Fifty of those he won, 44 of them being by knockout. Among the fights he did not win, he officially lost six, while two fell into the category of no contest.
Tyson's rise from childhood delinquent to boxing champ put him at the center of the media's attention. Met with sudden fame, Tyson began partying hard and stepping out with various Hollywood stars. In the '80s, Tyson set his sights on actress Robin Givens. The couple began dating, and on February 7, , he and Givens married in New York. But Tyson's game seemed to be on the decline, and after several close calls in the ring, it became clear that the boxer's edge was slipping.
Once known for his complicated offensive and defensive moves, Tyson seemed to continually rely on his one-punch knockout move to finish his bouts. The boxer blamed his long-time trainer, Rooney, for his struggles in the ring and fired him in mid As his game was falling apart, so was Tyson's marriage to Givens. That same year, police were called to Tyson's home after he began throwing furniture out of the window and forced Givens and her mother to leave the home.
That summer, Tyson also found himself in court with manager Bill Cayton, in an effort to break their contract. By July , Cayton had settled out of court, agreeing to reduce his share from one-third to 20 percent of Tyson's purses. Soon after, Tyson struck up a partnership with boxing promoter Don King. The move seemed like a step in the right direction for the boxer, but his life was spiraling out of control both in and out of the ring.
Tyson's behavior during this time became increasingly violent and erratic. In August , he broke a bone in his right hand after a 4 a.
Tabloids later claimed the accident was a suicide attempt brought on from excessive drug use. Later that September, Givens and Tyson appeared in an interview with Barbara Walters in which Givens described her marriage as "pure hell. Tyson countersued for a divorce and an annulment, beginning an ugly months-long court process.
This was just the beginning of Tyson's struggles with women. In late , Tyson was sued for his inappropriate attentions toward two nightclub patrons, Sandra Miller and Lori Davis. The women sued Tyson for allegedly forcefully grabbing, propositioning and insulting them while out dancing. Tyson landed in court yet again, this time in as a plaintiff.
District Court in New York against King, accusing the promoter of cheating him out of millions of dollars. He also filed a lawsuit against his former managers Rory Holloway and John Horne, claiming they had made King the boxer's exclusive promoter without his knowledge.
Tyson alledgedly lost millions in the process. In July , the boxer reapplied for his boxing license in New Jersey, but later withdrew his application before the board could meet to discuss his case. A few weeks later, in yet another outburst, Tyson assaulted two motorists after a car accident in Maryland dented his Mercedes. In October , Tyson's boxing license was reinstated. Tyson was back in the ring only a few months before he pleaded no contest for his attack on the motorists in Maryland.
He was released after serving nine months, and went straight back into the ring. The next several years were marred with more accusations of physical assaults, sexual harassment and public incidents. In , a random drug test revealed that Tyson had been smoking marijuana. The results caused boxing officials to penalize Tyson by declaring his October 20 victory against Andrew Golota a loss. After six years of marriage, second wife Monica Turner filed for divorce in , on grounds of adultery.
That same year, he filed for bankruptcy after his exorbitant spending, multiple trials and bad investments caught up with him. In an attempt to pay off his debts, Tyson stepped back into the ring for a series of exhibition fights. He crashed on friends' couches and slept in shelters until he landed in Phoenix, Arizona.
But Tyson's hard-partying ways caught up with him again in late Suspected of driving while intoxicated, police pulled Tyson over and searched his car. During the search, the police discovered cocaine and drug paraphernalia throughout the vehicle.
On September 24, , Tyson pleaded guilty to possession of narcotics and driving under the influence. He was sentenced to 24 hours in jail, hours of community service and three years' probation. Tyson's life seemed to mellow over the next few years, and the boxer began seeking sobriety by attending Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings. But in , Tyson was dealt another blow when his four-year-old daughter, Exodus, accidentally strangled herself on a treadmill cord in her mother's Phoenix home.
The tragedy marked yet another dark period in Tyson's troubled life. In , Tyson married for a third time, walking down the aisle with Lakiha "Kiki" Spicer. The couple has two children together, daughter Milan and son Morocco. Tyson, however, acknowledged that he was once again battling substance abuse problems the following year. When I'm in a real dark mood, I think of dying.
And I don't want to be around no more. Like all other sports, boxers got better as time progressed. The Career of Iron Mike Tyson. Tyson exploded onto the boxing scene. There wasn't a lot of film on Tyson because he made short work of his opponents.
He would go on to be the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history, passing the record held by another Cus D'Amato fighter. The foundation was set up for Tyson to become the greatest of all time. Even Muhammad Ali, who always proclaimed to be the greatest, believed Tyson would end up being better than anyone who ever put on boxing gloves.
Tyson was undefeated, and untested, as he only fought journeyman fighters. I'm not knocking Tyson for the lack of competition at this point; I'm merely pointing out the fact there was no recognizable fighter in his first 15 fights. He went on from this point without Cus D'Amato, who died Nov. Tyson would fight two more journeyman in before facing his first known opponent at Jesse Ferguson was still somewhat a journeyman but much tougher than the previously fought no-names.
He'd fight three more middle-of-the-road contenders, and that included Trevor Berbick who was brutally knocked out for the Heavyweight Championship. In the wheels hadn't fallen off the wagon, but the writing was on the wall. Tyson had remained focused under Jim Jacobs and his trainer Kevin Rooney. Tyson had not abandoned his training yet, although he had already witnessed what being Champ meant. Nintendo had brought out Mike Tyson's Punch-Out.
Mike beat all four of the middle-of-the-road contenders. Tyson needed one thing by —opponents. Larry Holmes would come out of his two-year retirement to take on Mike Tyson. He polished off an easy opponent in Tony Tubbs, just another mid-level opponent. Micheal Spinx was billed as two undefeated Champions. For Spinx, many of those victories came from the light-heavyweight division.
Tyson destroyed him quickly. Nothing remained of the Cus D'Amato school of fighting. There was a new way coming, Don King's way. Mike Tyson was the only person in his camp that knew the D'Amato way. Mike wasn't alone, but his green training crew was no help. In , Tyson was no longer the fighter he'd been. He knocked Frank Bruno out like he was expected to do—anyone watching could see Tyson was getting hit more than he had been. For the first time in Tyson's entire career, he looked beatable.
I think even Tyson himself saw how the scrappy Bruno made it a fight. Because he came right out after Carl "The Truth" Williams, fans forgot about the previous fight where Tyson got caught by several hard shots against Bruno. The fighters, however, didn't forget, and it was just a matter of who was going to get to him.
Evander Holyfield was eying Tyson, and Foreman had already asked several times for a fight. Many fans, as well as Tyson himself, refer to this as the end. The end, however, was when he fired Cayton and Rooney. It just took the right person to take advantage of Tyson, who at this time was relying on his power and no longer using his incredible defense. Hiding his face behind his gloves, and then trying to explode out there catching his opponent.
A left hook to the temple sent Berbick to the canvas, and despite his best efforts, the champion was unable to beat the count. I was throwing deadly and accurate punches. That proved to be the case until February , when James 'Buster' Douglas pulled off a stunning upset to hand Tyson his first defeat. Now aged 54, Tyson is set to fight Roy Jones Jr. Can he roll back the years and deliver those devastating combinations under the bright lights once more?
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