Sports Articles: Boxing Legends Part 1 - Mike Tyson page 13

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Article page 13 of 13

Despite being a huge box office draw, Tyson was still spending more than he made, so much so that he was forced to declare himself bankrupt in August with debts of approximately $23m. He was forced to sell his Connecticut mansion to rapper 50 Cent for just over $4m. For a couple of years afterwards Tyson was mostly moving between friends' couches and shelters but he was still an attraction, an attraction big enough for MMA promotion K-1 to sign him to a contract to fight their star fighter, Bob Sapp. In order to build up publicity, Tyson confronted Sapp in the ring immediately after he beat Kimo Leopoldo in Vegas. Unfortunately Tyson's felony history made obtaining a Japanese visa impossible, which would have been the most profitable place for the fight to take place. That meant it never took place.

Instead Tyson was back in the ring in July 2004 to face British heavyweight Danny Williams. Tyson entered the ring high as a kite, admitting he was a "full-blown cokehead" at this point. The first two rounds saw Tyson dominate the fight, but the third was even, despite Williams being penalised for illegal blows, and Williams knocked Tyson out in the fourth. It was later revealed that Tyson tore a knee ligament in the first round, meaning he was fighting on one leg. His manager, Shelly Finkel, claimed Tyson was unable to throw a meaningful right hand. Tyson underwent surgery to repair it four days later.

He never fought again until June the following year, when he faced journeyman fighter Kevin McBride in Washington DC. Despite Tyson being in a poor physical condition and fed up of boxing, according to a later documentary he made, Tyson was still in front in a close bout entering the 6th round. McBride claims he said to Tyson during the 6th: "Is that all you've got?" and told the former champ he was in trouble. Tyson responded by trying to bite his nipple off. At the end of the round he shocked boxing by quitting on his stool. That was his last ever professional fight.

Tyson's professional record was 58 fights, 50 wins, 6 losses and 2 no contests. He had won his first 19 pro fights by knockout, 12 in the first round. He also can never be accused of ducking a top fighter, unlike so many modern day boxers, he went out there to take the best on. However he will probably be best remembered for his indiscretions outside the ring and the controversy that surrounds him almost constantly.

Despite his retirement, in 2006 he did return to the ring for an exhibition fight with journeyman Corey 'T-Rex' Sanders, who had lost his last seven pro fights and was nearly blind in his left eye due to a detached retina. Tyson knocked all 6ft 8inches of Sanders down in the first round but held back from going for the finish, even holding up Sanders after landing another hard punch. The crowd booed throughout and the rest of the planned series of exhibition bouts were shelved.

Tyson was soon back in the headlines for the wrong reasons as he was leaving a nightclub in Scottsdale, Arizona in December 2006 and nearly crashed into a police SUV. He was arrested on suspicion of DUI and felony drug possession. The authorities said he admitted cocaine use that day and an addiction to the drug. Despite that, Tyson pleaded not guilty the following month when charged. In February 2007 he checked himself into the Wonderland Center, a rehab centre in the Hollywood Hills for treatment for various addictions. He stayed there for over a year, saying later that he remained there because he "felt safe".

In September 2007 he changed his plea to guilty to cocaine possession and DUI. Tyson was convicted in November and sentenced to 24 hours in jail, three years probation and 360 hours of community service on release. The prosecutor had been seeking one year in jail but the judge praised Tyson for seeking help with his problems.

Since coming out of rehab, Tyson got back together with long term on/off/on again girlfriend Lakiha 'Kiki' Spicer, who he eventually wed in June 2009. Sadly for Mike, the wedding took place just 11 days after the death of his 4 year old daughter Exodus with a previous girlfriend. It is something that clearly affects Tyson to this day, as he admits to blaming himself for not being there. One thing Tyson can never be accused of is not caring about his kids and abandoning them like his father did to him. He even counts his second wife's first child as his own, even though he is not her biological father.

2009 was year when Tyson returned fully to the public eye and became, once again, someone every knew, as a small role playing himself in box office hit 'The Hangover' restored him to the public consciousness. While there have still been the odd incident, such as a scuffle with a photographer at LA International Airport and some offensive comments he made about Sarah Palin, that included crude and violent descriptions of interracial sex, for the most part Tyson has become lauded and applauded rather than feared and hated.

His autobiography was a bestseller, he has been the subject of a number of documentaries, a Mike Tyson Cares Foundation has been launched to help care for kids from a broken home, he has been on or mentioned in numerous songs and had roles in adverts and other movies. As well as launching a YouTube channel of his own (probably inspired by the way the video of him falling off his new hoverboard went viral), he has toured with a one man show to talk about his life and has a cartoon, Mike Tyson Mysteries, which is shown on national TV in the USA.

Despite Lennox Lewis often calling him 'one-dimensional' as a fighter, Mike Tyson was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011. It is difficult to argue with his inclusion. Yes he was one-dimensional, but he took that one-dimension to its ultimate. He did lack the genuine top class fighters to face when at his peak and his peak was far too short, but still, Tyson's impact on the world of boxing, and sport in general is impossible to dispute. It is just a shame that he lacked that guidance he needed, just when he needed it. When he was destroying opponents he no longer had Cus D'Amato and Camille Ewald teaching him manners, he had a gold digging Givens family using him. Tyson is always going to come with a bunch of what ifs attached to his name. What if he had been fighting in the era of great fighters like Muhammad Ali? What if he had been able to keep focused on the sport? And many more questions surround his legacy. One thing is for sure, those that saw Tyson fight at his peak, when he was not just a fighter but a destroyer of worlds, will always be in awe of his destructive power. It is just a shame that the person he ended up destroying was himself.

Written by Ed001 - June 04 2018 10:30:52