Tyson at SXSW, March 13, 2011 Statistics Real name Michael Gerard Tyson Nickname

(s) Kid Dynamite[1] Iron Mike The Baddest Man on the Planet[2] Rated at Heavyweight Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) Reach 71 in (180 cm) Nationality American Born June 30, 1966 (age 47) Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S. Stance Orthodox Boxing record Total fights 58 Wins 50 Wins by KO 44 Losses 6 Draws 0 No contests 2 Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is a retired American professional boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles at 20 years, 4 months, and 22 days old. Tyson won his first 19
professional bouts by knockout, 12 of them in
the first round. He won the WBC title in 1986
after defeating Trevor Berbick by a TKO in the second round. In 1987, Tyson added the WBA
and IBF titles after defeating James Smith and Tony Tucker. He was the first heavyweight boxer to simultaneously hold the WBA, WBC and
IBF titles, and the only heavyweight to
successively unify them. In 1988, Tyson became the lineal champion when he knocked out Michael Spinks after 91 seconds. Tyson successfully defended the
world heavyweight championship nine times,
including victories over Larry Holmes and Frank Bruno. In 1990, he lost his titles to underdog James "Buster" Douglas, by a knockout in round 10. Attempting to regain the titles, he defeated Donovan Ruddock twice in 1991, but he pulled out of a fight with undisputed heavyweight
champion Evander Holyfield due to injury. In 1992, Tyson was convicted of raping Desiree
Washington and sentenced to six years in
prison but was released after serving three
years. After his release, he engaged in a series
of comeback fights. In 1996, he won the WBC
and WBA titles after defeating Frank Bruno and Bruce Seldon by knockout. After being stripped of the WBC title, Tyson lost his WBA crown to Evander Holyfield in November 1996 by an 11th round TKO. Their 1997 rematch ended when Tyson was disqualified for biting
Holyfield's ear. In 2002, he fought for the world heavyweight
title at the age of 35, losing by knockout to Lennox Lewis. He retired from professional boxing in 2006, after being knocked out in
consecutive matches against Danny Williams and Kevin McBride. Tyson declared bankruptcy in 2003, despite having received over US
$30 million for several of his fights and
$300 million during his career. Tyson was well
known for his ferocious and intimidating
boxing style as well as his controversial
behavior inside and outside the ring. Tyson is considered one of the best heavyweights of all time.[3] He was ranked No. 16 on The Ring's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.[4] and No. 1 in the ESPN.com list of "The hardest hitters in heavyweight history". [5] He has been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame. Early years Tyson was born in Brooklyn, New York City. He has a brother, Rodney, who is five years older than him.[6] His sister, Denise, died of a heart attack at age 24 in 1990.[7] Tyson's father, Jimmy Kirkpatrick, was from
Grier Town, North Carolina (a predominantly
black neighborhood that was annexed by the city of Charlotte[8]), where he was one of the neighborhood’s top baseball players.
Kirkpatrick married and had a son, Tyson's half-
brother Jimmie Lee Kirkpatrick, who would help
to integrate Charlotte high school football in
1965. In 1959, Jimmy Kirkpatrick left his family
and moved to Brooklyn, where he met Tyson's mother, Lorna Smith Tyson. Mike Tyson was born in 1966.[9] Kirkpatrick frequented pool halls, gambled and hung out on the streets. “My
father was just a regular street guy caught up
in the street world,” Tyson said. Kirkpatrick
abandoned the Tyson family around the time
Mike was born, leaving Tyson's mother to care for the children on her own.[10] Kirkpatrick died in 1992.[11] The family lived in Bedford-Stuyvesant until their financial burdens necessitated a move to Brownsville when Tyson was 10 years old. [12] Tyson's mother died six years later, leaving 16-
year-old Tyson in the care of boxing manager
and trainer Cus D'Amato, who would become his legal guardian. Tyson later said, "I never
saw my mother happy with me and proud of
me for doing something: She only knew me as
being a wild kid running the streets, coming
home with new clothes that she knew I didn't
pay for. I never got a chance to talk to her or know about her. Professionally, it has no effect,
but it's crushing emotionally and personally."[13] Throughout his childhood, Tyson lived in and
around high-crime neighborhoods. According
to an interview in Details, his first fight was with a bigger youth who had pulled the head off one of Tyson's pigeons. [14] Tyson was repeatedly caught committing petty crimes and
fighting those who ridiculed his high-pitched
voice and lisp. By the age of 13, he had been arrested 38 times.[15] He ended up at the Tryon School for Boys in Johnstown, New York. Tyson's emerging boxing ability was
discovered there by Bobby Stewart, a juvenile
detention center counselor and former boxer. [10] Stewart considered Tyson to be an outstanding fighter and trained him for a few
months before introducing him to Cus D'Amato. [10] Tyson was later removed from the reform school by Cus D'Amato.[16] Kevin Rooney also trained Tyson, and he was occasionally assisted
by Teddy Atlas, although he was dismissed by D'Amato when Tyson was 15. Rooney
eventually took over all training duties for the
young fighter. Tyson's brother is a physician assistant in the
trauma center of the Los Angeles County- University of Southern California Medical Center . [17] He has always been very supportive of his brother's career and was often seen at Tyson's
boxing matches in Las Vegas, Nevada. When asked about their relationship, Mike has been
quoted saying, "My brother and I see each
other occasionally and we love each other," and
"My brother was always something and I was nothing."[18] ↑Jump back a section Education Mike Tyson dropped out of high school as a
junior and never graduated. In 1989, along
with Don King, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Central State University, in Wilberforce, Ohio by university