Mike Tyson(English Mike Tyson; June 30, 1966, Brooklyn, New York, USA) - American professional boxer, full world heavyweight champion according to WBC (1986-1990, 1996), WBA (1987-1990, 1996) and IBF (1987-1990). - the owner of a number of world records that have not been broken to this day: the youngest world heavyweight champion (at 20 years old); the youngest full world heavyweight champion (at 21); the boxer who spent the shortest time since his debut to win the titles of champion and absolute world champion in heavy weight (1 year and 8 and a half months and 2 years and 5 months, respectively). Nickname - "Metal Mike".
Has 3 convictions in 1992, 1998 and 2008. (the latter - conditionally), at a young age he also served sentences in children's colonies.
Jan 25 2011 Tyson became a father for the 8th time. Mike's third wife, Lakiha Spicer, bore him a son. Grief happened in Mike's family, in 2009 his four-year-old daughter tragically died. He took part in writing the script for the autobiographical film "Tyson" (1995), and starred in 2 documentaries "Beyond Glory" (2003) and "Mike Tyson" (2009).
Mike Tyson was born in New York, in Brooklyn, called Brownsville. His parents were Lorna Smith and Jimmy Kirkpatrick. Although Mike inherited his own surname from the first husband of Percel Tyson's mother. His father left the family before Mike was born. Mike has an older brother, Rodney, and an older sister, Denise.
Mike's childhood was full of hardships and various misfortunes. He had a very soft character and did not know how to fend for himself, in addition to that at that time Mike was overweight. His older brother Rodney and the neighborhood boys, and later classmates, always bullied children younger than their own age and Mike too. They beat them, took away the change and sweets that their mothers and fathers gave them. Tyson was no exception. Until the age of 10, he was pathologically unable to defend himself. Although at the age of 9-11 years, a fracture occurred in Mike. As he himself tells, once one of the members of the local street gang, who was several years older (namely, 3 years), snatched his beloved pigeon from his hands (breeding pigeons has been Mike's favorite pastime since childhood and remains his main hobby to this day) and tore off his head. An enraged Mike threw himself on his own offender and severely beat him. From that moment on, Mike was respected by local juvenile bandits, who took him into their own company and taught him how to climb pockets, steal and rob stores. Activities of this kind led to arrests, visits (at the same time repeated) to correctional facilities for juvenile delinquents, during one of which Tyson managed to see Muhammad Ali, who came there to talk with difficult teenagers and try to set them on the right path. Tyson himself later recalled that it was after meeting with Ali that he first thought about a career as a boxer.
To understand the conditions in which Mike had to support his life, it is curious to recall one more case related to pigeons. Poor teenagers sometimes did not even have money to eat, for this reason there was no talk of buying pigeons. The birds were just stolen. So, once Mike and a friend climbed into one of the other people's pigeon houses and tried to drag a few pigeons away. They were noticed by the owners and immediately caught. They decided to punish the guys "peculiarly" - just hang them! Since the rope was 1, we decided to hang it in turn. Mike's friend was chosen first. Tyson stood and watched as his comrade's legs twitched in convulsions ... Tyson himself was saved only by the fact that the neighbors saw what was happening and threatened to call the police. For the boy's psyche, such things could not pass without a trace. As Mike later recalled, after this incident, he “was left awaiting execution” all his life.
At the age of 13, Tyson was sent to a special school for juvenile delinquents (because of his own behavior in a regular school), located in the north. parts of New York. By this time, he was considered incorrigible and was distinguished by great physical strength for his age: when Mike lost his temper, he could only be calmed down by the joint efforts of a certain number of adult men. At the school Tyson was assigned to, former boxer Bobby Stewart worked as a physical education teacher. Once once in a punishment cell for another violation of the regime, Mike suddenly asked for the opportunity to talk to him. Stewart came to him, and Mike said that he wanted to become a boxer. Stewart agreed to train him on the condition that Mike would not break discipline. After that, Mike's behavior actually changed for the better, and after a while Stewart signed another contract with him: the better Mike does at school, the more Stewart is boxing with him. And it worked: Tyson, who was previously considered mentally retarded, was able to noticeably increase his own academic performance. He was so engrossed in boxing that the school staff sometimes caught him training at 3-4 in the morning when he shadow boxed or worked out his muscles in his own room. In a later interview, Stewart recalled that Tyson, who was then 13 years old, actually knocked him down with his own jab. Already at the age of 13, Mike could lift a 100 kg barbell in the bench press. For some time, Stewart realized that his student had already outgrown him, and introduced Mike to the legendary coach and manager Cus D'Amato. Mike devoted all his free time to training. Cus D'Amato already knew then that Mike is the future world champion. Cus made a professional team around Tyson: coaches, seconds, masseurs and others. That. a disciplined athlete emerged from a street thug.
Living at Cus D'Amato, Mike watched a lot of videos with old professional fights and, being impressed by what he saw, chose a rather unusual style for himself at that time: he entered the ring without music, without a bathrobe, in simple dark shorts and boxers on bare foot.
June 22, 1987 Tyson is arrested on charges of assault and mutilation. He molested an employee of a paid parking lot, and later hit a colleague who stood up for her. The case is closed after the payment of $105,000 to them.
Feb 9 1988 Mike Tyson marries actress Robin Givens. Next year, 14 Feb. 1989 Tyson and Givens divorced in the Dominican Republic. 1988 became a turning point for Mike, he fired his own coach Kevin Rooney and disbanded his own team after that his career began to decline.
On July 19, 1991, he was accused of raping 18-year-old Miss Dark America Desiree Washington. There were many controversial points in the criminal case that spoke in favor of the fact that everything happened "by consent", although on September 9 1991 Indiana Grand Jury voted to indict Tyson on 3 counts including rape Tyson was convicted Feb 10, 1992.
After the death of his own coach Cus D'Amato, Mike mentally broke down. His loss to "Buster" Douglas on Feb. 11. 1990, in Japan, is still considered the greatest sensation in the history of boxing: the bets on Douglas' victory were 42 to 1. After his last fight with McBride, Mike admitted that boxing ended for him after a memorable fight with Douglas.
Mar 5 1998 Tyson sues his former promoter Don King for $100 million in damages during their time together.

