Undisputed Truth. Here are 12 things we now know about the turbulent life and career of the self-styled ‘baddest man on the planet’.
This article contains one example of language that some people may find offensive.
He fought while high on drugs
Recalling his fight with Lou Savarese at Hampden Park in 2000, Tyson confesses to taking “pot” and “coke” before walking to the ring. He also reveals he was taking drugs until shortly before his shock 2004 defeat to Danny Williams and had taken cocaine prior to the infamous 2002 press conference with Lennox Lewis that erupted into a mass brawl where he bit the Briton’s leg.
He used a fake penis to fool drug-testers
During his long periods of drug addiction, Tyson used a ‘whizzer’, a fake penis containing clean urine, to pass drug tests. A member of his entourage would carry the device from fight to fight. Tyson says he tested positive for marijuana in 2000 as he was forced to take the test before his ‘whizzer’ could be located.
He once kicked Don King in the head
Tyson attempted a reconciliation with the shock-haired promoter in Florida but, having made a dent in “a big block of coke” on the flight and feeling that he was “freaking out and getting jealous”, flew into a rage at an “innocuous” comment made by King and kicked the promoter squarely in the head.
He is a big fan of the X-Men
As part of the reconciliation with King, Tyson demanded the promoter return three of his possessions: a green Rolls-Royce, a painting given to him by Silvio Berlusconi “that was supposed to be worth a lot” and “the thing I was most worried about”, a drawing of himself “in the middle of a bunch of X-Men” drawn by Stan Lee.
Autograph hunters beware!
Approached by two Puerto Rican autograph hunters, Tyson told them to “fuck off”. Now angered, the pair told Tyson “You ain’t all that. We got guns and you only got your fists”.
Tyson was unfazed by their threats and recalls: “If I wasn’t on coke probably nothing would have happened. But I was, so I chased them into the lobby and up the escalator. We got to the top of the escalator and I knocked one of them out with one punch. The other guy was hiding behind the front desk and I pulled him out and hit him. He was spared when hotel security came.”
He was mentored by 80s actor Anthony Michael Hall
Tyson credits the Breakfast Club star for “mentoring me in the ways of celebrityhood” and reveals he’d “hang with him a lot” in the days before he became world champion. When Tyson wrote off his Cadillac, he “went out and bought a limo” because he “had seen how cool it was when we'd ride around in Michael's.”
He used voodoo to avoid going to jail
When facing rape charges in 1992, Tyson sought the counsel of a “hoodoo priestess” who instructed him to put five hundred dollar bills in a jar, pee in it and keep it under his bed for three days. He also spoke to a Santeria priest who told him to go to the court with a pigeon and an egg, and drop the egg while releasing the pigeon and yell “we’re free.”
Neither gambit helped. Tyson was sentenced to six years in prison.
He had an affair in jail
While serving his sentence, Tyson embarked on an affair with a prison drugs counsellor. Their relationship started after he sent $10,000 to her home so she could fix her roof. Tyson writes: "I was having so much sex that I was too tired to even go the gym and work out".
He mislaid one million dollars
Having had “a rough night in the city”, Tyson lost a suitcase containing one million dollars in cash having simply “forgotten where I left it”. Luckily, the suitcase was recovered by a member of his entourage week later.
He spent $62 million in a year
In 2000, Tyson hired a new team of accountants who produced a statement showing he had started the year $3.3m but made $65.7m. The only problem? He spent the lot, including $2.1m on cars alone.
He once weighed 27 stone
After retiring from the ring in 2005, Tyson was more interested in partying than fighting. Thanks to a diet of Oreos, ice cream sandwiches, drinking and smoking, he ballooned to 380 pounds (27st 2lbs). He has since got back on track, slimming down to 220 pounds (15st 10lbs) through a vegan diet, regular workouts and staying sober.
His face could have looked entirely different
Tyson’s face tattoo was not his design of choice. He intended to have a number of little hearts etched permanently onto his cheek only for the tattoo artist to talk him out of it in favour of the now-famous Maori design
This article contains one example of language that some people may find offensive.
