From his historic rise as the youngest heavyweight champion in the world to his offbeat personal decisions and controversies, Mike Tyson’s life fluctuates in extremes.
Recently, Tyson’s return to the spotlight resulted in a loss against Jake Paul; a fight that sparked massive curiosity and criticism, but proved Mike’s enduring cultural relevance, even decades after his prime.
Let’s dive into the highlights of Tyson’s character — his 38 arrests before the age of 13, offer to fight a gorilla for $10,000, and the heart-shaped backstory behind his forever iconic face tattoo.
Brooklyn’s Bruises
Born on June 30, 1966, in the heart of Fort Greene, Brooklyn, Mike Tyson entered a world that seemed determined to knock him down before he could even lace up his gloves. He was the youngest of three children, but family stability was scarce. His father, listed on his birth certificate as “Purcell Tyson”, disappeared before Tyson could form any memories of him, leaving the weight of parenthood squarely on his mother, Lorna Mae Tyson.
Lorna bore the brunt of raising her children in a home that was always one bill away from eviction. Their financial struggles eventually led to a move to Brownsville — a neighborhood infamous for its violent crime rates and poverty. If Brooklyn was tough, Brownsville was brutal.
Tyson’s childhood was marked by bullying. His high-pitched voice and noticeable lisp painted a target on his back. Kids from the neighborhood would mock him, stripping him of any childhood innocence he might have clung to. In an interview, Tyson recalled that he would have “three or four [street] fights a day” starting from the age of nine—not out of sport, but survival. “I was 200 pounds at age 12. I was fighting the kid, then fighting their fathers. They were crying, went home and got their father. Then I would fight the father.”
Lorna, overwhelmed by their circumstances, never had the chance to bask in her youngest son’s future success. She passed away from cancer when Tyson was just 16. Reflecting on their relationship, Tyson stated, “I never saw my mother happy with me and proud of me for doing something. 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.”
Arrested Potential
By the age of 13, Mike Tyson had been arrested 38 times, which is a number of arrests most people don’t garner in an entire lifetime. He was trapped in a cycle of delinquency because of the circumstances in his life and community. The offenses ranged from petty theft to serious crimes.
Tyson’s frequent run-ins with the law led to his placement at the Tryon School for Boys, a juvenile detention center in upstate New York. It was here that fate intervened; Bobby Stewart, a former boxer and counselor at the facility, recognized Tyson’s potential. Stewart agreed to train him on the condition that Tyson would improve his behavior and academic performance.
Tyson met these expectations, and Stewart began teaching him the fundamentals of boxing. Impressed by Tyson’s rapid progress and natural talent, Stewart introduced him to the legendary trainer Cus D’Amato. D’Amato saw in Tyson the makings of a future champion, which Tyson has commented on in the book “IRON AMBITION: My Life with Cus D’Amato”, saying:
“I don’t really understand how it all happened. How did Cus D’Amato, this legendary boxing manager and trainer who was in exile in upstate New York, watch me spar for less than ten minutes when I was thirteen years old and predict that I would be the youngest heavyweight champ ever?”
Cus took Tyson under his wing. Following the death of Tyson’s mother, D’Amato became his legal guardian, offering the guidance and discipline that had been absent in Tyson’s life.
The Age of Iron
At just 20 years and 4 months old, Mike Tyson punched his way into the annals of boxing history, becoming the youngest heavyweight champion ever — a record that remains unbroken up to this very day. On November 22nd, 1986, Tyson faced Trevor Berbick for the WBC heavyweight title. The fight was short; Mike landed a second-round knockout.
This victory meant a new era in boxing. Tyson was simply unmatched in what he did, and he quickly unified the heavyweight division by securing the WBA and IBF titles as well, becoming an undisputed champion. Decades later, Tyson’s record as the youngest heavyweight champion still stands. Even as new fighters emerge, none have managed to dethrone Iron Mike from this particular pedestal.
So, while records are made to be broken, Tyson’s achievement remains a challenge for future generations. Until someone younger comes along to claim the heavyweight crown, it will be Mike Tyson wearing it.
King Mike vs. King Kong
In the late 1980s, during a private visit to a New York zoo with his then-wife, Robin Givens, Mike Tyson offered $10,000 to a zookeeper for the chance to fight a silverback gorilla.
“When we got to the gorilla cage, there was one big silverback gorilla there, just bullying all the other gorillas,” Tyson told The Sun. Moved by a sense of justice, he proposed the substantial sum to the zookeeper to open the cage and allow him to confront the primate. “They were so powerful, but their eyes were like an innocent infant. I offered the attendant $10,000 to open the cage and let me smash that silverback’s snot box. He declined.”
While the story has been recounted in various interviews and articles, it’s important to note that some details may have been embellished over time.
The Biting Fixation
Even before Tyson’s most recent “biting fixation” comment after his fight with Jake Paul, during which he was seen chewing on his gloves, everyone knew Iron Mike bites.
While his 1997 ear-biting of Evander Holyfield is one of the boxing world’s most popular incidents, Tyson also bit Lennox Lewis’ leg during a pre-fight press conference brawl in 2002.
The press conference was held in New York to promote the upcoming fight between Tyson and Lewis. A physical altercation ensued, involving both fighters and their entourages. During the scrapping, Tyson bit Lewis on the leg. Lennox has expressed his feelings on it, stating, “I never had a human bite me before. I was really horrified. But I looked at that as first blood. I’m gonna take the second blood.”
As a consequence of the biting incident, Tyson was ordered to pay Lewis $335,000. This fine was part of the settlement to address the physical harm and the disruption caused during the press conference. When the actual fight took place, Lennox Lewis defeated Mike Tyson by knockout in the eighth round, which was named the 2002 Knockout of the Year by The Ring.
“Blunt” Force Trauma
The fights weren’t limited to just the inside of a ring. A significant aspect of Mike Tyson’s life was his struggle with substance abuse, which ultimately extended into his professional fights as well.
In his autobiography, Undisputed Truth, Tyson reveals that he fought under the influence of drugs during some of his major events. He admits to using substances like cocaine and marijuana before entering the ring, stating, “I was a full-blown cokehead.” He also explained that cocaine was to blame for his actions in the aforementioned pre-fight press conference, which included biting into one of Lewis’ legs.
To evade detection during mandatory drug tests, Tyson employed a device known as the “Whizzinator” — a prosthetic filled with someone else’s clean urine. He recounts, “I had to use my ‘whizzer’, which was a fake penis where you put in someone’s clean urine to pass your drug test.” This method allowed him to mask his drug use and continue fighting without immediate repercussions.
A Face Full of Love
In 2003, as Mike Tyson prepared for his fight against Clifford Etienne, he decided to get a face tattoo. Initially, Tyson envisioned a series of hearts on his face, aiming to be “The Man of Hearts”. His reasoning? “Because I thought it was an awesome tattoo and I wanted it,” Tyson said on The Howard Stern Show.
However, his tattoo artist, S. Victor Whitmill, advised against this design, feeling it didn’t suit Tyson as a person. Instead, Whitmill proposed a tribal pattern, inspired by Māori tattoo art. Now, it’s one of the most famous and recognizable tattoos in the entire world.
