Mike Tyson’s Greatest Self Knockouts

Ever since he broke onto the scene in ‘85, Mike Tyson’s life has been scrutinized. No matter what he did, dude always seemed to be two steps behind trouble. So much so that his success in the ring was always overshadowed by the events of his personal life. Whether it was allegedly beating his wife, beating up other boxers on the street or lashing out at press conferences, Mike seemed to have no problem fitting the bill of “crazy, scary black man.” Well, we’ll finally get to hear his side of the story tomorrow when the documentary Tyson hits theaters.

But, let’s not get it twisted. Tyson wasn’t always the victim. He’s done more than his fair share of dumb shit to body his own career. Some of them were funny, some of them were kinda scary and some of of them were just down right odd. Before you go peep the documentary, check out our list of Mike’s most memorable crazy moments and decide for yourself if he’s a victim of circumstance, or just completely out of his god damn mind…

Marries, then Divorces Robin Givens
Date: February 7, 1988 to October 1988
Why: There’s a reason most of Robin Givens’ roles are crazy chicks. You should always be weary of anyone who dated the most famous comedian (Eddie Murphy) and the best basketball player (Michael Jordan). Not only did she try to squander MIke’s funds, she went on Barbara Walters and tells the world that she’s scared to breathe around MIke. Tyson then reportedly whoops her ass that night. We ain’t say she was a gold digger, bu… what are we saying? Yes, she was a gold digger.

Emasculates Razor Rudduck on TV
Date: May 2, 1991
What Happened: During a pre-fight special, Tyson straight up disrespects Razor Rudduck, telling him that he can’t wait for him to “kiss me with those big lips.” Pause?

Bites Holyfield’s Ear
Date: June 28, 1997
What Happened: In the second Tyson-Holyfield fight, Mike couldn’t seem to hurt The Real Deal, which, knowing Mike, probably made him real mad, Joe Jackson. So instead of regrouping, Tyson got his Hannibal Lector on and bit a one inch piece of cartilage out of Evander’s ear. As if that wasn’t enough, when the fight resumed, Tyson went and bit Holyfield’s other ear!

Tells News Caster to Fuck Off
Date: 1997
What Happened: Obviously upset about the questions regarding his loss to Evander Holyfield, Tyson throws his press training out the window in favor of a more “real” approach.

Threatens to eat Lennox Lewis’ Children
Date: June 24, 2000
What Happened: Mike gives one of his most quotable interviews of all time when he randomly quotes the Koran, then proceeds to call his style impetuous and his defense impregnable all before saying that he wanted to eat Lennox Lewis’ children. We don’t know why everyone was so surprised by this—didn’t dude tried to eat Holyfield three years before?

Bites Lennox Lewis’ Leg
Date: January 22, 2002
What Happened: When Lewis arrived late for the press conference to announce the $100 Million match with Tyson, Mike reportedly got super tight and promptly rolled up on Lewis, knocked out his bodyguard and attempted to fight him when all hell broke loose. In the midst of the scuffle, Tyson got knocked down and in a last ditch effort, grabbed a hold of Lewis’ leg… and bit him.

Mike blacks out on a reporter
Date: January 22, 2002
What Happened: After Mike bit Lennox and the fight was broken up, a few reporters at the press conference had some not so nice things to say about Mike’s behavior. But Tyson don’t play that sideways talk shit! Rather than walking off stage, Mike let loose every insult and jail yard threat he could muster including the now infamous: “I’ll fuck you ’til you love me!”

Gets Tribal Face Tattoo
Date: February 22, 2003
What Happened: We’re not sure why exactly he got a “tribal” tattoo on his face, all we know is that he got it when he took a break from training for his bout against Clifford Etienne to party in Vegas. It’s only slightly more random that his tattoo of Arthur Ashe and Che Guevara. Doesn’t get more Complex than that!

Goes Bankrupt
Date: August 2003
What Happened: We can’t say we didn’t see this coming, as dude was dropping $70,000 each on Bengal tigers and $125,000 a year on a trainer, multiple Ferrari’s and Bentley’s, and even a dude who was paid $300,000 to shout out “guerilla warfare” at Tyson news conferences. Not to mention the dough Don King was skimming off the top. We’re actually surprised it took him so long to blow through $300 million. Good job, Mike!