Mike Tyson, without exaggeration, can be called one of the best professional boxers in the heavyweight category. Iron Mike became famous not only for his colorful fights and scandalous antics, but also for the incredibly effective training program with which he was able to achieve such success.

Biography of Mike Tyson

The future boxing star was born in 1966 in Brooklyn. Mike's childhood years can hardly be called simple: every day he had to deal with bullying from classmates and other problems. Everything changed when he was 10 years old. It was at this time that he became part of a group that taught him the basics of robbery and theft. Naturally, this could not last long and soon Tyson ended up in a correctional facility, where, by the way, he first met Muhammad Ali himself, who gives advice to difficult teenagers. Mike later claimed that this meeting prompted him to start boxing.

Some time later, due to inadequate antics, the boy was sent to a special school, where former boxer Bobby Stewart was a physical education teacher. He became a real "mentor" of the future star and taught him the basics of boxing.

Mike's amateur career began at the age of 15. He became one of the candidates for the US Olympic team. Unfortunately, the guy could not get to the Olympics itself, because he lost twice in very important fights.

If we talk about a professional career, then the boxer faced it in 1985. He quickly became famous thanks to his unusual image: Tyson entered the ring without music, a bathrobe, and also put on boxers on his bare feet. Mike's first opponent was Hector Mendez, who was knocked out in the first round. Throughout the year, almost all the fights of the athlete took place in a similar vein.

Tyson's first championship fight dates back to November 22, 1986. His opponent was a certain Trevor Berbick. He lost without a chance to his opponent, after which Mike declared that he was ready to enter the ring with anyone. The following opponents of the invincible boxer found themselves in a similar situation. Almost all of them could not last more than 6 rounds. The battle with Tony Tucker brought Tyson the title of the absolute world champion in the heavyweight division. However, in 1990 in Japan, the boxer, whose victory no one doubted, after a duel with J. Douglas, lost the title of champion. This episode greatly overshadowed Tyson's life, and a year later he was in prison for rape. After 4 years, Mike was released.

Immediately, not a minute, Tyson returned to the big sport. In September 1996, a duel with Seldon allowed the boxer to regain the title in just two minutes. But in June of the same year, there was a real scandal: Iron Mike bit off the ear of his rival Evander in a fit of aggression, after which he was immediately disqualified.

In subsequent fights, Tyson won incredibly fast victories. However, years later, the boxer began to feel insecure in his abilities. Unexpected defeats began, for which Mike was definitely not ready. This greatly affected his psychological component. Therefore, unable to withstand another loss in the battle with Kevin McBride in 2005, the 38-year-old star announced her retirement from the sport.

