BOXING

Mike Tyson

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Mike Tyson is a sad and interesting case. A young tough on the streets of Brooklyn, he seemed a certain candidate for prison and ignominity. But Cus D'Amato the respected trainer took him under his wing and made a boxer of him. Tyson rose quickly to the top, being the most ferocious hitter the fight game has ever seen. He also had good defensive skills thanks to his tutelege under D'Amato.

Oddly, due to his incredible knock-out ratio, the sports world ignored the fact that he was a small man for a heavyweight, defeating opponents who almost always had the advantage of weight and reach. Even before he alienated fight fans, he never got the David vs. Goliath support one might expect. Instead he was seen as a villain of the ring. Statements he made after several early victories, often of a brutal nature, did not help to overcome this image.

Mike has always been his own worst enemy. Here is a man who could have owned the world, and instead, after the death of D'Amato, lost what small self-control he possessed, dumped the people who had brought him to the top, and walked straight into the welcoming arms of Don King. His life outside the ring reinforced the impression he had created of an undisciplined thug. The street fight with former contender and low-life Mitch Green, the ill-fated relationship with Robin Givens who sedated him so he wouldn't blow a televised interview, the rape conviction, etc., all contributed to destroying what little reputation he had.

Mike Tyson unified the heavyweight title. He wore the championship belts, but sadly, he was not a champion, he was a bum. The best fighter since Ali, but a man without character. It was he himself who pointed out the distinction between a fighter and a champion in a statement to the press, and he who best illustrated that difference. His hubris eventually led to his downfall in the ring as well. His first defeat came by a lucky punch from Buster Douglas. (Although some question this fight, I give him the benefit of the doubt.) Douglas held the title until his next bout, when he went down like the untalented fighter he was. Once deposed, Tyson had a hard time of it. Noone wanted to fight him. Then he went to prison on the rape charge.

Even in prison Mike was regarded as the most dangerous fighter alive. Upon his release, he seemed destined to regain the heavyweight crown. Eventually, the money was right, and he got his shot against Evander Holyfield, where he met his match. For the first time in his career, he was righteously defeated. There were a number of factors involved, not the least of which was the iron chin of Evander, but one has to wonder what role Tyson's arrogance and self-indulgent lifestyle in King's camp might have played.

Holyfield, being a true champion, accepted a rematch, and this is where Mike finally self-destructed. The fight seemed a repeat of the first. The champ took a few punches that would have knocked out a lesser opponent, and landed some punishing shots of his own. Tyson felt that in the first fight, and now in the second , there had been head-butting on the part of Holyfield. This is not evident on the replays, but then the viewer is not in the ring. It seems certain that if there was some headbutting, it was neither excessive nor intentional. Tyson, however came completely unraveled. The thug, the streetfighter came to the fore, and as everyone knows, he savagely bit off a piece of Holyfield's ear.

As of this writing Mike Tyson is attempting to be reinstated in boxing. His pal Don King seems to have gotten most of his earnings. Mike is bitter and alone in the world. He came out of jail with two tattoos on his arm: portraits of Mao Tse Tung and Arthur Ashe. Whatever one might think of Mao, Arthur Ashe was a true hero, a man of character and class. It suggested that Mike might have finally gotten his values straight. Subsequent events proved this conjecture wrong. Instead of turning things around, he continued in his course of irresponsibility and self-destruction. It is with a touch of sadness that one regards the present state of this warrior. Perhaps what made him a great fighter is also what makes him an unhappy lonely man. It is ironic that a boxer of his ability has never possessed the self-esteem to make a decent life for himself. He says he expects betrayal from others, and perhaps that is indeed the fate he has chosen.