Tyson’s massive success in the ring was often accompanied by controversy away from it. He has served time in prison and jail on multiple occasions after being convicted on sexual assault, physical assault, and drug charges.
The ensuing years certainly weren’t easy for Spicer and Tyson, but they’ve built a family and persevered through addiction struggles and a prison sentence. “I’m very happy me and my wife got together,” Tyson said, per the Post, “because I don’t know how I would have survived out there.”
Tyson’s life was changed forever. He went from living in Brownsville to becoming a multi-millionaire at just 20 years old, and the money kept rushing in. Companies from Pepsi to Toyota wanted to hand him a paycheck to sell their products, and beautiful women vied for his attention.
Within a few years, it was gone, and he declared bankruptcy, mainly due to his many addictions and reckless spending. He had hit rock-bottom, sifting his way through a mountain of debt, when, seemingly out of nowhere, he started an acting career and the comeback began.
Tyson made his television debut as a pro in February 1986, against a decent prospect called Jesse Ferguson. The 19-year-old had already appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated and before he entered the ring – minus the traditional robe and wearing short black shorts and no socks – the crowd was in raptures.
“One of the Black Baptist denominations, they were strong supporters of ,” Shipp said. “There was a question of why do you side with Mike Tyson, the bad boy, against Desiree Washington, the good girl who’s also a member of the denomination and is a Sunday school teacher?”
As a result, Tyson was disqualified from the fight, fined more than $3 million, and had his boxing license suspended (though it was reinstated a year later.) He later tried to explain why he’d bitten Holyfield, saying at a press conference:
Tyson’s tattoos and skill as a boxer certainly set him apart from his competitors. But Tyson has also engaged in outrageous behavior — in and out of the ring — which fueled his notoriety. Take the ear-biting incident.
The first and second rounds provided the typical crowd-pleasing action expected from the two champions. But the match took an unexpected turn in the third round. Tyson shocked fans and boxing officials when he grabbed Holyfield and bit both of the boxer’s ears, completely severing a piece of Holyfield’s right ear. Tyson claimed that the action was retaliation for Holyfield’s illegal head butts from their previous match. Judges didn’t agree with Tyson’s reasoning, however, and disqualified the boxer from the fight.
“I don’t think so. Unless something miraculous happens. But you never know. The more we learn about ourselves, the more we learn about life. Life is pretty interesting. We’re born not knowing, we die not knowing where we came from. But our life prepares us for our death. We still don’t know sh*t about it, but when we get to a certain age, we’re not scared of dying no more, like it was when we were young.”
“Being a boxer was the last thing on my mind,” Tyson said. “Being a heavyweight champion fighter, that must’ve been the last thing on my mind. Once I started learning how to do the fighting stuff, … I wanted to use that to be my mugging skills. Now I can do mugs.
Tyson’s two youngest children, Milan and Morocco, were born to his current wife. At age 13, Milan is already making public appearances with her dad. She also plays tennis, according to her Instagram profile. Morocco Tyson, age 10, has an Instagram profile managed by his parents.
In August 2003, after years of financial struggles, Tyson finally filed for bankruptcy. Tyson earned over $30 million for several of his fights and $300 million during his career. At the time, the media reported that he had approximately $23 million in debt.
While speaking with PEOPLE over Zoom, Tyson is excited to talk about the new generation of fighters who’ve followed in his footsteps. He also lights up when discussing the pigeons he famously raises, which are just a few feet away outside his window.
I went with him, and we started breaking into people’s houses. He told me to go through the windows that were too small for him to fit through, and I went in and opened the door for him. Once we were inside, he went through people’s drawers, he broke open the safe, he was just really wiping them out. We got stereos, eight-tracks, jewelry, guns, cash money. After the robberies, he took me to Delancey Street in the city and bought me some nice clothes and sneakers and a sheepskin coat.
In addition, Rogers’ creation explores the significance and relevance of Mike Tyson. As per executive producer Karin Gist, the foundation of ‘mike tyson career timeline’ is “to tell the story so that we’re talking about more than just the events in his life, but rather placing the story and giving it context in the world and at the time.” During a Television Critics Association panel, Gist added, “We really wanted to make sure we were as broad as possible in the research and the dramatization of the events of his life and we could make sure we were opening the doors to other conversations to be had around those things as well.”