What is Mike Tyson doing now?

As you know, in 2003 the boxer was declared bankrupt. Two years later, he ended his career and many began to wonder: what will Mike Tyson do now and how will he repay all his debts? Well, soon the answer to this question became known: the boxer decided to try himself as an actor and producer. In the field of cinematography, the former world champion works to this day. His portfolio mainly includes sports films, such as: "Rocky Balboa", "Tyson", "Champions", "Ip Man" and so on. But there are also comedies on the list. We are talking about the two parts of "Bachelor Party", as well as the tapes "Meet the Black Family" and "Scary Movie 5".

Mike Tyson with the cast of The Hangover

Moreover, Mike is still part of the boxing world. In 2013, he founded a promotion company and now organizes boxing shows. The athlete also promotes young talents. According to Mike himself, it is very important for him that young boxers have a chance to break into a big sport. Tyson has his own gym, in which about 20 budding athletes are engaged. Let's see if Iron Mike can realize their potential and pave the way to the boxing Olympus.

Mike Tyson workout program

The legendary boxing star Mike Tyson is considered a role model in the eyes of many people involved in sports. Of course, his fans want to know how the regime of the day and training of the former champion goes. It should be noted right away that the load that the boxer has determined for himself is incredibly difficult. It is necessary to have not only a high level of training, but also to have a sense of purpose and perseverance.

But before moving on to a direct analysis of Mike Tyson's training, I would like to talk about the boxer's daily routine, because this is also an important part of the preparation process. At his peak, Mike would get out of bed at 5am and immediately start running for about an hour. During this time, he managed to run 3 miles.

After that, Tyson took a shower and went back to sleep. The second time he woke up at 10 o'clock and went to breakfast. At 12.00 the boxer sparred in the ring for 10 rounds and had lunch at 14.00. Then he rested until 16.00. But from this period, all the most interesting began: until 20.00, Tyson worked with a pear, performed sets of strength exercises, worked out on an exercise bike, and so on. An hour later, Mike had dinner and went to bed.

As for the training program, it includes strength, speed exercises, as well as sparring. Thanks to this complex, all the muscles of the body are worked out. Most of the load falls on the pectoral and gluteal muscles, triceps, and the front of the thigh. The back muscles feel an additional load. For beginners, it will be quite difficult to immediately master such a program.

The most important thing is that you can perform a similar set of exercises at home. You do not need to have additional equipment. The only thing you need is a horizontal bar, but almost everyone probably has it. Exercises include the following: standard push-ups, abs, squats, dips.

The program is characterized by a cyclical nature (the exercises are performed in a circle). Rest between cycles is only 30 seconds. So, according to his program, Mike Tyson performed the following exercises:

• 200 squats;
• 30-45 push-ups on the uneven bars;
• 50 repetitions of the press;
• 50 pushups.

At the end of the cycle, a 10-minute neck warm-up is performed. This can be done thanks to the exercise of the wrestlers (you need to make a bridge on the neck without hands, gently swaying).

Mike Tyson performed about ten cycles daily. Of course, this seems difficult, but such results are achieved after years of training. The way out of the situation is to reduce the number of cycles or repetitions. However, in addition to this program, Mike Tyson adhered to another one - boxing. He trained like this:

1. Did 4 rounds of shadow boxing (30 second break between rounds).
2. Worked with paws (6 three-minute rounds, 30-second break between them).
3. Sparred.
4. For 10 minutes I worked with a fast bag, which was fixed with stretch marks.
5. I jumped rope for 20 minutes.
6. Did a 6-round work on a heavy bag (30-second break).
7. 5 minutes exercised on a small speed bag.
8. At the end of the complex, he performed 5 sets of 20 push-ups and 15 sets of 20 torso lifts.
9. Then came the massage.

Thus, it can hardly be said that Mike Tyson got the title just like that. The boxer trained daily in the sweat of his brow and became one step closer to his main dream. As a result, he achieved it, so we can say with confidence that the set of exercises that Iron Mike adhered to is effective and really makes a real machine out of a person. However, it must be remembered that no less important qualities are perseverance, dedication and hard work. It is these characteristics, combined with Mike Tyson's training program, that will allow everyone to succeed.