AP Photo-Christian Palma, File
Recalling his fight with Lou Savarese at Hampden Park in 2000, Tyson confesses to taking “pot” and “coke” before walking to the ring. He also reveals he was taking drugs until shortly before his shock 2004 defeat to Danny Williams and had taken cocaine prior to the infamous 2002 press conference with Lennox Lewis that erupted into a mass brawl where he bit the Briton’s leg.
He used a fake penis to fool drug-testers
During his long periods of drug addiction, Tyson used a ‘whizzer’, a fake penis containing clean urine, to pass drug tests. A member of his entourage would carry the device from fight to fight. Tyson says he tested positive for marijuana in 2000 as he was forced to take the test before his ‘whizzer’ could be located.
He once kicked Don King in the head
Tyson attempted a reconciliation with the shock-haired promoter in Florida but, having made a dent in “a big block of coke” on the flight and feeling that he was “freaking out and getting jealous”, flew into a rage at an “innocuous” comment made by King and kicked the promoter squarely in the head.
AP Photo-Paul Burnett
As part of the reconciliation with King, Tyson demanded the promoter return three of his possessions: a green Rolls-Royce, a painting given to him by Silvio Berlusconi “that was supposed to be worth a lot” and “the thing I was most worried about”, a drawing of himself “in the middle of a bunch of X-Men” drawn by Stan Lee.
Autograph hunters beware!
Approached by two Puerto Rican autograph hunters, Tyson told them to “fuck off”. Now angered, the pair told Tyson “You ain’t all that. We got guns and you only got your fists”.
Tyson was unfazed by their threats and recalls: “If I wasn’t on coke probably nothing would have happened. But I was, so I chased them into the lobby and up the escalator. We got to the top of the escalator and I knocked one of them out with one punch. The other guy was hiding behind the front desk and I pulled him out and hit him. He was spared when hotel security came.”
He was mentored by 80s actor Anthony Michael Hall
Tyson credits the Breakfast Club star for “mentoring me in the ways of celebrityhood” and reveals he’d “hang with him a lot” in the days before he became world champion. When Tyson wrote off his Cadillac, he “went out and bought a limo” because he “had seen how cool it was when we'd ride around in Michael's.”
He used voodoo to avoid going to jail
When facing rape charges in 1992, Tyson sought the counsel of a “hoodoo priestess” who instructed him to put five hundred dollar bills in a jar, pee in it and keep it under his bed for three days. He also spoke to a Santeria priest who told him to go to the court with a pigeon and an egg, and drop the egg while releasing the pigeon and yell “we’re free.”
Neither gambit helped. Tyson was sentenced to six years in prison.
He had an affair in jail
While serving his sentence, Tyson embarked on an affair with a prison drugs counsellor. Their relationship started after he sent $10,000 to her home so she could fix her roof. Tyson writes: "I was having so much sex that I was too tired to even go the gym and work out".
AP Photo-Bruce Boyajian
Having had “a rough night in the city”, Tyson lost a suitcase containing one million dollars in cash having simply “forgotten where I left it”. Luckily, the suitcase was recovered by a member of his entourage week later.
He spent $62 million in a year
In 2000, Tyson hired a new team of accountants who produced a statement showing he had started the year $3.3m but made $65.7m. The only problem? He spent the lot, including $2.1m on cars alone.
He once weighed 27 stone
After retiring from the ring in 2005, Tyson was more interested in partying than fighting. Thanks to a diet of Oreos, ice cream sandwiches, drinking and smoking, he ballooned to 380 pounds (27st 2lbs). He has since got back on track, slimming down to 220 pounds (15st 10lbs) through a vegan diet, regular workouts and staying sober.
His face could have looked entirely different
Tyson’s face tattoo was not his design of choice. He intended to have a number of little hearts etched permanently onto his cheek only for the tattoo artist to talk him out of it in favour of the now-famous Maori design
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