“Desiree is such a little girl, but it’s a powerful notion,” Nassau said. “She brought down a huge icon. Mike Tyson had been undefeated, for the most part. Here this 18-year-old contestant comes along and she defeats him.”
Aufgrund seines äußerst unsportlichen Verhaltens im letzten Kampf gegen Holyfield wurde Tyson Anfang Juli auf Beschluss der Sportkommission des US-Bundesstaates Nevada die Box-Lizenz auf unbestimmte Zeit entzogen. Zudem musste er drei Millionen Dollar Strafe zahlen. Das Berufsverbot bedeutete für Tyson das vorläufige Ende seiner großen Zahltage. Unmittelbar nach Bekanntwerden des Urteils kündigte das MGM-Grand Hotel den Vertrag mit Tyson, da dieser bis dato erst fünf der vereinbarten sechs Kämpfe im MGM absolviert hatte. Obwohl der Stichtermin erst im Juli 1998 veranschlagt war, stand schon jetzt fest, dass Tyson seine Seite des Vertrages nicht mehr erfüllen konnte, da er frühestens zu diesem Zeitpunkt erst eine neue Lizenz beantragen durfte.
Tyson was what the boxing world had been waiting for since the demise of Sonny Liston two decades earlier. Three years after Liston’s death in 1970, the New York Times opined that heavyweight boxing missed his “frightening sense of evil”. American sports writer Bud Collins wrote: “Sonny is an ogre I miss.”
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ – DECEMBER 8: Mike Tyson celebrates after he defeated Alex Stewart in the first round during a Heavyweight match December 8, 1990 at The Convention Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Tyson won the fight with a first round TKO. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
Corbin-Miller is quick to point out that “the belief in Mike and vitriol directed at Desiree” wasn’t limited to Black people. Much of the general public took Tyson’s side. “But I believe it was the long, reprehensible history of Black men being falsely accused of rape in order to brutalize, incarcerate and murder them that influenced the majority of Black people to rally around Mike,” she says. “Mike was also one of a much smaller pool of A-list Black celebrities than we have today. To tear Mike Tyson off his heroic pedestal was, for many, a personal affront. Unfortunately, Desiree Washington, a Black woman, didn’t receive nearly as much unconditional public support.”
The streaming service Hulu was all set to release the series MIKE on August 25. The platform made the announcement in June and they had cast the Moonlight actor Trevante Rhodes as mike tyson family life Tyson. MIKE was supposed to be an eight-episode show and promised to explore the life and struggle of the former heavyweight champion, Mike Tyson.
Mike Tyson’s HotBoxin’ podcast stores several such tales that give an insight into Tyson’s life. That said, US mountain climber, Joby Ogwyn, learned it emotionally. He couldn’t help himself from getting teary-eyed when Mike Tyson delivered his perception of life.
Tyson had come a long way from the days when Cus D’Amato had dreamed of making him a legend. He had almost fulfilled those dreams, winning a world championship at the age of 19 and consolidating all of boxing’s dubious crowns into one that nobody could dispute. For awhile he seemed like the champ everyone had been waiting for. But in the end, he seemed to willfully throw it all away. Tyson continues to fight, in the face of public outrage, and maybe he will win back fans and reclaim his titles—but with every year and every comment and every altercation, it seems like that goal, if it is his goal, slips further away.
But following a brace of losses to Evander Holyfield, Tyson’s ambition and drive deteriorated. In June 2002, Lennox Lewis dominated him en route to an eighth-round knockout win and that was his final championship fight.
The couple collaborated on Tyson’s one-man show, “Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth,” with Spicer playing a significant role behind the scenes of the successful Broadway production. Their teamwork extends beyond their public endeavors, reflecting a union that combines personal and professional solidarity.
Boxing legend Mike Tyson went from the shame of a lengthy prison stay into a wholly unexpected second career as an actor. Born in Brooklyn, he led a troubled childhood that included being arrested multiple times before he had even reached his teen years. After his mother died when he was 16, Tyson came under the legal guardianship of boxing trainer Cus D’Amato, who focused the teen’s energies entirely on the ring. Tyson became a professional boxer at 18 and quickly captured the imagination of the public. He went on to win 26 of his first 28 fights by knockout, utilizing a bludgeoning attack that often had opponents psyched out before they even stepped in the ring. He went on to become the undisputed heavyweight champion in 1987. After D’Amato’s death in 1985, however, Tyson’s focus began to wane. His marriage and subsequent divorce from actress Robin Givens included accusations of assault. In 1990, he lost his championship belts to the unheralded Buster Douglas in a stunning upset. Things went from bad to worse, when he was arrested in 1991 and accused of raping 18-year-old beauty pageant contestant Desiree Washington in Indianapolis, Indiana. His subsequent conviction carried a six-year prison sentence. Upon his release in 1995, he returned to boxing with mixed results. In perhaps his most infamous moment in the ring, Tyson bit off part of heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield’s right ear during their 1997 rematch. The incident resulted in a two-year ban from boxing. He ended up in jail again in 1999 after being convicted of assaulting two people over a traffic accident. By 2003, Tyson declared bankruptcy despite career earnings in the hundreds of millions. With his boxing career effectively over by 2005, Tyson struggled with drug addiction, suffered through the accidental death of his four-year-old daughter, and had more run-ins with the law. Throughout his career, he often appeared in cameos as himself, including in Sylvester Stallone’s “Rocky Balboa” (2006). His fortunes changed, though, when he received positive reviews for his appearance in the smash comedy “The Hangover” (2009). Playing a fictional version of himself, Tyson was a hit with audiences. He began acting more regularly, including in the sequel “The Hangover Part II,” usually playing some variation of the same fictional alter-ego. He created and voiced the lead character for the sly animated “Mike Tyson Mysteries” (Adult Swim, 2014-18), earning additional accolades. As his acting career continued, he began branching into roles where he was playing a character separate from himself in films like “Kickboxer: Retaliation” (2018) and “The Devil May Care” (2018).