During his life and professional career, he became either a legend or a boxing monster, but along with Muhammad Ali Tyson, the most famous boxer in history. Maybe even boxing's last superstar.

The word "most" suits Iron Mike the best. In the ten most expensive fights, six took place with the participation of Tyson. He is the owner of the fastest Olympic knockout (8 seconds!). Finally, he is the youngest undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Well, with such indicators, it was a sin not to become the highest grossing boxers. Mike Tyson fights brought half a billion dollars to the organizers of the fights.

Convictions for fighting and rape, pathological love of pigeons, conversion to Islam and a strict vegetarian diet are all pieces of the puzzle named Mike.

Tyson is from the Brooklyn area of ​​New York. He could have had the surname Kirkpatrick, but his mother chose to name him after his first husband rather than his father, since Jimmy Kirkpatrick left the family before his son was born. Mike became the third and youngest child in the family.

True or fiction to romanticize the image, but Mike himself says that until the age of 10 he could not stand up for himself and had a surprisingly mild character for a future boxer. All he loved then was breeding pigeons. Hobbies are for life.

Two vivid episodes from Tyson's childhood are connected with pigeons. Since, of course, he did not have money for birds, he, along with a friend, stole them from the dovecotes. Once they were caught and decided to punish them by hanging them by their legs. Mike's friend was the first to be hung on the rope, and Tyson stood and looked at it. The pigeon lover himself was lucky: the neighbors threatened to call the police for such treatment of children. But since then, Mike Tyson began to live "in constant expectation of execution."

The second case with the dove allowed the future champion to show the inner beast. When a local hooligan took away Tyson's pigeon and tore off the bird's head, Mike went berserk and severely beat the guy several years older than him. True, this did not begin the career of a boxer, but the career of a criminal. The Brooklyn gopniks accepted Tyson into their ranks, and Mike's life began a series of robberies and arrests.

Throughout his life, Mike retained a touching affection for pigeons.

Everything was changed by a meeting with Muhammad Ali, who visited one of the correctional facilities for difficult teenagers. After talking with him, Tyson had a strong desire to become a boxer. That's what he said to Bobby Stewart when he was in the punishment cell for bad behavior. Stewart worked as a physical education teacher at a special school and was a former boxer.

There was only one condition for starting training: not to violate discipline. Mike agreed and kept his promise. A little later, Stewart set another rule: better study - more training. Tyson, who was previously listed as mentally retarded, began to excel in the school curriculum at the same time as success in boxing.

At the age of 13, he almost knocked down his trainer with a jab and pressed 100 kg from his chest. Stewart quickly realized that Mike, who had been training until 3-4 in the morning, had already outgrown him. Then Bobby gave his pet to the famous coach and manager Cass D'Amato.

On the one hand, this helped Iron Mike a lot in his career and development - Cus saw him as a champion and created all the conditions for training. On the other hand, Tyson never finished high school, and at the age of 21 he was again arrested for molesting a parking lot employee and beating her partner.

Tyson's first boxing nickname was the obvious "Tank". Mike's amateur debut took place in May 1981. This year he won five fights and lost one. His evolution as a fighter was easy to spot, and in 1982 Tyson was named to the U.S. Junior Olympic Boxing Team. Defeating Joe Cortez in the final, Mike earned Olympic gold and the right to speak at the real Olympics in 1984. However, this did not happen.

By the end of his career, Tyson trained less and less

In the qualifying matches, the victory was awarded to Henry Tillman. Many still believe that Tillman was urged not to put Tyson at the Olympics. Mike's tough style was already too much like professional boxing, and the rising star's tough temper was clearly not suitable for Olympic fair play. Interestingly, in 1990, Tyson would “revenge” Tillman for the missed opportunity and knock him out in the first round. Although in the 84th year, Henry Tillman won the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

On March 5, 1985, Knockout King Iron Mike Tyson made his first professional fight. All 15 fights this year, Tyson, as if on principle, won by knockout.

Mike Jameson, Jesse Fergusson, Steve Zouski, James Tillis, Mitch Green - they were all defeated by the "Tank" from Brooklyn. Green, by the way, did not enter the ring for 7 years after meeting with Tyson. Mike knocked out Marvis Frazier in 30 seconds, after which Frazier actually left boxing.

Mike Tyson forced four boxers to end their careers

Tyson became the champion after defeating Trevor Berbick. After the victory, Mike became the youngest world champion, and his trainer Kevin Rooney became the youngest trainer of a boxer who became a champion. Tyson dedicated the victory to Cass D'Amato, who opened the way for Mike to professional sports.

