Mike Tyson, dubbed “The Baddest Man on the Planet” claims that would not have been the case if he had grown up in a typical environment.
Tyson’s meteoric journey from New York hoodlum to the world’s youngest heavyweight champion by 20 has been extensively documented. In 58 professional fights, the man went 50-6-2 with 44 knockouts, claiming that his mother’s death was the inspiration for his success.
“One of the best things that ever happened to me is that my mother died,” Tyson said in a conversation with Shannon Sharpe on the Club Shay Shay Podcast. “My mother would have babied me. There is no way I would have ever got into a street fight, no way I ever would have learned to stand up for myself.”
“One of the best things that ever happened to me is that my mother died. She would’ve babied me, I would’ve never learned how to stand up for myself.” — @MikeTyson pic.twitter.com/MDJia76779
— Club Shay Shay (@ClubShayShay) February 21, 2022
Sharpe pointed out, however, that whether or not Tyson’s mother was alive, he would have run into the same people who would have compelled him to defend himself. By the time he was 14, when he had claimed he knew he could become a heavyweight champion, Tyson had already been in prison several times.
But Tyson said –
“It was ordained by God for me to deal with that. I don’t navigate my life. You think I navigate my life to being the heavyweight champion? No, I don’t do that. That’s God.”
Cus D’Amato was ‘a great mentor’ – Mike Tyson on his legal guardian
Tyson’s mother died when he was 16. He was placed in the care of Cus D’Amato, a boxing trainer who went on to became his legal guardian. D’Amato, according to Tyson, was the one who inspired him to achieve greatness.
“I had a great mentor, and he always told me [I could be great] — he gave me the affirmation,” Tyson said.
Tyson would go on to become one of the most fearsome and dominant fighters of all time. From 1987 through 1990, he was the undisputed heavyweight champion, winning his first 19 pro fights by knockout, 12 of them in the first round. However, he said that losing his focus and passion was one of his blunders.
“Just not training, not taking it serious anymore,” Tyson said of his greatest flaw. “… I was beating guys so easy, I didn’t have to train. And those are bad habits.”
Tyson, on the other hand, believes that losing makes a fighter stronger.
“You become a better champion, you become a better fighter [when you lose],” he said. “Life is about loss. As time goes on, we lose everything. We lose our hair, we lose our teeth and eventually, we lose our life. Life is all about loss.”
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