The outward image of Mike Tyson: Abusive dangerous selfish vindictive monster with no regard for the suffering of other. Others paint a picture of an insecure kid, both afraid of being abandoned, and manipulated, or abused. After a stint in reform school, trained by Cus D’Amato in a highly regimented, loving, nurturing environment, with lots of activity to defuse his chronic tension, and fear. Tyson thrived in this environment, learning to read, and enormous amounts about the history, and technique of boxing. But he didn’t really learn to control his own emotions, he was dependent on the training staff. He won a lot to fights and became world champion. Cus died and Tyson stayed with the staff until marrying Robin Givens. Givens and her mother seem to have separated Tyson from his training staff, curtailed his training schedule, and coaxed him into admitting to being manic-depressive on national television during a Barbara Walters interview. She then divorced him, and may have walked away with $10 million. Tyson unraveled, with the help of Don King, indulgent boxing promoter, who marketed Tyson an indulgent brute, rather than a disciplined monastic boxer. It resulted ended in a rape allegation, conviction, and three years of jail time.
Three years later Don King picked up Tyson at the prison, and started the road to a come back. He almost made it, loosing only to Evander Holyfield, in the final bout. A second attempt at the title ended with Tyson repeatedly trying to bite off Holyfield’s ear. At this point Tyson may have been trying to get himself banned from boxing, so as to escape the world of Don King. He does get banned, and spends a few years in the world of professional wrestling, and upon returning to boxing, taking another shot at the title. This time Tyson makes shocking remarks about the champions family, and tries to start a fight at the press conference. He’s become the image of strife, the incarnation of the god of war. It’s quite possibly intentional image manipulation. During the fight, he throws almost know punches, but keeps moving in deftly, taking hit after hit until he’s knocked out. Self-destruction? another escape attempt? or was it a rope a dope? not sure anyone knows. Tyson does eventually get out of boxing, but looses his fortune in the process, and claims he’s boxing to pay off his dept.
funny thing though. He’s happy.
This story plays like a human version of Blackfish. Tyson’s career seems like it took the same arc as Tilikum’s, or Ron Spector’s, or the Hulk’s. Each of them unable to cope with the social desires their talents provoked.
noqualitycontrol 