For a while Mike Tyson aka ‘Iron Mike’ was ‘Mr Boxing’ and his was possibly the most recognisable face in sports in the 1980s and 1990s. He is still very much in the public eye and in a tumultuous life he has made headlines for all the right and wrong reasons. Controversy and incident have been his constant companions and much has already been written about him. Here I will attempt to focus mainly on his boxing career and particularly his place and legacy in boxing folklore and history. I do not wish to sensationalise and have no agenda other than to examine the impact of this remarkable and often outspoken former athlete.

Michael Gerard Tyson was the youngest of three siblings born to Jimmy Kirkpatrick (a labourer who moved out of the family home when Tyson was just two years old) and Lorna Tyson on 30 June 1966 in the Bedford – Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, New York City. All three children took Lorna’s maiden name. When he was still very young he and his brother Rodney and sister Denise moved to the tough area of Brownsville with their single mother.

Life here was particularly hard for the bespectacled softly spoken youth with a lisp. He was teased and bullied and called ‘fairy boy’ by his peers. Tyson stayed off the streets as much as possible preferring the peaceful and safe environment of the rooftops where he raised pigeons.

Tyson enjoyed the calm and serenity of this world but it was not long before his peace was shattered when a bully callously tore off the head of one of his beloved birds. That day a switch in Tyson’s head was flicked and before he knew it he had set on the bully and beat him senseless. This newfound fury and power would set Tyson on a collision course with authority.

Before the age of twelve he had been arrested 30 times for crimes ranging from pickpocketing to armed robbery. He ran with a gang and was already mugging grown men and his prospects were looking bleak.

He was sent to the Tryon School, a New York correction centre where he eventually came under the wing of Bobby Stewart a former professional boxer and the schools athletic coach. Tyson was a natural and Stewart was particularly impressed with the youth’s strength and power. Tyson was introduced to veteran trainer and manager Cus D’Amato who had taken Floyd Patterson and Jose Torres to world titles.

D’Amato was so impressed with the raw 13 year old that he persuaded the New York State Corrections Department to allow Tyson to live with him in his large home situated between Athens and Catskill. Here D’Amato lived with his companion of 45 years: Camille Ewald, who after the death of Tyson’s mother of cancer at a tragically young age became a surrogate mother to him. His new home was a three storey, seven-bedroom English style house and was a world away from what he had been used to.

So many bad things had already happened to young Tyson that he found it hard to trust anyone and he was initially suspicious and sceptical of the old man’s motives but eventually the two grew very close and D’Amato became legal guardian of Tyson. It was with D’Amato that Tyson learnt the finer points of boxing: like defence, head movement, crouching, ducking, bobbing and weaving, combination punching and balance. He also had access to a huge and enviable collection of old fight films and Tyson studied them avidly.

It was during these years that the raw strength and talent and the fragile mistrusting psyche of Tyson was nurtured and developed into a skilful, fast, hard hitting boxer with tremendous self belief. There was one occasion when he famously had a moment of self doubt which was caught on camera by a documentary team when his then trainer Teddy Atlas had to give the nervous Tyson a pep talk before an amateur tournament. The talk must have worked as Tyson blew his opponent away inside twenty seconds!

Many could not believe that this bull-necked heavily muscled boxer was as young as he was. He was destroying seasoned fighters with ease such was the speed, ferocity and accuracy of his attacks. His style was more suited to the professional ranks and after losing two contentious points decisions to Henry Tillman who became the USA’s heavyweight representative at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics going on to take the gold medal, that Team Tyson moved their sights on the professional ranks.

He turned pro at the tender age of 18. His trainer and chief second was former boxer Kevin Rooney and his managers were Jim Jacobs and Bill Cayton with D’Amato still very much in the picture, pulling the strings in the background as the wise old boxing guru and spiritual support to the precocious youngster.

Much of what D’Amato taught was philosophical as it was technical. He often talked about ‘fear’ and how it could often be a fighters best friend if channelled correctly; he also lectured about the ‘hero’ and the coward’ who D’Amato contended were equally gifted yet when met with the same problem the hero would face up to it whereas the coward would always find excuses and shy away.

