White Tyson said:
I named myself after Tyson based purely on him being short... stocky... and beating the crap out of guys who were a lot bigger than him! All of that crap he had been through... I still believe... that it was based purely on hanging around with the wrong people. Being manipulated by Don King, Robin Givens, Greedy Boxing Politicians... so on and so forth! They turned him into a monster... when he really he is a nice person. I've read so many interviews people had with him... and they talked to him and he'd talk about how his image was all pretend. He also loves and cares about his children. Of course... there have been times that I have been unsure about my undying respect I had for Mike Tyson.
That ear-biting incident... I hated him! Some of the things he said... I hated him!
But all in all... it's the media... they are pricks... and this thing called "The Tyson Zone" which degrades celebrities and athletes alike who have gained enough notoriety... the fact that they named it after Mike Tyson... pisses me off!
I respect Mike Tyson more than the arrogant NFL and NBA players... and celebrities like Paris Hilton... he is above them in terms of kindness and being human.
He doesn't buy a $500 meal for his pet dog like Britney Spears!
He was pushed in the wrong direction by certain people and didn't have the right persons... HIS REAL FRIENDS... guiding him... much like his first real boxing coach!
However... if this Prostitution thing is true... GODDAMN IT MIKE TYSON!
You may want to read more books about Tyson. While the business of boxing surely chewed him up and spit him out, it wasn't until he connected with Don King that this started happening. Mike was an impatient youngster, and didn't like Kevin Rooney's timeline regarding his career. Don King did everything to hold on to Tyson for as long as possible, more so to milk the cash cow than out of care for Tyson's career.
At one point, King charged Tyson 2400$ US a week for a towel service while Mike was in training. You don't have to be a genius to realize that you are getting ripped off. Keep in mind that when Mike was in the Catskills (from age 13 onwards) his life was VERY GOOD, filled with structure, support and guidance at the hands of Cus D'amato.
I say this, because like all youth, Tyson thought he knew better than those older and more experienced people who had been down the same road before him.
Mike made his own decisions. Talk to any famous boxer, and you will see that most of them had similar business experiences to Mike, while boxing. Maybe not all the fanfare, but certainly the same experiences. Seedy promoters, unjust rankings, hand-picked opponents, big money deals, endless small print in the contracts, etc etc....
Mike made his own decisions. He's not a victim. Don't defend a rapist because he knocked a few guys out, as though his contribution to boxing (marginal, at that) makes up for his awful behaviour. Mike Tyson is a "nice guy" during a handful of his early interviews, mainly because he has the intelligence of a young adolescent and was also very shy. The only way he came out of his shell was through violence (in the ring), and anger (outside of the ring--mostly) in a blatant attempt to control the circumstances of his own decisions when he wasn't comfortable with the outcome of said decisions.
Having said that, did I watch his fights? yes, he was a killer KO heavyweight with an aura of invincibility. Fast hands and threw combinations. All the rest of it, I can do without.
Ps: White Tyson, at least make that pic a little smaller...it's annoying to the threads to have to scroll around that thing all day!
