, the second time to Monica Turner, a pediatrician from the Georgetown University Medical Center. Since June 6, 2009 he is married for the third time to Lakia Spicer. Children: Reina (born February 14, 1996), Amir (born August 5, 1997), Deamata Kilrane (born 1990), Miki Lorna (born 1990), Miguel Leon (born 2002), Exodus (died as a result of an unfortunate case in 2009). Son, born on January 25, 2011.

Because of which, he often ended up in the hospital.

In the documentary, Tyson said that before the fight with Berbick, he contracted gonorrhea, which made him unable to focus on the fight. In 1989, Mike started having alcohol problems due to divorce and other problems, so Mike soon gave up training, but after the fight with Douglas, he signed up for treatment.

From the mid-1990s to 2010, Mike had drug problems, and this greatly affected his career and psyche and problems with the law. For example, the fight with Andrzej Golota, when Tyson won the fight, but the doping test showed traces of marijuana in Tyson's blood and the fight was declared invalid. In the second fight with Holyfield, after another blow to his head, Tyson could not stand it and bit the opponent's ear, and then in the clinch after 2 blows he bit him again. After stopping the fight, Tyson was eager for Holyfield and began to beat everyone who prevented him from getting close to Holyfield. Later, Tyson made a statement that he had lost his mind because of violations by Holyfield and the fact that the judge did nothing, and that he had only one thought in his mind - to kill Holyfield, but 15 years later Tyson made a statement that in addition to rage due to banging Holyfield's head, bit him under the influence of drugs. On December 29, 2008, Mike Tyson was arrested for using cocaine while driving, but was released the next day.

Because of drugs, Mike began to have problems with being overweight. In the best shape, as Mike himself said, he weighed no more than 98 kilograms. At the end of 90, Mike's weight fluctuated between 101-102 kg. In the fight with Brian Nielsen, he weighed 108 kg, but that did not stop him from winning. In the fight with Lewis, he already weighed 106 kg and the excess weight was clearly visible on the body. From 2007 to 2010, Mike weighed 150-160 kilograms, but in 2009 he became a vegetarian, started playing sports again and lost more than 40 kilograms.

In popular culture

• Mike Tyson served as the inspiration for boxer Ian McGregor from the anime series Bucky the Fighter.
• Mike Tyson has appeared sporadically in more than 55 films and TV series. In all of them he played himself.
D-Generation X this article, adding links to authoritative sources.
This mark is set November 25, 2012.

Henry Romeres: "I'm not going to claim that Mike Tyson is the best heavyweight ever, but there is no doubt that he is the most exciting and entertaining."

Angelo Dundee after the fight between Tyson and Trevor Berbick said: “He shoots combinations that I have not seen before. I am amazed. It seemed that nothing could surprise me, because I worked with Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard, but now I see a three-shock combination (from Tyson) that is not inferior to any other in history. Have you ever seen a guy hitting the kidneys from the right, then the same right uppercut to the head and finishing with a left hook to the head? The question is rhetorical. There was no such guy before or after Tyson. What this man brought to boxing deserves the highest marks. And do not rush to "expert" opinions that Mike Tyson did not achieve what he could, that he simply squandered his talent, that he will forever remain in history as a boxer who "could have been, but did not." He could, and he became, the measure of world boxing by which other champions are measured to this day. "

Mohammed Ali of the Arsenio Hall show said about Mike Tyson: "He knows how to be humble and pleasant, but this man is a great boxer and I don't know what would happen if he hit me."

Leonard, Sugar Ray said: "Tyson is so aggressive and destructive that sometimes he wants to be locked up somewhere for his own safety."

