ups and downs of the Beast
In 1966, Brooklyn was born as the son of pimp and prostitute Mike Tyson. Childhood was marked by violence, robberies and thefts, it ended at the age of 13 when the hero of this text was sent to a correctional facility. There, the big boy was noticed by a former professional boxer - Bobby Stewart, who then ordered his good friend - Teddy Atlas to check him in the ring. The gentlemen had not previously practiced letting such young boys into the training room, in the case of Mike they departed from this rule and, seeing the jamming young boxing adept, they knew that in the future he would become a professional world champion in heavy weight.
Cus d’Amato became the mental leader, dad's father and trainer of Iron Mike, who died the year Tyson began his professional career. As an amateur, he fought 19 fights, of which 16 won, incl. winning the Junior IO medal twice. Hegemony, however, was yet to come, the prophecy of Ted Atlas came true quickly as in 1986, when he knocked down Trevor Berbick after knock-down, he was 20 years old, 4 months and 22 days becoming the youngest professional world champion. In the next two fights he defeated the champions of two other federations, becoming the undisputed heavyweight king.
The strength of the boxer was determined by a stocky stature, short height, speed and power with which he scored opponents, many ahead of time, already in the first rounds. Hardly anyone wanted to fight him, seeing before his eyes the vision of a faster knockout career end. Mike was getting stronger physically, for his fights he received more and more money, which eventually became the reason for his mental decline. Expensive acquaintances, millions in divorce losses, seemed to weaken the seemingly indestructible guest.
The beginning of the fall dates to signing a contract with Don King, a manager who, blinded by the vision of enormous earnings, wrapped Tyson so that most of the money guaranteed for the fight ended in the pockets of promoters and other intermediaries. James "Buster" Douglas was the first boxer to knock down Iron Mike in 1990 in distant Tokyo. After her, he returned to boxing, winning all four fights quite easily ... that his career would be interrupted by a court verdict declaring Mike Tyson guilty of rape.
After a three-year imprisonment, during which he converted to Islam, wanting to avoid debt due to debts, he had to return to the ring, although he was already aware that his body was not as fit as before. The problem is that, like so many hated him, he had the same group of followers, so he was still an attractive morsel for television stations that guaranteed him millions for subsequent fights. The most famous are the clashes with Evander Holyfield, the first of which was remembered as a murderous, devastating duel ended with Mike's technical knockout and the second, which everyone remembers due to biting a piece of ear to the rival by the hero of the text. After this incident he lost his license to boxers, he returned to boxing but with a meager knock, being the shadow of a player previously known.
Despite many failures, numerous bankruptcies, family problems are still alive and inspire subsequent generations to fight for their own. For many, he is an icon of boxing, a very complex person who influences future generations through his uncompromising attitude. At the peak of his career, he scooped millions of dollars that he passed into trivialities, distributing bulletproof fur to his friends or parading with tigers, becoming a multi-colored, somewhat grotesque but still recognizable person in almost every part of the world.
This memory is still alive, recently it was recalled thanks to the unique photos of Chi Mod, which the photographer transferred to the fabric of sweatshirts and T-shirts signed with his nickname. You'll find most of them at bludshop.com