While Rooney worked on the rudiments of boxing and ensured that Tyson was always in optimum shape, D’Amato would work on his mind building confidence and self-belief. Jacobs and Cayton took care of the financial and business side of the enterprise. D’Amato would tell everyone that Tyson was the ‘future heavyweight champion of the world.’

At the start of his professional career not many would share the same confidence. Yes Tyson had power, yes he had speed and an excellent defence adopting the D’Amato peek a boo defensive style, but detractors argued that at just five feet eleven and a half inches tall Tyson was too short for a heavyweight. Time would prove them all wrong but remember this was the age of the average heavyweight boxer standing six feet three or four inches (and often taller) and between sixteen to eighteen stone. Tyson at around fifteen stone was perceived as a small heavyweight in stature and weight.

What he soon showed after making his debut on 6 March 1985 was that his size was actually a huge advantage. Hector Mercedes was easily dispatched in the first round and in just eight months Tyson had seen off ten more boxers in quick explosive fashion.

With his height and crouching, bobbing and weaving style, gloves held high, Tyson offered a difficult target for his taller opponents (and there were hardly any heavyweights who were shorter than him). He could also get a lot of leverage into his punches, particularly hooks and uppercuts.

Thanks to his lower weight he was exceptionally fast for a heavyweight and once inside an opponents jab he wreaked havoc with his sharp, accurate combination punching to head and body. In fact one of Tyson’s best combinations was a lightning fast hook to the body and a hook to the head. Remember also that in these early days he just did not stop coming forward pouring on the pressure and throwing punches, trapping opponents in corners and on the ropes. He was soon getting noticed for all the right reasons.

Sadly three days after his eleventh straight win in just eight months his mentor and guardian D’Amato died of pneumonia aged 77. Tyson grieved but knew D’Amato would want him to carry on and just nine days later Tyson knocked out his twelfth opponent in just 77 seconds.

It was not until his 20th fight that Tyson was taken the distance and then the opponent was former world title challenger James ‘Quick’ Tillis. Tyson had proved that he could go ten rounds at a fast pace against a world-class boxer. Mitch ‘Blood’ Green became the second man to take him the distance then Tyson continued to knock opponents out among them Marvis Frazier son of ‘Smokin’’ Joe Frazier who was destroyed inside a round.

After defeating Jose Ribalta and Alonzo Ratliff inside the distance the stage was finally set for a world title challenge to Canada’s Trevor Berbick who held the WBC portion of the crown. On the twenty third anniversary of the JFK assassination Mike Tyson became the youngest man in history to win the world heavyweight title when he destroyed Berbick in two one-sided rounds, one of Tyson’s punches had the effect of flooring Berbick three times, so wobbly were his legs! He was only 20 years old.

In March 1987 the still raw champion unified the WBC and WBA belts when he defeated James ‘Bonecrusher’ Smith on points over twelve rounds. Such were the negative tactics of Smith he should have been renamed ‘Boneclutcher’ as all he seemed intent on doing was surviving intact to hear the final bell. Apart from the final half minute of the last round when he tested Tyson’s chin with a monstrous right hand all Smith did was tie his younger opponent up inside and clinch.

The judges hardly gave Smith a share of a single round and afterwards he said ‘Sure I fought to survive, wouldn’t you?’ No one was arguing with him!

Tyson next defended his two titles against former WBC champion Pinklon Thomas winning on an impressive and chilling sixth round knockout, it was the first time Thomas had been on the canvas as a professional.

On 1 August 1987 Tyson met Tony ‘TNT’ Tucker the IBF world champion in a unification contest that would finally see an undisputed world champion since Leon Spinks in 1978. Tucker was a classy six feet five athletic heavyweight with good hand speed and great footwork, he could punch as well as Tyson found out in the first round, when he was caught and momentarily shaken by a left uppercut on the way inside. It was a brief success for Tucker and for the rest of the fight Tyson dominated and went on to win unanimously on points. It later emerged that Tucker had badly damaged his right hand in the second round and he deserved a lot of credit for giving Tyson a decent test.

Defences followed against Tyrell Biggs who was stopped in seven painful rounds; former WBC and IBF champion Larry Holmes who although boxing bravely was floored three times and knocked out in four rounds; finally former WBA champion Tony Tubbs was blasted out in two rounds in Tokyo, Japan where Tyson enjoyed a huge popular following.

