Michael Gerard “Mike” Tyson (also known as Malik Abdul Aziz) (born June 30, 1966) is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old. Tyson won his first 19 professional bouts by knockout, with 12 of them occurring in the first round. He won the WBC title in 1986 after defeating Trevor Berbick by a TKO in the second round. In 1987, Tyson added the WBA and IBF titles after defeating James Smith and Tony Tucker. He was the first heavyweight boxer to simultaneously hold and only Heavyweight to individually unify the WBA, WBC and IBF titles.
Was involved in a street fight with former opponent Mitchell Green in 1988. In 1997 Green won a lawsuit over the incident and was awarded $45,000.
Boxer
Bit off a chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear during a heavyweight title bout.
In 1991 Desiree Washington, a Miss Black America contestant, charged that Tyson raped her in an Indianapolis hotel room. He was arrested, tried, convicted and served three years in prison.
Wife Monica Turner filed for divorce. [January 2002]
The Nevada State Athletic Commission voted to deny Tyson a license to box in Las Vegas, thereby effectively pulling the plug on an April 6 pay-per-view bout with Lennox Lewis that was due to air on both HBO and Showtime and could have produced the biggest take for a heavyweight title fight ever. [January 2002]
Was soundly defeated by Lennox Lewis via knockout in the eighth round. [June 2002]
Titles: 1986: WBC Heavyweight Title 1987: WBA Heavyweight Title 1987: IBF Heavyweight Title 1987: Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion 1996: WBC Heavyweight Title 1996: WBA Heavyweight Title
Retired with a record as of 2002: 50-6-0 (44) 2nc.
Children by ex-wife Monica Turner: Rayna (b. 14 February 1996) and Amir (b. 5 August 1997).
Ex-wife Monica Turner is a pediatric resident at Georgetown University Medical Center.
His father, Jimmy Kirkpatrick, reportedly fathered 16 children, 3 of them by Tyson’s mother, Lorna Smith Tyson. By the time Mike was born, Kirkpatrick had left her.
Admits paternity of an 8-month-old girl born to Kimberly Scarborough of New York. (28 March 1991)
Frequently uses the word “ludicrous”.
Was adopted by Cus D’Amato, boxing genius and trainer of such fighters as Floyd Patterson.
Before the game “Street Fighter II: V” (1995) came to the USA, there were fighters named Mike Bison who was a 6’5″ tall boxer, Balrog who was a Spanish assassin with a claw, and Vega who was the leader of Shadowloo. To avoid a possible lawsuit from Tyson, Capcom (the makers of Street Fighter) had a three-name swap between Mike Bison, Balrog and Vega. After the switch, the boxer became Balrog, the Spanish Assassin became Vega, and the leader of Shadowloo became the shortened M. Bison, without a definite clarification as to what ‘M’ now stood for.
His name was dropped from the 1987 classic game Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! (1987) (VG) because the contract for his name was about to expire, and he lost to James ‘Buster’ Douglas. Since he was no longer the champion, and with his contract expiring soon after, Nintendo no longer wanted Tyson. As a result, the game title became “Punch-Out!” and the last fight was against Mr. Dream, rather than Tyson himself, with Mr. Dream having the same abilities and sayings as Tyson.
At 13 years old weighed 200 pounds.
Not long after his release from prison, he was ready for a massive return. It was the most anticipated comeback in generations. In August of 1995, he beat Peter McNeeley in a matter of seconds – 89, to be exact.
He was fined $3 million, and was banned from boxing for one year for biting Evander Holyfield’s ear during a bout.
In 2000 he fought three times in Europe. His third, against Andrzej Golota, was first a victory, but changed to no-contest after Tyson failed a drug test. The next year he fought only once, knocking out Brian Nielsen in the seventh round.
Served nine months in jail in for assaulting two people after a car crash in 1998.
The character “Blood” from Vendetta (1991) was modeled after him, and his nemesis, Mitchell Green.
From 6 March 1985 to 11 February 1990, he was undefeated with a record of 37-0.
On 11 June 2005, he lost a non-title fight against Kevin McBride. Tyson, who was favored to win the match, did not leave his corner after the end of the sixth round, and McBride was proclaimed the winner.
Proposed fights with World Wrestling champion Hulk Hogan and Mixed Martial Art’s Champ Royce Gracie never materialized.
Won his first 19 fights by knockout.
He was knocked out by James ‘Buster’ Douglas, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis and Williams. Kevin Mcbride scored a TKO over Tyson after Tyson quit on his stool at the start of round 6.
Earned approximately $200,000 per second in his fight with ‘Michael Spinks’, which was over-hyped, only accessible by giant screens at arenas across America, and over in 90 seconds.
His 1988 1 min. 30 sec. match against Michael Spinks was compared to challenging boxer John L. Sullivan in Timecop (1994).
“The Simpsons” (1989) boxer character “Drederick Tatum” was based on him and Riddick Bowe.
Exodus, the four-year-old daughter of Tyson and former girlfriend Sol Xochitl, died in a Phoenix, AZ hospital following a freak accident with a treadmill cord on 26 May 2009. Tyson and Lakiha Spicer, the mother of his youngest infant daughter, secretly married 11 days later in Las Vegas.
