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Mike
Tyson, from the baddest man around, to a Vegas circus clown.
By Mike C. 10/18/2006
In 1986, an aging Larry Holmes was all but finished as a heavyweight,
but a young Brooklyn born fighter, with the help from his recently
deceased, adopted father, legendary trainer, Cus D’Amato, was tearing
though the heavyweight division, and a better script could not have been
written. The media and marketing machine that propelled Tyson, was
nothing short of brilliant. Boxing in general, was taking a standing
eight count around the world, and it needed a savior. They could not put
the 20 year old kid into the ring fast enough, against the lackluster
Trevor Berbick, keeping in mind that this was the same man who
humiliated Ali in the ring a few years before. It seemed like pugilistic
justice, when this new savior, knocked out Berbick in the second round,
on national television, and made everything right in the boxing world
again. Or so we thought.
Perception and reality. What things look like, and what they actually
are. Mike Tyson seemed nearly indestructible back then. His opponents
were ready to lie down, before they ever stepped in the ring. There were
rumors of sparring partners with broken face bones, and even rumors that
Tyson’s punching power could kill a man, with one shot. This was the
machine, that Bill Clayton (June 6, 1918 - October 4, 2003) built, and
he ran this machine until it exploded into a billion pieces, when in
1988, Tyson Fired Kevin Rooney and Clayton, and brought in Don King and
Robin Givens. That was the beginning of the end. Tyson divorced Givens
on Feb. 14th 1989, and almost a year to the day, on Feb. 11, 1990, in a
stunning upset, Tyson is knocked out by James "Buster" Douglas in the
10th round and loses his world heavyweight title.
Tyson’s personal and professional matters were out in the open. His
failing marriages, his business dealings, his inability to control any
aspect of his life. In some ways, it is his entire fault, and in other
ways, none of it is. I guess it is all how you look it. Bill Clayton
created this media grabbing machine, Don King took it from him, Robin
Givens Borrowed it for a while, and by the time Mike Tyson got it back,
it devoured his career, his money, and most importantly, any talent he
had left. He is now a joke at a party, or trivia for eighties babies to
sit around and talk about how great he was. Old people can play slots,
and watch him dance around an empty ring, punching air, making noises,
playing a clown. He admits himself that, he is broke, and he is doing
this because he has to. It has shades of Primo Carnero, fighting
Kangaroo’s near the end of his career.
Tyson is touring the country now, fighting four round exhibition matches
for money, on PPV. He has even said he would fight professional women
fighters too. Something has happened to him that is quite honestly the
worst thing that can happen to a celebrity. His fame is outlasting his
wealth. He looks older than he should, and more tired in recent
interviews. He claims to be happy that he does not have to put on
facades anymore. |
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