Life's Work
Mike Tyson, the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history, is perhaps one of the sport's most notorious figures. His talent is undeniable. As Sports Illustrated observed, "He is the purest of fighters: He hits people and they fall down." While some ponder the kinetic energy behind each punch, Tyson reminds us of the sheer simplicity of the sport. There are no goal lines or plays to call--just two men standing in a ring of physicality, each trying to demolish the other. Yet Tyson also reminds us of the more primal aspect of the sport. From his imprisonment for rape to the cannibalistic comments directed toward Lennox Lewis and his biting of Evander Holyfield's ear, Tyson's persona has evolved into that of the brutal aggressor.
Became Youngest Heavy Weight Champion
Michael Gerard Tyson was born in Brooklyn, New York on June 30, 1966, to Lorna Tyson and Jimmy Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick left the family when his son was two years old. As a youth Tyson joined a street gang at a very early age and was in trouble with the law many times before he was 12 years old. After an arrest for armed robbery he was sent to the Tyron School in 1978, a correction center for juveniles in upstate New York. It was there that his life changed direction. The school's physical education teacher saw potential in the young man and introduced him to legendary boxing trainer Cus D'Amato, who lived near the facility at the time. Tyson thrived under the new structure and discipline in his life. Tyson moved in with D'Amato and, when the boxer's mother died when he was 16, D'Amato became his legal guardian. Tyson was sent back to the Tyron School for a time after he was threatened with a gun by his then-trainer Teddy Atlas. The trainer had heard that Tyson sexually abused a 12-year-old girl and was trying to frighten him. Tyson made stunning progress as an amateur and decided to try out for the Olympic team at the age of 17. After failing to make the 1984 Olympic team, D'Amato decided that it was time for his fighter to turn professional.
Mike Tyson and Frank Bruno
On March 4, 1985, Tyson stepped into the ring for his first professional fight. He had studied boxing history and watched old newsreel footage of the great fighters of the past and wanted to emulate them. He entered the ring without fanfare, without a robe, without socks, dressed in black with the most menacing and intimidating glare in boxing. Many of his opponents were beaten before Tyson even stepped through the ropes. Tyson went 15-0 in his first year as a professional boxer. Many boxing aficionados thought that D'Amato had created the perfect heavyweight fighter. But he would never live to see his man become champion. The 77-year-old trainer died in November of 1985.
Despite this loss, Tyson continued to storm through the heavyweight division. One year after D'Amato's death, Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion ever when he gained the World Boxing Council (WBC) championship belt after a two-round knockout of Trevor Berbick. Co-manager Jimmy Jacobs told Pat Putnam of Sports Illustrated that everything was going according to plan: "Cus predicted that Mike would fight for the title before the end of 1986.... Cus said the only way to prepare Mike for this was to give him a speed education by a multiple of four. So there has been no R and R for Mike. There couldn't be. And he has held up beautifully." The next year Tyson united the heavyweight championship, defeating James "Bonecrusher" Smith for the World Boxing Association (WBA) belt in March and Tony Tucker for the International Boxing Federation (IBF) belt in August. Tyson was on top of the boxing world as the most ferocious boxer in the sport's most glamorous division. But he soon learned that success often comes at a price.
Professional Glory, Personal Problems
In 1988 Jimmy Jacobs died, leaving Tyson without the co-manager who had been with him from the beginning of his career. Into the vacuum in Tyson's life created by the deaths of D'Amato and Jacobs came Don King, boxing's most notorious promoter, and Tyson's new wife, actress Robin Givens, whom he had married after a two-week courtship.
In the ring the fighter was at the absolute pinnacle of his power, defeating former IBF champ Michael Spinks in 91 seconds. Outside the ring Tyson's life was spinning out of control. He broke his hand in a street fight with a former opponent Mitch "Blood" Green. Then he crashed his BMW into a tree on D'Amato's former estate. Some in the media reported that the crash was intentional and amounted to a failed suicide attempt. He was reported to have chased Givens and her mother through the streets of Moscow, where she was shooting a movie. And then there was the appearance with his wife on national television in a question-and-answer session with Barbara Walters. Tyson sat next to Givens looking half-awake as his wife talked about him as if he were not there. She said that he was a manic-depressive and claimed that he had abused her. Soon after the humiliating ordeal Givens and Tyson were divorced.
The exit of Givens left Don King firmly in control of Tyson. For five years Tyson had destroyed opponent after opponent, but that would soon change. On February 11, 1990, Tyson fought James "Buster" Douglas, a 42-1 underdog. From the very beginning of the fight, there was a different atmosphere. Tyson was sluggish--some claim from anti-depressant medication--and his journeyman opponent seemed to be different also, as if he were not afraid of the man so many others had feared to fight. Tyson knocked down Douglas, but the challenger recovered and ended up knocking out the champion in the tenth round.
Tyson recovered from his loss to win two more bouts in 1990. The next year he defeated Donovan "Razor" Ruddock twice. His next fight was for the heavyweight championship against Evander Holyfield, but that scheduled fight never happened.