Tragedy followed the contest when one of Tyson’s managers Jim Jacobs died of leukaemia. Tyson was close to Jacobs and it was yet another person who Tyson loved who had died. A power struggle was about to develop between his wife Robin Givens, her mother Ruth Roper, promoter Don King and Tyson’s now sole manager Bill Cayton.

It would get very ugly and must have been very distracting for Tyson who was totally in love with Givens and becoming increasingly estranged from his old Catskill Team. He often argued with his trainer Kevin Rooney and his relationship with Cayton became strained. Don King was waiting in the wings ready to pounce on boxings golden goose.

Despite all of this turmoil Tyson met former undisputed world light heavyweight and former IBF world heavyweight champion, the undefeated and highly rated Michael Spinks. There were a few who even picked Spinks to spring an upset.

In the much anticipated event Tyson was at his most awesome best, he walked right through and destroyed his sole remaining heavyweight rival of significance in just 91 seconds of the first round. He was simply awesome and looked unbeatable. In fact many commentators said that the only person who could beat Tyson was himself. Sadly after his greatest triumph in the ring they would eventually be proved right.

To close out 1988 Tyson had so many mishaps and very public goings on that a mooted defence against Britain’s Frank Bruno was repeatedly postponed.

I won’t go into the details of these events as they have already been recounted and covered in great detail, but to summarise: he was involved in a street brawl with former opponent Mitch Green, accused of sexual harassment by two women, crashed his wife’s BMW into a tree, split with manger Bill Cayton and trainer Kevin Rooney, divorced from Robin Givens after a humiliating television interview with her and Barbara Walters, and finally signed with Don King among other things.

At long last Tyson stepped into a boxing ring in February 1989 where he successfully defeated Frank Bruno on a brutal fifth round stoppage. It was a rusty and vulnerable Tyson that won though.

Despite flooring his challenger in the opening seconds Tyson was himself badly shaken towards the end of the first round and he struggled to finish Bruno off quickly, instead wearing him down for the end in the fifth. Gone was the old sharpness, the perpetual motion, the bobbing and weaving and the head movement, where before he threw punches in combinations here he was throwing single shots. He was also easier to hit as Bruno discovered. He was still undoubtedly the best out there but the aura of invincibility was slipping.

In July of 1989 he easily demolished top ranked contender Carl ‘The Truth’ Williams in just 93 seconds of the first round then did not fight for the remainder of the year. This was in stark contrast to the Tyson of old who used to fight often to stay sharp and out of trouble. Since teaming up with King temptation was never far away and for a young man with the world at his feet it was hard to resist. There was no longer the wise counsel of Cus D’Amato or the discipline of workouts with Kevin Rooney.

It was February 1990 before he put his titles on the line again, this time in Tokyo, Japan against the unexceptional James ‘Buster’ Douglas. The 29-year-old challenger had lost in a previous world title attempt when he was stopped in the tenth round against common foe Tony Tucker for the IBF title. He was considered nothing more than a decent journeyman by most and was a 42 to 1 underdog come fight time. His mother had died just three weeks before the contest and his marriage was in trouble, also Douglas had an unjust reputation in the game for being a ‘quitter’ and many believed the omens were not good for him.

Tyson’s preparation under Jay Bright and Aaron Snowell had not exactly been ideal, he had been floored in sparring by former WBA champion Greg Page and their were rumours that he had not been training properly and to get down to his fighting weight he had lived on soup in the days leading up to the fight.

In one of the most exciting heavyweight contests in history Douglas amazed the world with a dazzling performance for seven and a half rounds as he danced and jabbed and generally bamboozled the surprisingly sluggish and lacklustre looking champion.

Then just as the eighth round was coming to a close, the forlorn champion with a rapidly closing eye found the punch that could save his titles: a devastating uppercut landed depositing the challenger heavily on his back on the canvas.

It looked highly unlikely that he would beat the count. Yet, referee Octavio Meyran seemed to get a bit mixed up and stutter through the count. Douglas got up at the official count of nine and the referee waved it on, but before another punch could land the bell sounded to end the round. Douglas had actually been down for more like twelve or thirteen seconds but just like Gene Tunney who took a ‘long count’ against Jack Dempsey, it is the referees count that is important not the time keepers.