A long series of victories was stopped by an episode of rape, for which Tyson went to jail for three years. When he returned to the ring in 1995, many noticed a major change in style. Now the emphasis was on technique and speed, and not on endurance and strength. In the second half of the fight, it was clear that the champion was losing heavily, but Tyson tried to win at the beginning of the fight, and this strategy worked.

The second time Tyson had to leave boxing after. Mike lost the first fight, and in the return match, for some reason, the King decided to bite off his opponent's ear by knockout. The result is the loss of a boxing license for two years.

The second coming to the ring of the great boxer turned out to be not so triumphant, although it received the status of “event of the year”. Everyone saw that Mike was no longer the same. Defeat from Lennox Lewis (knockout), knee injury in a duel with Danny Williams, addiction to drugs, excess weight have become the corrosion that can drain even the Iron Champion. one by one.

Rapper Tupac Shakur and Mike Tyson were friends

June 11, 2005 Tyson held his last fight against Kevin McBride. Tyson fell in the sixth round and refused to continue the fight. After that, the Knockout King announced his retirement. According to him, he did not want to embarrass boxing by losing to boxers like McBride.

Mike Tyson has been married three times and has six children (daughter Exodus died in an accident in 2009). Alcohol and drug addiction often prevented him from becoming an exemplary husband and father, but even here Mike did not give up: he signed up for treatment, underwent rehabilitation courses.

In 2013, Mike wrote an autobiographical book, The Indisputable Truth, where he honestly said about himself: "". According to the former absolute heavyweight champion, he was used all his life. “My success in boxing hasn’t changed anything,” Tyson said at a press conference, “It’s just that the drugs have become better, and the women are more beautiful.”

New York's Brownsville is known for its high crime rate. At first, Mike was distinguished by a gentle character and inability to stand up for himself, but then he succeeded in street fights and became a member of a criminal gang, often had trouble with the police - at the age of 13 he was detained more than 30 times. For his behavior, Tyson was transferred to a school for juvenile delinquents in upstate New York, where he was attracted to boxing classes led by amateur champion Bob Stewart. In order for Stuart to devote more time to training with him, Mike pulled up his studies and discipline.

In March 1985, in his first fight, Mike Tyson defeated Hector Mercedes by technical knockout.

On November 22, 1986, he won the WBC title by defeating Trevor Berbick. Mike Tyson became the youngest world heavyweight champion.

On March 7, 1987, he was able to defend his title against James Smith. In August, Mike Tyson became the undisputed WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight champion by defeating Tony Tucker.

Victories over Pinklon Thomas, Tony Tubbs, Larry Holmes, Tyrell Biggs and Michael Spinks confirmed his status as the best boxer in the world.
Mike successfully defended his boxing title until 1990 when he was knocked out for the first time in his career by Buster Douglas in the tenth round.

Tyson's professional career has been one of several convictions. In 1992, he was convicted of raping Miss Black America Desiree Washington and spent three years in prison.

Mike Tyson is a professional heavyweight boxer whose name remains the most recognizable among his colleagues to this day. For the force of impact and aggressive behavior in the ring at one time he was nicknamed the "killer boxer". Olympic champion among juniors, absolute world champion, repeatedly recognized champion according to WBC, WBA, IBF, The Ring. The master of a quick knockout, many of whose records have not been broken so far.

Childhood and youth

Michael Gerard Tyson was born in June 1966 in the New York area - Brownsville. His father was Purcell Tyson, but he left the family when his son was not yet born. Michael was the youngest child: the eldest daughter Denise and son Rodney were growing up in the family. In early childhood, Tyson was very vulnerable. He was offended by peers, yard boys and even his older brother. He could not stand up for himself and often suffered because of this, coming home with bruises and no pocket money.

In June 2005, Mike met in the ring with the little-known Irish boxer Kevin McBride. Of course, the fans bet on Tyson. But in the 5th round, the champion's fatigue began to appear, and in the 6th he sat on the floor and refused to participate in the 7th round. After this fight, Mike announced that he had decided to end his career.

Movies and books

The life story of a popular heavyweight has been taken as the basis for several documentaries. This is the mid-90s film Fallen Champion: The Untold Story of Mike Tyson and the 2000s films Beyond Glory and Tyson.