And After all, a man who has lived a life for at least three of us.
Mike Tyson is one of the best sports stars of all time.
Iron Mike cuts a very different figure these days as a cannabis producer – and user.
Mike Tyson had a meteoric rise, filled with anger about his past, that led to him becoming the youngest heavyweight champion of the world at the age of 20, born in Brooklyn, New York.
Spent time behind bars, he had tigers in his sprawling mansions, admitted drug addiction, blew all his money, but somehow found Hollywood redemption through the Hangover movies.
His story is like no other.
A TOUGH START
Raised in Brownsville, a neighbourhood rife with crime, Mike T., now 54, had a tough start to life – fit for the boxer he became.
He didn’t know his biological father Purcell Tyson and his stepdad Jimmy Kirkpatrick walked out on him and his family soon after he was born.
Mike would later say about Kirkpatrick: “My father was just a regular street guy caught up in the street world.”
As a teen, he fell into bad company, associating with local gangs and getting himself into trouble.
He was taunted by other kids for his high-pitched voice and lisp, and got into plenty of fights.
Remarkably, before he had turned 13, Mike T. had been arrested around 38 times and was sent to a juvenile home called.
He once revealed his first scuffle was with a bigger youth who pulled the head off one of his beloved pigeons. He sought out comfort in them even then, in what has become a life-long passion.
At 16, Mike suffered tragedy when his mother Lorna Mae Smith died.
He revealed: “I never saw my mother happy with me and proud of me for doing something: she only knew me as being a wild kid running the streets, coming home with new clothes that she knew I didn’t pay for.
“I never got a chance to talk to her or know about her. Professionally, it has no effect, but it’s crushing emotionally and personally.”
CUS D’AMATO
During those early formulative years, Mike had already picked up boxing at Tryson and his potential was spied by Bobby Stewart, a juvenile detention centre counsellor and former boxer.
Wowed by his natural ability and aggression, Stewart took him under his wing before introducing him to Cus D’Amato – the trainer that made him the most fierce puncher the boxing world has ever seen.
After Mike’s mum died, D’Amato became his legal guardian and mentor.
They trained religiously at the Catskill Boxing Club, where Cus taught Tyson his famous peek-a-boo style of boxing, with the hands in front of the face offering more protection.
After Tyson’s mum died, D’Amato became his legal guardian and mentor.
A YOUNG CHAMP
In 1986, after winning 25 of his first 27 fights by knockout, Mike had earned a chance to fight for the WBC title.
He was already becoming a TV draw because of his blood-thirsty appetite for ending fights early.
And his fight against Trevor Berbick was a destruction punters paid thousands of dollars to see at the Las Vegas Hilton.
Inside two rounds, Berbick had no answer and was pummelled into submission.
An uppercut and a blow to the temple left the champ’s legs like jelly, and despite attempts to get off the canvas, Berbick twice lost his balance and collapsed – giving the referee no choice but to call the fight.
Tyson became the youngest ever heavyweight champion at 20 years
OUT OF CONTROL
Mike’s life began to spiral out of control, in the late 80s and early 90s
His tumultuous first marriage to actress Robin Givens ended after a year, amid claims of violence, domestic abuse and Mike’s mental instability.
Incredibly, they appeared together on an American chat show in 1988 and gave a joint interview in which Givens said being with Mike T. was: “torture, pure hell, worse than anything I could possibly imagine.”
She also labeled her partner a “manic depressive”, all while Mike was sat next to her looking calm and collected.
In the book, Fire and Fear: The Inside Story of Mike Tyson, Mike later admitted that he did punch Givens saying, “that was the best punch I’ve ever thrown in my life.”
TIME INSIDE
In 1991 Mike was arrested for the rape of 18-year-old Desiree Washington, a former Miss Black Rhode Island, in a hotel room in Indianapolis.
He was soon put on trial at the Marion County superior court, with his reputation in tatters.
Washington’s story was corroborated by Mike’s then-chauffeur Virginia Foster, who the model revealed her state of shock moments after the incident.
ER physician Thomas Richardson who examined Washington provided further testimony that her physical condition was consistent with rape.
Despite Tyson’s protestations that Washington had given him full consent, he was sentenced to six years in prison in 1992 along with four years of probation. He was just 25 at the time.
In 1992 Tyson was sentenced to six years in prison
THE COMEBACK
After serving just short of three years of his sentence, Mike began the comeback trail.
He easily won his bouts against Peter McNeeley and Buster Mathis Jr. The fight against McNeeley proved he was still a big pay-per-view draw, grossing more than $96MILLION worldwide.
In 1996, he won back the WBC title by defeating Frank Bruno inside three rounds.
He followed that victory by clinching the WBA title from Bruce Seldon. But his greatest foe, Evander Holyfield was up next.
In the first of two classic matches, Mike was stopped inside 11 rounds by his opponent.
The rematch dubbed ‘The Sound and the Fury’ prompted boxing’s most controversial moment ever.
At the end of the third round, Mike T. was disqualified for biting Holyfield on both ears.
The final chomp was so severe a piece of Holyfield’s right ear was found on the ring floor after the fight.
Tyson’s purse was suspended, his boxing licence was rescinded and he was fined around £2MILLION.
At the end of the third round, Mike T. was disqualified for biting Holyfield on both ears.
Tyson’s LIFE AFTER BOXING
At the top of his game he owned mansions in Ohio and Las Vegas, which were the scene for wild parties, and housed his pet tigers.
But by 2003 Mike was filling for bankruptcy, despite earning around £200MILLION during his career.
At that time, it was reported he was saddled with £15m-worth of debt.
In a 2005 interview with USA Today, he was downcast about his life.
“My whole life has been a waste – I’ve been a failure,” he said.
“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 housed his pet tigers.
In 2009, Tyson appeared in The Hangover alongside Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis and provided the comedy turn that stole the film.
Tyson is also a hit on Broadway with his one-man show