In the ninth Douglas seemed to have fully recovered and by the end of the ninth it was Tyson who had been battered on the ropes and who looked in danger of being stopped. If nothing else he was proving what a strong chin he had and how durable he was but all of those heavy shots were adding up.

The tenth saw the dramatic conclusion when a Douglas uppercut followed by a salvo of more devastating punches sent Tyson crashing to his back for the first knockdown of his career. It was sensational stuff and many around the world could not believe their eyes. As Tyson groggily managed to get on his knees he groped around for his gumshield, which had been knocked out. He lopsidedly managed to ram it in his mouth before shakily getting to his feet but it was too late, the referee waved it over, he had counted Tyson out.

Don King tried to get the decision reversed arguing that there had been a ‘long count’ and for a while it looked like the WBC and WBA organisations were seriously considering calling it a ‘no contest’ which would have been a travesty and injustice.

The IBF stuck their ground and continued to recognise Douglas as champion as did the world’s media. Fortunately the WBC and WBA eventually relented and declared Douglas as champion. It was a devastating setback for the young 23-year-old Tyson but even he later admitted that he would not have wanted to keep the title in that manner.

Tyson came back well from what was arguably the upset of the century. He defeated old Olympic rival and conqueror Henry Tillman inside a round then stopped Alex Stewart also in a round. Next he defeated arguably the most dangerous heavyweight contender outside of himself in Donovan ‘Razor’ Ruddock an adopted Canadian of Jamaican descent. Ruddock put up tremendous resistance and many felt that referee Richard Steele halted the action prematurely in the seventh round and a rematch was arranged.

The rematch in June 1991 saw Tyson struggle in a hard contest that went the full twelve rounds. He won unanimously and quite clearly on points but he had faded in the later rounds. He just did not look like the Tyson of old anymore. He was still more than a match for most heavyweights out there but before a rematch with Douglas could take place or a mooted contest with new champion Evander Holyfield, Tyson was arrested in July.

Tyson was accused of raping beauty contestant Desiree Washington. He was indicted and sentenced to six years imprisonment on 26 March 1992. After three years of his jail sentence Tyson was released for good behaviour, while inside he had read and studied voraciously whilst continuing to stay in decent shape, he also converted to Islam.

Six months after his release he was back in the ring and on 19 August 1995 in Las Vegas he fought Irish American Peter McNeeley who memorably promised to ‘wrap him (Tyson) in my cocoon of horror.’ Everyone tried not to laugh at that press conference and the slaughter was stopped in just 89 seconds when McNeeley’s cornerman in an act of compassion jumped into the ring to intervene thus disqualifying his fighter and saving him from a certain knockout.

After knocking out Buster Mathis Jr in three he was awarded with a world title fight in March 1996 with old opponent Frank Bruno who had recently gained WBC recognition by defeating old Tyson sparring partner Oliver McCall on points. Bruno looked intimidated; crossing himself no less than seventeen times before entering the ring and unlike their first contest was contemptuously brushed aside in three easy rounds. At the age of 29 Tyson was a world champion again.

In his next contest he added the WBA belt by destroying the hapless and terrified Bruce Seldon in one round. Tyson looked to be back to his old invincible self or was it a case of the opposition being so poor that he looked good?

His next fight in November of 1996 was a defence of his WBA title (he had relinquished the WBC portion earlier that year) against former world cruiserweight and heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield. The widely held belief at the time was that all of the wars had finally caught up with Holyfield and that at 34 years old he was past his prime, many even feared for his safety against a Tyson who seemed to be back to his fearsome and devastating best.

In another stunning upset Tyson was floored in the sixth round for a count and was stopped in the eleventh round by referee Mitch Halpern after taking a barrage of punches and badly staggering against the ropes. In the post fight conference Tyson chillingly said that he had no memory of the fight from about the sixth round.

If you watch the fight on YouTube or elsewhere whether it is intentional or not, Holyfield does come in with his head on several occasions and the two fighters did clash heads many times, perhaps testament to Tyson’s grogginess and concussive state afterwards. In a long career it was not the first time Holyfield was accused of being dangerous with his head and it was certainly not the last time as later events would prove with dramatic consequences.

