A look at Mike Tyson’s most controversial moments as 57-year-old prepares for fight against Jake Paul
8 controversial moments from Mike Tyson’s life
Mike Tyson has been in the news again as he will soon be fighting against 27-year-old Jake Paul. The decision of the 57-year-old, who had a legendary boxing career, has left his fans and well-wishers worried. Sports promoter Eddie Hearn reportedly said, “For me, it's really sad because Mike Tyson was one of my idols growing up, and to see him fighting at 57, 58... but I also understand that a lot of people are going to tune in and watch.”
Amid the buzz, here's a look at some of the most controversial and disturbing moments of Mike Tyson's eventful life.
1. Mike Tyson’s troubled childhood
Mike Tyson’s childhood was not a normal one as he was reportedly involved in robbery, violence, and drugs. It has been said that he took his first hit of cocaine at the age of 11 and got arrested 38 times even before he reached teenage.
2. Robin Givens called marriage to Mike Tyson ‘pure hell’
Givens and Tyson were only married for a few months but going by the actress's words, their marriage was “torture, pure hell, worse than anything I could possibly imagine”. In an interview, she reportedly added, “He shakes, he pushes, he… swings. Sometimes I think he’s trying to scare me. There were times that it happened that I thought I could handle it, and just recently, I have become afraid. I mean, very, very much afraid.”
3. Mike Tyson jailed for rape
Tyson’s career seemed to end when in 1991, he was booked and slapped with rape charges. Eventually, he was awarded six years of prison as well as four years of probation in 1992 after it was proved he sexually assaulted Miss Black Rhode Island Desiree Washington.
4. Mike Tyson’s sex addiction
Tyson couldn't forgo sex even in prison as women reportedly visited him for it. “I was having so much sex that I was too tired to even to go the gym and work out. I'd just stay in my cell all day,” he reportedly revealed.
5. Evander Holyfield scandal
After returning from prison, Mike Tyson once again found himself embroiled in controversy when he bit both the ears of Evander Holyfield in the ring in 1997, resulting in his boxing license getting revoked. He was also asked to pay nearly $25,48,386 (£2 million) as fine.
6. Fake penis
Mike Tyson had even reportedly confessed to being a cocaine addict and took it before his fights. “I was a full-blown cokehead,” he reportedly said. It has been said that ‘Iron Mike’ took the help of a fake penis, containing someone else's urine, to pass the drug tests.
7. Mike Tyson threatened to kill Lennox Lewis
In 2002, Tyson reportedly declared that he would fight with Lennox Lewis “professionally but to kill him.”
8. Mike Tyson’s health issues
After being photographed in a wheelchair in 2022, Tyson reportedly said, “I have sciatica every now and then, it flares up. When it flares up, I can't even talk! Thank God it's the only health problem I have. I'm splendid now.”
