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Ex-professional boxer and former heavyweight champion Michael Gerard Tyson was born on June 30, 1966, in Brooklyn, New York. Mike was raised in the infamous Brownsville section of Brooklyn, where he was constantly in trouble with the police and in and out of juvenile detention centers. While in a detention center in New York, Mike was discovered by a guard named Bobby Smith who noticed his awesome boxing potential and introduced him to the renowned boxing trainer Cus D'Amato. He made his Pro debut on March 6, 1985, with a first round knockout over Hector Mercedes and he was undefeated in his first two years as a professional, winning 19 bouts by knockout, 14 of which came in the first-round.

From March 1985 to February 1990, he was undefeated with a record of 37-0. Then in February 1990, Mike loss his world championship to James 'Buster' Douglas in Tokyo. Outside the ring, Mike ran into trouble when he was arrested for raping Miss Black America contestant Desiree Washington in her hotel room. He was convicted and served three years in prison for the crime. After he was released from prison in August of 1995, Mike defeated Peter McNeely in a fight lasting 89 seconds. Then on June 28, 1997, Tyson fought Evander Holyfield in a rematch, and after being 'head butted' by Holyfield, Mike bit off a chunk of the boxer's ear. This event basically ended "Iron" Mike's professional boxing career.

Mike is known for some of his tattoos, which include an image of tennis star Arthur Ashe on his left bicep, Mao Zedong on his right bicep, Che Guevara on his abdomen, and of course the tribal tattoo around his right eye. Mike's been married three times and he has seven children, Gena, D'Amato, Mikey, Amir, Rayna, Miguel and Exodus.
A heavyweight champion of the world for three and a half years (November 1986-February 1990), boxer Mike Tyson also earned a historical footnote as the youngest individual ever to win, and lose, the said title in his chosen sport. Both during and after his heavyweight tenure in the ring, Tyson also courted an overwhelming amount of controversy for his reported anti-social behavior, which included raping a beauty pageant contestant in an Indianapolis hotel room (an act for which he received six years in prison, later commuted to three) and biting off a piece of fighter Evander Holyfield's ear, mid-fight (an act that DQ'd him from that particular match and sent the media into a tailspin).
For the most part, Tyson spent his early years on-camera in projects exclusively related to boxing, but following his release from prison, he became acquainted with director James Toback (Fingers), and that marked the beginning of a long friendship that witnessed the men frequently working together. Their collaborations commenced with the improvisational, racially themed 1998 drama Black on White (in which Tyson makes an extended cameo and receives a very blatant pass from a gay character played by Robert Downey, Jr.), the erotic drama When Will I Be Loved? (2004), and, ultimately, the documentary portrait Tyson (2008), which Toback put together from over 30 hours of interviews with the then-retired boxer. Aside from the Toback projects, Tyson's résumé also includes small roles in the 2000 boxing comedy Play It to the Bone and the 2006 boxing drama Rocky Balboa. Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
A heavyweight champion of the world for three and a half years (November 1986-February 1990), boxer Mike Tyson also earned a historical footnote as the youngest individual ever to win, and lose, the said title in his chosen sport. Both during and after his heavyweight tenure in the ring, Tyson also courted an overwhelming amount of controversy for his reported anti-social behavior, which included raping a beauty pageant contestant in an Indianapolis hotel room (an act for which he received six years in prison, later commuted to three) and biting off a piece of fighter Evander Holyfield's ear, mid-fight (an act that DQ'd him from that particular match and sent the media into a tailspin).
For the most part, Tyson spent his early years on-camera in projects exclusively related to boxing, but following his release from prison, he became acquainted with director James Toback (Fingers), and that marked the beginning of a long friendship that witnessed the men frequently working together. Their collaborations commenced with the improvisational, racially themed 1998 drama Black on White (in which Tyson makes an extended cameo and receives a very blatant pass from a gay character played by Robert Downey, Jr.), the erotic drama When Will I Be Loved? (2004), and, ultimately, the documentary portrait Tyson (2008), which Toback put together from over 30 hours of interviews with the then-retired boxer. Aside from the Toback projects, Tyson's résumé also includes small roles in the 2000 boxing comedy Play It to the Bone and the 2006 boxing drama Rocky Balboa. Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

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