A rematch was a natural as everyone was interested in seeing whether it was a one off fluke for the new champion, or if Tyson could reach the heights and become world champion for a third time. The rematch was held in June 1997 in Las Vegas and would be remembered sadly for all the wrong reasons.

The fight began with both men matching one another punch for punch and there were some exciting exchanges. Then it all began to unravel. Holyfield began (like he did in the first fight) to come in dangerously with his head; so much so that he opened a nasty cut over one of Tyson’s eyes. By the third round with blood flowing into his eye and getting increasingly exasperated at referee Mills Lane’s lack of warnings or penalties for Holyfield’s butts Tyson took matters into his own hands by unfortunately reverting to the law of the streets.

The pair went into a clinch and Tyson then did the unthinkable as he bit a chunk out of one of Holyfield’s ears! It was a shocking and pardon the pun, a particularly un-edifying sight. The crowd at the MGM Grand and the millions watching on television around the world watched in shock and amazement at what was unfolding. Lane did warn Tyson about the biting and the fighting was resumed, Tyson waved Holyfield on, he even shoved him at one point, and then bit him again…

This time Lane had no choice and he immediately disqualified Tyson. The crowd erupted and there was a near riot while the commentators and journalists at ringside tried to make sense of what had happened. It was one of the most bizarre conclusions to a world title fight in history.

On 9 July 1997 the Nevada State Athletic Commission rescinded Tyson’s boxing licence and he was fined $3 million and ordered to pay the legal costs of the hearing. The ban was eventually lifted in October 1998 and during that time Tyson had acted as an ‘enforcer’ at a ‘Wrestlemania’ event, ironically being paid $3 million for his services. Many journalists lamented that Tyson had become a ‘sideshow’ and he was now known more for his notoriety and volcanic temperament and unpredictable behaviour rather than his ability in the ring.

When he did eventually return to the ring it was in January 1999 and a return to the scene of the ear-biting incident the MGM Grand. Tyson knocked out former IBF world champion South Africa’s Francois Botha in five rounds after an ill tempered contest were Tyson allegedly attempted to break his opponents arms in the clinches and where Botha taunted him. It was not vintage Tyson although the result was a good one.

Legal problems caught up with Tyson once again. On February 5, 1999, Tyson was sentenced to a year's imprisonment, fined $5,000, and ordered to serve two years probation and perform 200 hours of community service for assaulting two motorists after a traffic accident on August 31, 1998. He served nine months of the sentence before his release.

A bout followed with Orlin Norris in October of 1999, Tyson had knocked his opponent down just after the bell had sounded for the end of the first round, Norris claimed he had injured his knee and the fight could not continue so it was declared a no-contest. It was another unsatisfactory ring appearance.

In 2000 Tyson joined forces with British boxing promoter Frank Warren and won a fight with British champion Julius Francis by a knockout in the second round at the MEN Arena in Manchester in January of that year. Next up was fellow American Lou Savarese at Hampden Park in Glasgow in June. Tyson won in the first round and the fight only lasted 38 seconds. Tyson continued to punch his opponent after the referee John Coyle had stopped the fight, Tyson even knocked the referee to the floor as he tried to separate the boxers. Once again Tyson was lucky to escape disqualification.

Andrew Golota the equally controversial Polish boxer based in Chicago, USA was up next in October. Golota refused to continue in round three as he had suffered a broken jaw. The stoppage victory was later reversed to a no contest as Tyson tested positive for marijuana after the contest. He was easily defeating second tier and fringe contenders and keeping his name in the headlines for his notoriety. Boxing purists winced yet it was undeniable that Tyson remained big box office.

Surprisingly he fought only once in 2001 in October in Copenhagen, Denmark. This time European fans were treated to Tyson stopping Danish favourite Brian Nielsen in seven rounds. Tyson had already called out undisputed world champion Britain’s Lennox Lewis after the Savarese fight by bizarrely stating that ‘I want your heart, I want to eat your children.’

In 2002 the publicity drum was beating for a Lewis versus Tyson contest worth millions. The two had sparred together years ago as amateurs in the Catskills and since then their lives had taken totally different paths. Lewis had defeated Evander Holyfield to unify the belts in 1999 and had also cleaned up the heavyweight division, running out of viable challengers. Tyson was the logical choice of opponent as he was such big box office despite his obvious decline in skills.

