In his prime, his mere presence so intimidated opponents that one passed out before Tyson landed his first punch. He won his first 37 fights, all by knockout, and at 19 became the youngest heavyweight champion ever Now 42, with little desire to recall those glory years, he’s comfortable living a much quieter life in his Nevada digs away from the spotlight. He rarely attends any events nor does he care to be involved in his once-beloved sport. His attention seems to be more about finding his spiritual balance then exposing the complexities of his character.
Learning the tenets of Islam has helped me make sense of my existence,” Tyson explains. “I was a lost man; you gotta understand me when I tell you this. It forced me to look within myself and find a place of enlightenment.
Although now a far less public figure, Tyson has recently been promoting a new documentary film about his life, “Tyson.” Directed by James Toback, the film is largely a painful depiction of his tribulations. Yet love him or loathe him, you can’t deny that he’s still a work in progress. Unlike many other fallen celebrities, Tyson retains the prospect of a better decision at the end of his fights. Talking to him, it is easy to realize the warmth inside his rough exterior. Although he no longer dominates the ring, his magnetism is still endearing.
“I’m in a different place all together. I’m much more at peace than I was. I was one angry son-of-bitch and willing to take it out on anyone around me. I really wanted to destroy my opponent, and at times it was hard for me to turn that switch off. That ring persona of a vicious malcontent, I emulated in all parts of my life. I know I was hard to deal with and God bless those who were around me during that time.”
Against all odds, Tyson rose from obscurity through the expert support of his long-time mentor Cus D’Amato. Tyson was the most feared fighter in the mid 80s. He won the WBC title in 1986 by defeating Trevor Berbick, literally knocking him senseless early in the second round. His dominance continued as he knocked out Michael Spinks in only 91 seconds. Tyson became an historian; at the mere mention of an old-time boxer and he will break down the attributes of each fighter, “Jack Johnson was menacing, but equally technical in his delivery. His punches were precise and lethal. But his pension for women some say created other problems.”
By most accounts the hinges on Tyson’s career came lose after his shocking 1990 upset loss to 42-to-1 underdog Buster Douglas. By that time he admittedly was living excessively and with little restraint. Something had to give. With a broken marriage in the wind and several lawsuits pending, Tyson seemed headed for disaster – and was. It was one fight he relived over and over while incarcerated.
Tyson recalls the debacle of the Tokyo Douglas fight: “The night before the fight I was in my hotel room with two women, partying until the early morning. My focus was no longer about boxing. I had established this fictitious image I felt I had to live up to. And coming from what I had come from it wasn’t that hard of an image to embrace. Suddenly I’m shaking hands with society’s elite, and leaders of countries were lining up for a photo opportunity alongside me. It was unbelievable, a boy from Catskill, New York, one of the roughest places in the world, being heralded. That alone was a trip; now add that to the many other temptations known to man.”
Then came the rape charge of Desiree Washington, which got him three years in an Indiana prison. He still denies the charges but doesn’t blame her for derailing his life. He moves from the burdens of celebrity to philosophical reflections as easily as he used to move in the ring.
“We live in a world of opportunists. Had I been a different person then, maybe the circumstances would have been different, but I was burning both ends of the wick. One of the most important things I learned while in prison is that there’s a spiritual order to life and if you ignore that by doing what you want to do, then there will be repercussions.”
Tyson takes pains to emphasize how he has changed and that he’d rather focus on where he is today than his past mistakes. Following a recent stay in rehab center for drug and alcohol abuse, Tyson has been clean for 200 days.
“I know this sounds strange but prison did something positive for me. It allowed me a quiet place to hear myself. On the outside it seemed as if everything was noisy and I had no quiet time. There inside of that cell I found quiet time. I have good people around me now. I think I’ve gotten rid of all the ‘yes’ men, and when you can have real people around you to tell you the truth it makes things much easier.”
As for his severed relationship with the man he once regarded as a father figure his words are much simpler.
“Don King is who he is; his spots never changed. I blame myself for not realizing his intentions. I was told on more occasions than I can count who he was -- by individuals who had nothing to gain from my position, just genuine peers. But the train was moving so fast then that I just couldn’t hear them.”
For over 20 years, Tyson has lived in the glass bowl of celebrity, often dealing with media cruelty and ridicule along his path to greener pastures.
“It has taken me a little more time, but I’ll get there. Right now I worry about my children, and I hope I haven’t done too much damage to them. They still need a father and quite frankly I need them.” Tyson has re-established a relationship with all of six of his children. He continues to work at his relationships with them. “I’ve missed a lot of time with my children, watching them grow up and learning their personalities. Luckily their mothers had some sense.”
Once worth nearly $400 million, then declaring bankruptcy in 2003, Tyson’s financial transgressions mirrored those of his personal behavior. “What can I say? I was irresponsible in many ways and when you have a million people looking over your money and no one looking out for you, things happens. Was I taken advantage of? Yeah, but who can I blame for that? What I do know is I’m a better person today than I’ve ever been and that’s all that matters.”
Now his days are filled with praying, working out, and earning a modest living through various ventures. Currently he’s in discussion with Hollywood producers to executive produce a story of his life. “At this point I just gotta keep growing and getting better. Hell, I don’t have any other choice. I’ve made enough mistakes to last me two lifetimes, but what do you do?” Not one to sit back and rest on past glory, Mike Tyson insists that his final chapter hasn’t been written. And he believes his final rounds will be even better than his early ones.