Evander Holyfield said of Mike Tyson: “He fought perfectly for his size. We knew each other since we were amateurs. He was the best heavyweight and I was the best in the first heavyweight, and I knew that in the end in the end we will meet in the ring. I respected him from the beginning, I saw all his professional fights. I knew he was the one I had to beat because he was so good. I really think he was much better. than people thought, because many said that he was just a street fighter in the ring, but he fought perfectly based on his size. He has short arms, he is short. If you have short arms, you have to fight aggressively. You just have to fight. in a style to win, and he was able to do it. "

Corey Sanders believes that working with Tyson was a great experience for him, and that Mike helped him as much as he did Mike: “Training with such a master gave me confidence. such a strong blow. It looks like he has stones hidden under his gloves. "

George Foreman believes Mike Tyson may still fuel a renewed interest in boxing. “He is still the best heavyweight champion,” said the former champion. “If he works as hard as he did in his younger years, he could become a champion again. He has not yet lost any of his qualities, except for the desire to work. " According to Foreman, he is sincerely glad to hear that Tyson is back in the training room: “Mike has no other activity than boxing, he lives by it. He has always been a very good boxer and if he devotes himself to the sport again it could solve many of his problems. "

Frank Bruno said after the fight: “I know that Tyson is a great boxer, but I heard opinions that the peak of his boxing skills has passed. Believe me, this is not true. There is nuclear force in Tyson's blows, and I am sure that thanks to it he will win many more victories. "

Larry Holmes said after the fight with Tyson: "Tyson is much better than I thought. His speed and tactics are well-developed. He is a real champion."

Danny Williams answered the question of who hits harder - Klitschko or Tyson, he said: “Tyson hits much harder. It's no wonder why Vitaly doesn't have that many knockouts in the first round - his punches are very painful, but he can't knock out anyone with one punch. here is Tyson - every time his blow hits you, your head gets cloudy, and you don't know where you are. He lacked just one blow to finish me off, and then only because his best years were already far behind. Each blow of Tyson can send you into a deep knockout, and Vitaly's blows are only pain, pain and more pain. Awful pain. "

Lennox Lewis said about Tyson when he was at the dawn of his strength: “He was like a tornado, knocked out all his rivals. It was then that his powers were flourishing. I think his environment influenced him. He had nothing, and suddenly he became a millionaire , everyone started to worship him. You know, I'm an analyst, I analyze everything. Even his relationship with Robin Givens helped me. They helped many athletes, showing that with such women you need to be very careful, because they play their games.

Monte Barrett thanks Tyson for what you did for boxing: “He really did a lot for this sport. I really respect Mike and I appreciate it. He said:“ In boxing, when you lay things down, you show who you really are and you must be sincere, always be sincere. "

Arthur Abraham noted that his idol and favorite boxer Mike Tyson was the best in his time. “Tyson is Tyson,” he stressed. "In his best years it is impossible to compare him with anyone else."

The famous heavyweight boxer Riddick Bowe grew up with Tyson in the same block of Brownsville, he and Tyson went to the same school, only Bowe years later. When Riddick becomes famous, Tyson will say that he did not know him at that time and did not know him, and Riddick will tell that at that time he remembers Mike as a very big guy for his age and a school bully, like the fact that many guys weakened, they tried once again not to appear in the schoolyard, as it was possible to run into Tyson and his gang.

Heavyweight boxer James Buster Douglas has lost 6 times in his career. 3 of 6 opponents who beat him were beaten by Mike Tyson. Namely: Jesse Ferguson beat Douglas on points. Tyson defeated Ferguson by TKO in round 6. Tony Tucker defeated Douglas by TKO in round 10. Tyson defeated Tucker via unanimous decision. Lou Savaris defeated Douglas by KO in 1 round, Tyson defeated Savariz by KO in 1 round.

Mike Tyson, after one of the adventures, ended up in prison, where he met with Mohamed Ali, who came to the correctional institution to instruct children on the right path. From that moment on, Mike decided to become a professional boxer. In prison, Tyson, following the example of his idol Muhammad Ali, converted to Islam. True, unlike Ali, the spiritual name of Mike Tyson is less known - Malik Abdul Aziz. In 2010, he made a pilgrimage to Mecca. He also donated $ 250,000 for the construction of a mosque.

Tyson, Mike at Wikimedia Commons
• Tyson, Mike Service Record (eng.)

Former American professional boxer started on June 30, 1966 in Brooklyn. His childhood years were not easy, they were filled with various misfortunes and bullying of classmates. But at the age of ten, a certain talent woke up in Mike: he became respected among the locals and quickly earned authority. They also taught him to steal and rob small and large stores. Of course, all this turned into visits to correctional institutions, where he first met, by the way, with Muhammad Ali, who tried to guide them on the right path by his communication with difficult teenagers. Later, Michael will remember that meeting as the first push to boxing.