At a press conference in New York to publicize the contest the two men ended up wrestling on the floor where Lewis claimed that Tyson had bit him on the leg. The fight was moved from Nevada to the Pyramid Arena, Memphis, Tennessee and took place on 8 June 2002. Tyson’s best chances of victory lay early on in the fight and in the first round he launched himself at the taller boxer. He failed to secure the knockout and was then subjected to a systematic beating until he was cut over both eyes and knocked out by a monstrous right in the eighth round.

Tyson had redeemed himself in the eyes of many after this fight for not fouling, for not quitting and showing tremendous courage in soaking up the punishment. The two men spoke well of each other afterwards and there was plenty of mutual respect on display. The fight was the highest-grossing event in pay – per - view history at that time, generating $106.9 million from 1.95 million buys in the USA and was a big hit worldwide. It was the last big fight Tyson would participate in and the last world title fight in his colourful career.

Tyson returned to Memphis in February 2003 needing just 49 seconds to defeat Clifford Etienne. Yet the headlines were all about Tyson’s shoddy preparation and a new facial tattoo he sported rather than his boxing ability. It was his last ring victory.

After a long break from the ring Tyson returned in July 2004 to face another British boxer, this time Danny Williams at Muhammad Ali’s birthplace of Louisville, Kentucky. After a decent opening round where Tyson frequently shook and wobbled his opponent he seemed to fade until unbelievably in the fourth round he was knocked to the canvas clear eyed where he refused to get up. Later his camp claimed he had injured his knee but it simply looked like the old desire and fire had left Tyson for good. Even Williams later admitted ‘I beat only forty percent of the real Mike Tyson that night.’

It was nearly a year later when Tyson (just 19 days away from his 39th birthday) took on the hulking Irish boxer Kevin McBride from the same town as former world featherweight champion Barry McGuigan. Unsurprisingly the six feet six inch McBride was known as ‘The Clones Colossus.’

Tyson stunned the boxing world by quitting before the start of the seventh round in a close bout. After losing the third of his last four fights, Tyson said he would quit boxing because he no longer had ‘the fighting guts or the heart anymore.’

Tyson finally retired from the boxing ring and began life away from the constant glare of publicity to spend time with his young family and tending to his 350 pigeons.

In 2009 tragedy struck again when Tyson’s four-year-old daughter Exodus was found by her seven-year-old brother, Miguel, unconscious and tangled in a cord, dangling from an exercise treadmill. All attempts to revive her failed and she later died. It was another crushing blow for the former champion who over the years had also lost his mother Lorna, his guardian Cus D’Amato, manager Jim Jacobs and his sister Denise.

In June 2009 Tyson married for the third time to Lakiha Spicer. He has seven children and lives mainly in Nevada although his work takes him all over the world. He has appeared as himself in a documentary film by friend James Toback ‘Tyson’ (2008) where he talks candidly about his life and in the two comedy films ‘The Hangover’ and ‘The Hangover Part II’ as well as a reality television show ‘Taking on Tyson’ where he has been reunited with his old friends and races pigeons.

On June 12, 2011, he was inducted to the International Boxing Hall of Fame, alongside legendary Mexican three weight champion Julio Cesar Chavez former light welterweight champion Australian based Russian Kostya Tszyu, and actor/screenwriter Sylvester Stallone.

Today it appears that Tyson may have finally burned his bridges and made peace with the past. Against all media expectations and predictions he seems to have mellowed and appears philosophical and finally at ease. He enjoys fishing and racing his pigeons and also makes appearances worldwide. Yet you cannot help but wonder if the old Tyson still lurks below the surface.

For a brief time in the 1980s he was the most exciting and devastating practitioner of the noble art. Had he retired after the Spinks fight in 1988 he would appear near the top if not actually at the top of most people’s greatest heavyweight champions list.

Because of the losses and controversies of the 1990s and 2000s his image has been tarnished somewhat, yet he would still arguably appear in the top ten on most ‘All time’ lists. Whatever his merits in the ring he brought excitement to a sport when it was in dire need of it.

World Champion: 1986 – 1990 and 1996

World Title Fights: 16 Wins: 12 Lost: 4

Career Fights: 58 Wins: 50 Lost: 6 NC: 2

Knockouts: 44