Mike Tyson Net Worth

Biography of Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson is an American professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division. Multiple world champion according to WBC, WBA, IBF and The Ring.

Childhood and youth

Michael Gerard “Mike” Tyson was born on June 30, 1966 in Brooklyn. Mike’s father left the family before the boy was born, so the future athlete inherited his last name from his mother’s first husband. Tyson also has an older brother, Rodney, and a sister, Denise.

As a child, Mike was weak-willed and completely unable to fend for himself. He was bullied not only by classmates, but even by his older brother. A fracture occurred in Tyson’s mind when, in front of the boy’s eyes, a local hooligan tore off the head of a dove.

Enraged, Mike attacked and severely beat the teenager, which immediately earned the respect of young bandits. Together with new friends, Tyson soon began to steal, for which he ended up in correctional institutions for juvenile delinquents more than once.

During another hit in the colony, Tyson was lucky to see the famous professional boxer Mohammed Ali, who arrived there to talk with troubled teenagers. After meeting with the great master, Mike first thought about the profession of a boxer.

At the age of 13, Mike, who by that time was already considered incorrigible and even mentally retarded, fell into the hands of the legendary coach Cus D’Amato. It was then that Mike chose his unique style – the fighter entered the ring without musical accompaniment, without a bathrobe, in black shorts and boxers on his bare feet.

Sports career

In 1981, Mike earned his first title – the teenager became the champion of the Youth Olympic tournaments. Tyson repeated his success the following year, and then received gold medals in 1983 and 1984 as part of the national championships. In the spring of 1985, Tyson made his debut in the professional ring. This year, the athlete participated in 15 fights, winning by knockouts.

The rise to fame came in 1986, after successful fights against such strong contenders as Mike Jameson, Steve Zouski, James Tillis, Reggie Gross, and Mitch Green, who after the fight with Tyson did not enter the ring at all for seven years. Mike’s popularity was brought by a fight with the most promising fighter at that time, Marvis Frazier, who at that time had only one defeat. In the first round, Tyson sent the enemy to a heavy knockout. After this loss, Marvis retired from boxing almost immediately.

In November 1987, the athlete won a fight against WBC world champion Trevor Berbick, which brought Tyson $ 1.5 million and the title of the youngest heavyweight champion. Moreover, Mike set a record in this fight, forcing the opponent to fall and rise three times.

This was followed by a victory in a fight against former champion Pinklon Thomas (who had never even been knocked down until that moment) and the title of the youngest undisputed heavyweight champion after fights with Tony Tucker, Tyrell Biggs and Larry Holmes. In addition to loud triumphs, Tyson also had unsuccessful fights – as, for example, with a weak, at first glance, rival James “Buster” Douglas in 1990.

In 1991, Mike was accused of raping 18-year-old “Black Miss Rhode Island” Desiree Washington and after 3 years (instead of the original 6) he was released on bail. The fighter was destined to return to the ring only in 1995, and the media dubbed this moment the “event of the year.” After leaving prison, the boxer’s style changed significantly, which brought the athlete many victories, money and the title of a three-time world champion.

In the summer of 1997, the famous boxer fight against Evander Holyfield took place, during which Tyson bit off part of his right ear to the opponent. The fight ended in a brawl, Mike was deprived of his boxing license and paid a fine of $ 3 million. Perhaps this particular case will always be associated with the name of this scandalous athlete.

Mike returned to the ring in 1999, however, according to critics, it was not the same Tyson. In addition, the fighter began to have problems with obesity, drugs and, again, the law. Subsequently, Mike admitted that he often used other people’s urine tests to pass doping tests before fights.

In 2002, the highest grossing fight took place against the British boxer Lennox Lewis, who knocked out Mike. And after the defeat of the generally unknown Irish athlete Kevin McBride in 2005, Tyson announced his retirement from the sport. During these years, Mike experienced serious financial problems and even declared bankruptcy.

Later career

To improve his deplorable financial condition, in the following years, Tyson tried his hand at various fields of art and business in order to stay afloat. He began to actively act in films and TV shows – Mike could be seen in Rocky Balboa (2006), The Hangover (2009).

In total, from 1993 to 2017, Mike starred in more than five dozen films and TV shows. The athlete also participated in an autobiographical show in Las Vegas and television wrestling programs. In 2012, Tyson was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, dedicated to the best wrestlers.

In the same year, Tyson created his own foundation, whose mission was to “give children a chance to fight.” Tyson soon founded Iron Mike Productions, a boxing promotion company, with Harry Jonas.

In 2013, Mike Tyson Mysteries, an animated documentary television series dedicated to the life of the famous boxer, was launched on Fox Sports 1. In November of the same year, Tyson released his autobiographical book, Mike Tyson: Undeniable Truths, which hit the New York Times bestseller list. In January 2017, Tyson launched his YouTube channel with Shots Studios, a comedy video production company with acclaimed vinners such as Lele Pons and Rudy Mancuso. You can find parody music videos and sketches on Tyson’s channel.

Mike Tyson’s personal life

Tyson has been married three times: to actress Robin Givens (1988-1989), to pediatrician Monica Turner (1997-2003) and to Lakia “Kiki” Spicer (since 2009). Tyson’s third wife met the boxer at the age of 18 – her father, an influential Muslim cleric, often took his daughter to boxing competitions.

Her relationship with the controversial boxer took a serious turn in 2008, when Kiki was sentenced to prison for being in the company of her father, accused of fraudulent fundraising activities. A week before the prison, Kiki found out that Tyson was pregnant. In prison, the girl spent six months, and soon she gave birth to Mike’s daughter Milan in freedom.

In total, Mike has 8 children, including an adopted daughter from his second marriage: son D’Amato (born 1990), daughter Miki Lorna (born 1990), daughter Reina (born 1996), son Amir (1997 born), son Miguel Leon (born 2002), daughter Exodus (died in 2009 at the age of 4), daughter Milan (born 2009) and son Morocco Eliya (born 2011) .

While serving time in prison, Mike converted to Islam and received the Arabic name Malik Abdul Aziz.

In 2008, Tyson became a vegan and lost 40 kg. In March 2011, on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Mike spoke about his desire for a sober life, but two years later he publicly admitted that he lied about sobriety and recently almost died due to alcoholism. The boxer also said that he has not been a vegan for more than 4 years.

Mike suffers from bipolar affective disorder.

Mike made his famous face tattoo in 2003 in Las Vegas, after defeating Clifford Etienne.

Mike Tyson now

In May 2017, the ex-boxer’s second book, Iron Ambition, was released. In October 2017, Tyson became the face of the Australian car maintenance franchise Ultra Tune.

In February 2018, the Russian premiere of the film about martial arts from the Greek-American director Dimitri Logotetis “Kickboxer Returns” took place, in which the main roles were played by Jean-Claude Van Damme, Christopher Lambert, Ronaldinho and Mike Tyson.

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