Mike Tyson Bio
Mike Tyson or Michael Gerard Tyson is a 53-year-old former professional heavyweight boxing champion from America. He is well known for being the youngest heavyweight champion in history at the age of 20.
He fought in a total of 58 fights winning 50 and losing 6. Two were considered in the category of no contest. He is considered as the best heavyweight boxer of all time with popular nicknames in trend like Iron, Kid Dynamite and The Baddest Man on the Planet.
How was Mike's early life?
Mike Tyson was born on 30th June 1966 in Brooklyn, New York City, the United States as Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson to Lorna Smith Tyson and Jimmy Kirkpatrick.
He was the youngest among three children in the family; his brother Rodney and sister Denise. Additionally, he had half-brother Jimmie Lee Kirkpatrick from his father's early marriage.
His family was abandoned by his father after his birth and to deal with financial burdens the family made a move to Brownsville when he was 10.
In his early years, he got involved in street fights and made it to 38 arrests for knocking out grown men from the street.
He completed his education attending Tryon School for boys in Johnstown, New York where he caught the eye of Bobby Stewart. He also went for Catskill High School but left out his studies as a junior to pursue a career in boxing.
The story behind the struggle for success
In 1978, he was involved in various street gangs at an early age and was sent to reform school in upstate New York.
Here he was recognized by Bobby Stewart, a social worker and a boxing aficionado who directed him to trainer Cus D'Amato. With proper training in strict discipline, he found his way in boxing to set a record 24-3 as an amateur boxer turning towards professional boxing in 1985. He played his first match against Hector Mercedes in Albany, New York and got a win.
He got benefitted by using his peekaboo boxing style that made his defense power strong in the boxing ring due to his continuous bobbing motion.
Beginning of career in professional boxing
In 1985, he chose to box on the professional level and grabbing the youngest heavyweight champion title in 1986.
He did this by winning the second-round knockout against Trevor Berbick in World Boxing Council (WBC).
In March 1987, he got World Boxing Association (WBA) belt by defeating James Smith and in August 1987 he got the title belt from International Boxing Federation (IBF) by defeating Tony Tucker.
These all three above mentioned titles recognized him as a champion at a young age.
He signed up with promoter Don King after D'Amato's death and further held 10 successful defenses of his world heavyweight title.
However, he was released out in 1995 and worked on to resume his boxing career. Mike played against Frank Bruno and Bruce Seldon to get back his championship belts in 1996 but next year he lost out his boxing license after getting disqualified from the match against Evander Holyfield where he bit off his opponent's ear twice.
He made a return in 1999 getting relicensed but still suffered from self-control problems. This problem went unmanageable causing the sanctioning bodies of the U.S states to deny his boxing license.
In 2003, he finally got his professional win but was also filed for bankruptcy. He lost matches in 2004 and 2005 thus finally deciding to get retired. Aside from his boxing career he also made appearances in many TV shows and films like;
• The Hangover (2009)
• Mike Tyson Mysteries (2014-2019)
In 2011, he got inducted in the International Boxing Hall of Fame and got his memoirs co-written with Larry Sloman under the title; Undisputed Truth (2013) and Iron Ambition: My Life with Cus D'Amato (2017).
What's in the box of fun facts about Mike Tyson?
Mike Tyson is fond of tigers and spends around $4000 every month for his Bengal tigers.
Is Mike Tyson married?
Mike Tyson got in three marriages and has fathered seven children from them. He married in 1988 with Robin Givens but the marriage lasted just a year.
His second marriage was with Monica Turner in 1997 with whom he had two children; Amir and Rayna.
The couple got separated officially in 2003. He then married Lakisha "Kiki" Spicer his long-time girlfriend in 2009 in a private ceremony at the Las Vegas Hilton. The couple has two children; Milan and Morocco.
Was Mike in controversies?
Yes, Mike was convicted of rape of Desiree Washington, an 18-year-old girl in 1991. He was found guilty and was sentenced to prison for 6 years at that time.
Even in a professional career, he got disqualified from the match against Evander Holyfield as he bit off a part of Holyfield's ear in 1997. This incidence let him lose his boxing license.
Mike's achievements in boxing
Mike's biggest achievement was his two gold medals in 1981 and 1982 Junior Olympic Games. He also holds the record of being the Youngest Heavyweight Boxing Champion at the age of 20 years and 4 months.
What's the net worth of him?
He uses to hold the net worth of $300 million during his career days but after filing for bankruptcy in 2003 and going for lavish spending he is reportedly worth $3 million.
References
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Tyson
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mike-Tyson