The eternal decline of Mike Tyson, or how to ruin a life full of wrong decisions

In reality, no boxing and sports lover expected much from the fight that took place in the early hours of Friday. After all, it was a fight organized by a thug influencer turned boxer and a retired boxer who needs money. But at least some decency was expected. There wasn’t. The boy and the legend barely exchanged blows, they did not hit each other, they did not fight. They just let the minutes pass to complete a Netflix show and share the 80 million dollar purse. Bye, bye, love.

Nobody would say that in the ring there was one of the greatest boxers of all time, a true legend who, however, for years seems involved in a crusade to scare away his myth. Because nothing seems to remain of Michael Gerard Tyson, son of Jimmy Kirkpatrick and Lorna Smith Tyson, born on June 30, 1966 in New York.

When he was two years old, his father abandoned him, his mother, his brother and his sister. As a result, Lorna raised her three children alone in poverty and had to move to Brownsville, an undesirable neighborhood in Brooklyn. And it’s hard to believe now, but when he was a kid, Mike Tyson was small and terribly introverted. I was a victim of harassment and bullyingand that was the beginning of his revenge against life. He decided to learn to fight in the street, became a delinquent, emptied store cash registers while his accomplices pointed guns at the staff, and by the age of 13 he had already been arrested more than 30 times.

From reform school to success

Reform school arrived, a friend who recommended that he use boxing to channel his fury, learning technique, a good manager… and the death of his mother. It happened in 1982, cancer took her away. Lorna would never get to meet the triumphant Tyson and that would frustrate the boy forever. On March 6, 1985, at the age of 18, he debuted as a professional and knocked out Héctor Mercedes in the first round. The rest of his sporting career is now history: titles, millions of dollars, fame, recognition, greatness…

He had everything but a life. On February 7, 1988, Tyson married television actress Robin Givens and from then on his career began to be in danger. He was skimping on boxing while the list of episodes of domestic violence began to add up. His behavior would become increasingly violent.: street fights, drug-related accidents, insults, rape, etc. In an unstoppable spiral of violence and decay, fHe was sentenced in 1992 to six years for rape. While serving his sentence, he converted to Islam and adopted the name Malik Abdul Aziz. His father died during his first year of incarceration, but the boxer did not request to attend the funeral.

He was released from prison on March 25, 1995, continued with his career and then arrived that fateful night of June 28, 1997. In a moment of madness, Tyson tore off part of Evander Holyfield’s ear and spat out the piece of meat. It was the end. About his career and many other things. Despite having earned nearly $114 million between 1995 and 1997, he had spent almost all of it and had tax debts worth $10 million.

A flight forward

From there everything was a flight forward. Shortly after, he had a motorcycle accident, got into million-dollar lawsuits, was sentenced to two years in prison for assaulting two motorcyclists after a traffic accident, staged embarrassing comeback fights, hit a referee, tested positive for marijuana, entered In depression, he turned to drugs, was accused again of kidnapping and rape, faced another million-dollar divorce and declared bankruptcy. He had none of the more than $300 million he had earned during his career.. There is that incident with a stripper named Shelley with whom he had two children. She died on May 26, 2009 at the age of four, after accidentally suffocating on a cable. The cost of the medical bills and funeral amounted to $200,000, raised through donations, as Tyson was bankrupt.

Why continue? The combat drill this morning in Dallas before a YouTuber is only one more of the many catastrophic misfortunes of a man who once had everything but never really had anything. He no longer has a reputation left, squandered by tragic decisions resulting from a colossal hatred and resentment against the world that will always remain. A life thrown down the drain.