Biography of Tyson. Champion's childhood

By the age of 13 Mike Tyson, already then having a number of hard-hitting facts, was distinguished by tremendous physical strength and was considered incorrigible. At this age, he was sent to a special school, where he was a physical education teacher Bobby Stewart(former boxer) who became the first boxing "mentor" of the future champion. The next teacher in the biography of Michael Tyson was KasD "Amato that Stewart brought him to. After the death of Tyson's mother, Cas arranged custody of him.

Biography of Mike Tyson. Among amateurs

At the age of 15, a boxer begins an amateur career, which was quite unsuccessful for him. But at the same time, in 1984, he still entered the list of candidates for the US Olympic team. True, he did not get to the Olympics, as he twice suffered defeats in the qualifying competitions to Henry Tillman.

Professional boxing career

The king of knockouts has a life of quality professional athlete started on 03/04/1985. He established an image that was unusual for himself at that time: he entered the ring without a robe, music, in black shorts and boxers on his bare feet. The Champion's first rival is Hector Mendes, was knocked out by him in the first round.

For the first year in the professional ring, Mike spends 15 fights, where he received early victories. They began to talk about him as the ideal super heavyweight who would become the world champion in the not too distant future. But Tyson's "teacher" did not live up to this moment, he died in 1985 from pneumonia. His death was a heavy loss for the boxer, to cope with which he was helped by the world's best boxing team.

At the age of twenty, Tyson goes to his first championship fight 11/22/1986 where his rival awaits Trevor Berbick, who was originally assigned the role of the loser. After this fight, Iron Mike announced that he was ready to fight anyone in the world.

Three months later, it's James' turn. " Bone breaker", In a battle with which the long-awaited second championship belt joins his collection. His next rivals were: Pinklon Thomas, who could not hold out for more than six rounds, Tony Tucker (after a fight with him, Tyson becomes the undisputed world heavyweight champion), Larry Holmes, Tony Tubbs, Michael Spinks, Frank Bruno and Karl Williams.

Biography of Mike Tyson. Influence of the beloved wife

At the same time, Mike Tyson's life was replenished with a sensational event - a wedding with an actress, you have to go through public fights and humiliation, loud scandals caused by his wife. The marriage, which lasted for about a year, put the boxer on the brink of a nervous breakdown, seriously undermining his psychological health. In 1987, he disperses his team and goes under the patronage of Don King.

02/11/1990, the boxer went to Japan to defend titles against J. Douglas... No one doubted the victory of the King of Knocks, but in the live broadcast millions watched the most sensational event in the history of boxing - the defeat of the absolute champion. So Mike again becomes just a contender for the world boxer title.

In the summer of 1991, Mike Tyson's life was darkened by an episode that changed his life, Mike went to prison for rape. He was released in 1995, having managed to convert to Islam.

Return of world fame!

The boxer fought his first and successful fight after prison on August 19, 1995 against Peter McNealy... A little later, on September 7, 1996, in a duel with Seldon, he regained the title in less than two minutes. A month later, the fight between Tyson and Holyfield took place, in which Mike's defeat was recorded. The rematch takes place on June 28th. The fight is surrounded by unprecedented excitement and for good reason: in the third round, Iron Mike took a bite Evander's earlobe, after which henceforth nicknamed cannibal tyson was disqualified.

The next time he will enter the ring after a year and a half, during which the life of Mike Tyson was replenished by beating two elderly people and regular outbursts of aggression.

His next fights after 1999 were against Orlyn Norris, Lou Savarese, Julius Francis where Tyson won quick wins. After the "attack" at a press conference on Lennox, the erratic boxer was deprived of his license. And the meeting with Luce took place on June 8, 2002, where the denouement came in the eighth round and clearly not in favor of the king of knockouts.

End of career

After several "minor" battles, there was a duel with Danny Wilms from July 31, 2004, when the first round for the "champion" became one of the best for the last year, but this did not prevent his defeat. After the fight with Kevin McBride in 2005, 38-year-old Mike announced his retirement. True, at that time, his decision seemed inconclusive due to his multimillion-dollar debts.