Since he came out, he was never the same in the ring, but when you read the book, you will find that this was the least of his issues. Cus wanted an antisocial champion,” he says, “so I drew on the bad guys from the movies, guys like Jack Palance and Richard Widmark.

The extremes he lived with at an early age he was not prepared for, and many people were taking advantage of him. Overall, I think any fan of boxing (and of Tyson in particular) will enjoy the book, even if it does get a bit tedious at times.D'Amato might have been able to restrain some of the later excesses, would have stopped him getting cheated, but he helped incubate the toxins that coursed freely through Tyson's system and world after he became champion. I was surprised to hear how he was able to recoup his finances, time after time, because he would get a lot of money doing speaking engagements and celebrity appearances.

Though his mother died when he was 16, running a brothel out of their apartment, he lived in a mansion and accumulated 62 cars which he was forced to sell when bankruptcy became inevitable. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Mike certainly cannot blame his mother for every mistake he’s made in life, and he’d probably be the first to admit that. Adamant that he did no such thing, Tyson goes into graphic detail, later, to explain how he didn't (he went down on her while she was menstruating, apparently unaware that he was "gargling blood").

Mike no longer fights in the ring and I think he now knows that he must yet fight against those who seek to take advantage of him.

Tyson would become as famous for his run-ins with the law and the wretched excess of his lifestyle as he was once feared and revered for his boxing prowess. I absolutely did, but I must admit I skipped a few chapters near the end because it just got to be so redundant and there wasn’t any point.Tyson is equally brutal on himself throughout the book, despairing of his lack of self-control and feelings of inadequacy. Now I have more insight into why he said some of the things he did (even though there is no excuse for some of the craziness he spoke). Tyson, now 47, looking back, with a combination of revulsion and regret, at his younger self, trying to come to terms with his contradictory, often self-destructive impulses. It was fascinating, frank, crude, bitter-sweet, hilarious, inspiring, heartbreaking, candid, raw, account of his life.