18min
In his book, Undisputed Truth, Mike Tyson opens up about his life, from his childhood and his boxing career, to the personal problems he has had to deal with over the years and what happened since the end of his professional career. This is arguably one of the most raw and honest autobiographies ever written, and is definitely worth a read.
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Analysis and key concepts
01.
Even as a young child, Tyson was no stranger to pain, and soon became involved in crime
02.
Cus D'Amato pretty much saved Mike’s life, essentially rescuing him after the death of his mother, by encouraging him to take up professional boxing
03.
Tyson’s career got off to a sensational start, until Cus D'Amato’s tragic death
04.
Tyson ferociously dominated every fight for years, and was world heavyweight champion from 1986 to 1990, but his life outside the ring was falling apart
05.
After years of so many resounding victories, Tyson lost his first fight in 1990, and things went downhill from there, as he received a 6-year prison sentence and had to deal with the death of both his father and sister
06.
In 1997, during a heavyweight world title fight, Tyson bit off a piece of his opponent’s ear
07.
Tyson declared war on everyone and everything, suing his manager and promoter Don King and two of his former managers
08.
While Tyson announces his retirement from boxing and is inducted into the Boxing Hall Of Fame, problems and tragedies continue to plague his private life
09.
Quotes
10.
Take-home message
In his heyday, Michael Gerard Tyson, better known as Mike Tyson or ‘Iron Mike’, was undoubtedly one of the greatest boxers of all time, perhaps second only to Muhammad Ali. Tyson is also known, however, for his troubled personal life, his involvement in crime, and his drug use.
Tyson was born in New York in 1966 to Jimmy Kirkpatrick and Lorna Tyson. When Michael was two years old, his father left home, leaving Lorna to look after Michael, his brother Rodney, and sister Denise on her own. To make ends meet, Lorna was forced to move with her children to a poorer district, Brownsville, Brooklyn, which unfortunately also had a bad reputation for its high crime rate. At a certain point the family was even evicted from their home and often found themselves sleeping on the streets. Tyson was a small, shy boy with a speech impediment, and he was often bullied. As the years went by, in a desperate attempt to stop the bullying, he became increasingly aggressive, and soon found himself involved with a local gang. He committed his first robbery at the age of 11, and had been arrested more than 30 times by the time he was 13.
Tyson’s behaviour landed him in juvenile detention, where he met Bob Stewart, a former amateur boxing champion. Tyson asked Stewart to teach him how to box, and Stewart agreed, on the condition that he worked harder at school and stayed out of trouble. This was how Mike’s obsession with boxing began. He learned incredibly fast, and when Stewart realised that he had taught Tyson everything he had to teach, he introduced him to legendary boxing manager Constantine D'Amato, also known as Cus, who owned a gym in Catskill, New York.
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The author
Mike Tyson is a former American boxer, who fought professionally from 1985 to 2005. He is considered one of the greatest boxers of all time, and is also the youngest boxer in history to win a heavyweight title, at the age of 20. Tyson is also known for his troubled personal life, and over the years, he has done time in prison, has been charged for assault, struggled with drug addiction, and suffered huge personal grief.
Edition
Publishing house:
Plume
Year:
2014
Pages:
608
ISBN:
978-0142181218