Mike Tyson Says Life is a Waste
Mike Tyson, the former heavyweight champion and Cus D’Amato apprentice, has reportedly dedicated his life to the caring of others, in part because he considers himself a “pig” who “wasted” many years of his life.
Tyson captured the attention of the world in 1986 when he became the youngest fighter ever to win the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title at 20. “Iron Mike” became undisputed heavyweight champion before succumbing to infamous allegations of sexual abuse that overshadowed his professional achievements.
Tyson admits to a case of megalomania when he was young, saying fame and fortune went to his head. He also said that he regrets the first 44 years of his life, calling them a “f***ing waste.”
In a recent interview with Details magazine he said: "The first stage of my life was just a whole bunch of selfishness. Just a whole bunch of gifts to myself and people who didn't necessarily deserve it. Now I'm 44, and I realise that my whole life is just a f**king waste. 'Greatest man on the planet'? I wasn't half the man I thought I was."
Tyson hopes to turn a page and make amends for the past by doing everything in his power to simply help others.
“If there's a big plan now, it's just to give - it's selflessness, caring for the people who deserve it. Because I think I'm a pig. I have this uncanny ability to look at myself in the mirror and say, 'This is a pig. You are a f***ing piece of s**t.'"
Tyson is no stranger to controversy and heartbreak. In 2008 he was the subject of a critically acclaimed documentary entitled “Tyson” which analyzed his story, from his troubled youth to his rise up the boxing ranks, and his falls and controversies.
The film was released just a year before the tragic loss of his four-year-old daughter Exodus, who died in a domestic accident while Tyson was away promoting the film. Tyson admits that the loss made him come to terms with former mistakes. "All these people reached out (after her death) and I realized: I just want to be of service to people. I need to help. I need to have something, finally, finally, that I can offer people in this world."
Tyson's career was developed by the legendary boxing trainer Cus D’Amato, who recruited him from a youth centre. The two nurtured a legendary relationship that finally saw Tyson win the championship. Tyson’s troubles began shortly after D’Amato’s death, when he was KO’d in the tenth round of a 1990 bout with Buster Douglas. A year later he was arrested and convicted of raping a 19-year-old former beauty queen.
After prison time and taking up of the religion of Islam, he returned to the ring to reclaim his glory with great matches against Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield. He reclaimed the WBC Title, only to lose to it to a supposedly ‘washed up’ Evander Holyfield in 1996. In their second bout, Tyson famously spurred controversy by biting off part of Holyfield’s ear in the third round. The fight was stopped as Tyson was disqualified.
Tyson’s trainer at the time, Teddy Atlas, predicted the outcome, saying: "He planned this. That's the only reason he went through with this fight. This was a charade so he could get out and live with himself as long as in his world he would be known as savage and brutal.”
The Boxing commission immediately withheld $3 million from his $30 million dollar purse for the incident, and Tyson was roundly criticized, though was also not without his defenders.
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