In this entry I will be discussing the most dominating presence in boxing and a man who took fear down two paths of defeat. Mike Tyson was the fiercest athlete of all time but it was his fear of the world which surrounded him that would ultimately be his downfall. As a child Mike Tyson moved to Brooklyn and was quickly opened up to a world of temptation and intimidation. At a very young age Money and respect guided Mike Tyson down the path of the hustler. However it was the king of hustlers that would eventually take down the man Mike Tyson was trying to become.
Mike Tyson was robbed and bullied as a kid but would soon make a name for himself on the streets of Brooklyn. New found friends were plentiful. It was the excitement of the hustle that would soon take over his young mind. Waiting for the moment someone would put their guard down so he could make his move. It would lead to incarceration at 12 years old. After numerous visits to juvenile detention Tyson started to train in the art of boxing. Instead of going back to a life of crime young Mike Tyson was given the opportunity that would change his life and open his heart.
Mike Tyson might have been nervous before his first fight but his presence started to become overpowering for any man with the nerve to step into the ring with Iron Mike. Tyson modeled his game after the quickest fighters but his power seemed super human. Tyson used fear of defeat to push him into the ring and instilled fear in any man that stood shaking in anticipation for the inevitable. A different man would soon enter and the fear of defeat is now shown in the eyes of his enemy. A man looking to break the spirit of his prey with intimidation and destroying them with the combination of speed and power. Mike Tyson would look at his prey awaiting the moment he could stare in the eyes of another and gain the confidence needed to dominate his own fears. It was fear that destroyed one of the greatest fighters of all time but created a legend that all men will remember.
He tried to harness the power and aggression that lived within Iron Mike Tyson. At 14 he started to break records but Cus was always their to give perspective and instill Tyson with the discipline and character needed to succeed. They helped each other like a father and a son. They gave each other a reason to continue down life's paths.
Maybe having someone care so much about the success of another makes one feel obligated to succeed. Cus would show Tyson film of all the best fighters and proceed to explain why they are great. Maybe D'Amato's biggest mistake was not showing Tyson how they failed. When Cus died Tyson lost not only a friend but a teacher. Tyson was only 19 years old as he carried his mentors casket to its final resting place. All that now remained of Mike Tyson was a scared and lonely child at his most vulnerable state. Now enter Don King and Robin Gibbons.
He did not trust any man when he moved in with Cus D'Amato. However this would be the father figure that would guide this young man down a path of discipline and determination. D'Amato started to teach Mike not just about boxing but the psychology of fighting. With positive reinforcement he started to build confidence in the child that would soon become the man all other men feared. A man that would fear the world that destroyed him. Cus D'Amato might have been the first man to believe in Tyson but his toughest battle was getting Tyson to believe in him.
Tyson would be the youngest heavyweight champion of all time and became one of the most feared men this world has ever seen. That is why the Buster Douglas fight is probably the greatest upset in boxing history. Mike Tyson did not take this fight seriously and it would be the first time he would be knocked to the canvas in his career, but it would not be his last. Tyson's spiral would now include a devastating defeat in the ring and the sound of a cell door being slammed shut on the spirit of the most feared man on the planet.
He would never be able to truly trust another person after he was accused and convicted of rape. When he came out of prison he was scared of everything and everyone. His outbursts would soon start reflecting his own fears about his life and the people surrounding him. Maybe in some way he needed this fear to deal with his own demons and understand himself later in life. The Holyfield fight showed that his anger could not be controlled and his passion for fighting was flickering like a flame in the dark and empty room that was Mike Tyson.
