afparent Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 I'm a street bum, says broke Tyson By Anne Campbell, Metro 28 June 2004 Boxing legend Mike Tyson has been sleeping in homeless shelters and living like a 'street bum' since declaring himself bankrupt. The former heavyweight champion of the world, who once had more than £165million in the bank and regularly earned £5million per fight, also said he has been accepting handouts from drug dealers. He added: 'For two years I have been a bum, truly a bum in the streets. 'I've got nowhere to live. I've been crashing with friends, literally sleeping in shelters. Unsavoury characters are giving me money and I'm taking it. I need it. The drug dealers, they sympathise with me. They see me as some sort of pathetic character.' Tyson, who will be 38 on Wednesday, will fight British boxer Danny Williams on July 30 in an attempt to make some money. But he is so deeply in debt that even the £7.6million to be paid to him by promoter Don King to settle a lawsuit will not lift him out of the red. He said: 'When I had money I was an animal. I was so belligerent. I lost all across the board. My life has been a total waste.' Tyson, who served three years in jail for rape in the 1990s and who bit off part of Evander Holyfield's ear during a 1997 fight, still thinks he can be heavyweight champion again. He added: 'I know I was a tough, bad-ass talking fighter, but I ain't no mob figure. I did my time for the rape. I paid my money to Las Vegas. I paid my dues. 'I ain't the same person I was when I bit that guy's ear off.' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXREDSKINS44 Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 What a Idiot!!:doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WallyG3 Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 Karma is a b!tch, ain't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 He had a 100 million dollar suit against King and settled for 14 :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afparent Posted June 28, 2004 Author Share Posted June 28, 2004 RAGS TO RICHES TO RAGS...JUST LIKE ROCKY! But with the heavyweight division the way it is, it is conceivable he will be the champ again. And then all the Tyson lovers will talk about how great he is and he can beat anybody. IMO he had his chance to be great. Got crushed by a nobody, Buster Douglas, lost to a future Hall of Famer, twice, Evander Holyfield and got tore up by Lennox Lewis. A great fighter would have beat somebody good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riggo-toni Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :finger: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKINtil8tin Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 Saw Mike Tyson on my plane a few weeks ago. Same weekend as the DeLaHoya fight and he sat in First Class. Was star-struck for about a minute as I nudged my girlfriend and said "Holy sh*t! That's Mike Tyson!" Whether or not he paid for the ticket doesn't matter though. This guy that used to own several jets was sitting on the same plane I was. He had some scrub in a Lakers outfit with him but no "posse." At one time, I thought that he'd be the greatest to ever box. Even if he were to do well coming back (looking at the heavyweights now, I don't know how he can't do well) I still look at his career and life as wasted talent and think what could have been... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky21 Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 Uhhh...I don't think there's going to be a big Tyson come back. It's over. Stick a fork in him. He's done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sisko Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 I know I may be a shlub, and he certainly did bring it on himself, buuut....I in some small way do feel sorry for him. He could have been one of the best ever but instead we're left to lament what a waste his life is/was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDoyler23 Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 He's a human sideshow...I wonder what will happen next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afparent Posted June 28, 2004 Author Share Posted June 28, 2004 Originally posted by SKINtil8tin Saw Mike Tyson on my plane a few weeks ago. Same weekend as the DeLaHoya fight and he sat in First Class. Was star-struck for about a minute as I nudged my girlfriend and said "Holy sh*t! That's Mike Tyson!" Whether or not he paid for the ticket doesn't matter though. This guy that used to own several jets was sitting on the same plane I was. He had some scrub in a Lakers outfit with him but no "posse." At one time, I thought that he'd be the greatest to ever box. Even if he were to do well coming back (looking at the heavyweights now, I don't know how he can't do well) I still look at his career and life as wasted talent and think what could have been... Was he huge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 Originally posted by Yusuf06 He could have been one of the best ever but instead we're left to lament what a waste his life is/was. Not even close. He loss bad to Buster Douglas. There were no other legit heavyweights when he was good. If he fought Evander or even Lennox when they were younger he would have been shown the fake he was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riggo-toni Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 Originally posted by jbooma Not even close. He loss bad to Buster Douglas. There were no other legit heavyweights when he was good. If he fought Evander or even Lennox when they were younger he would have been shown the fake he was. Very True. Did anyone NOT think this was gonna happen to him? Don King's guys always always end up like this. I'm only surprised that it took this long. On a side note, Don King is one of only 2 famous people I've ever seen here in Manhattan. I watched some guy with the worst hair in the world getting into a Limo, got a little closer and thought "Holy shiite, it's Don King...." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJWatson3 Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 i think a lot of the buster douglass loss was due to the end of his realationship with his wife. everything i have read was that as soon as that ended he was ****ed in the head. he was so distraught over her leaving him that he didn't even train for buster, also heard a rumor that he was hung-over/had been out drinking the night before.... i don't think that Tyson was always a bad fellow... but that after Cus D'Amato died he had noone to help look out for his interests... insert a money-grubbing wife and a money-grubbing promoter and you've two people helping to control this man's life for their own personal gain. it's a sad story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afparent Posted June 28, 2004 Author Share Posted June 28, 2004 Originally posted by AJWatson3 i think a lot of the buster douglass loss was due to the end of his realationship with his wife. everything i have read was that as soon as that ended he was ****ed in the head. he was so distraught over her leaving him that he didn't even train for buster, also heard a rumor that he was hung-over/had been out drinking the night before.... i don't think that Tyson was always a bad fellow... but that after Cus D'Amato died he had noone to help look out for his interests... insert a money-grubbing wife and a money-grubbing promoter and you've two people helping to control this man's life for their own personal gain. it's a sad story. Bottom line was he brought it upon himself. Even if he had a bad night, he had plenty of time to come back. He never held the title again. I was never all that impressed by him. If you look back on boxing history, people said the same thing about Sonny Liston and George Foreman. Big intimidating thugs until someone wasn't scared of them. In both these cases it was Ali, but once the intimidation factor is gone, they were never the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKINtil8tin Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 Originally posted by afparent Was he huge? NO! That's what I tell everyone. I'm 5'7" and about 205 - 210lbs. I looked bigger than Mike Tyson. He may weigh more but didn't look big at all. Don't get me wrong, he'd beat the sh*t out of me but we'd be CLOSE to the same weight class. I saw him on the flight from Phoenix to Vegas so he was dressed for warm weather. Light t-shirt so it didn't hide alot. Definitely smaller than he used to be. Didn't do a search but I think he fought around 225-235lbs. Anyone know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDane Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 Sad. At least he gave me Mike Tyson's Punch Out as a child. Man, I loved that game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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