Iron Mike Tyson - My 2015 Trainwreck Book

I read at least one "trainwreck" book per year.  I am intrigued by self-destructive people, and I feel this weird need to study their stories.  I don't think I'm looking for any sort of answer, but the fascination is real.  

Mike Tyson is many things to many people.  Tyson inspires strong feelings whether a person sees him as a symbol of all that is wrong with masculinity or the "Baddest Man on the Planet." All feelings are justified, and any extreme reactions to him have foundation in fact.  This seems like one of the most truthful books I have read.  I can't know for sure, but he admits to so many embarrassing and horrible things that it almost feels impossible to consider any of these stories as fraudulent.

The language is raw and his flow is as erratic as you would expect.  The book is without a doubt in Tyson's voice, which is a real credit to his ghost writer.  He stays 100% consistent in his denial of guilt for the sentence he served, and he gets uncomfortably detailed about the incident.  I remember thinking at the time about what a shame it was that his actions cost him three prime years of fighting.  After reading the book, I'm not sure he was guilty of that crime at all (I don't know, but his details in the book were clearly helped with legal advice and insight that put quite a bit of doubt to it), but I am absolutely certain he would have gone to jail for something.  In fact, he should have gone to jail for dozens of things he openly admits.  To anyone who asks, "what were the chances?," I am here to say that they were 100%.

Mike Tyson's self-destruct button was going to ignite one way or another.  He knocked-up a prison guard while in jail, put himself in a staggering amount of horrible places at terrible times, and just generally found ways to harm himself, his career, and anyone who cared one atom about him.  It really is an all-time trainwreck read.  I was happy that his rise to stardom was untainted by drugs (I can only ever hope on that front, but he seems dismissive of any boxer who would use steroids and makes fun of Evander Holyfield for it, so he comes off as honest).   I was happy that his talent was cultivated by hard work, which always makes it feel so much more real. 

That made me happy because this is how I remember Mike Tyson:



My dad and I watched every big Tyson fight when he was on top of the world.  We were just awe-struck by his ability, tenacity, and his unmatched viciousness in the ring.  We rooted him on like the smallest kid rooting for his own schoolyard bully in an inter-school scrap as almost an extension of ourselves.   

I loved reading the boxing sections of this book.  Tyson focused so intensely on becoming champion, and that era when he defended the title was unforgettable.  He was the absolute "Baddest Man on the Planet.  No dispute.  And, this book really reinforced how great he was when focused.  But, the popular refrain was always that the death of Cus D'Amato, Tyson's mentor, left him a lesser boxer.  It was true, and Tyson illustrates how fleeting success can be when you lose an edge.

I hated reading the parts about how Tyson stopped training as hard and how he stopped caring as much.  I cared so much back then.  I felt betrayed when he lost.  He just wasn't supposed to lose.



For three years, all boxing talk ended with, "well, it doesn't matter anyway because the best fighter is in jail, and no one can claim it until he's out... and look out when he's free!"

I loved the parts in this book when Tyson explained the aura of a fighter at the introduction at center ring. I loved looking at youtube clips of the fear he described.  He also described the aura of determination from a fighter that made him have to bear down and focus.  I loved re-living all those fights.  I watched them all with dad originally, and that was always special. Razor Ruddock, James "Bonecrusher" Smith, and his destruction of Michael Spinks.  All of them were bigger, and they all had massive reach advantages... and each one of them was scared shitless of Mike Tyson despite those advantages.  The youtube clips truly preserve their fear, and it was real.  Just watch the intro to his fight with Bruce Seldon if you want to see what it looks like when an "Adonis" shits himself with fear. 

As happy as I was to learn that Tyson was drug-free when he climbed the mountain, I was equally horrified at the level of his drug addiction, alcohol abuse, and epic self-destruction after he was out of prison. I knew he wasn't the "same," but his faults seem so clear now.  He got two belts back, but it felt watered-down, and then he started losing in ways that didn't make sense... until I read about the truckloads of blow he did, that is.  Now, his biting of Holyfield and insane behavior against Lennox Lewis make a sad sense.  It was so sad to learn about the sordid details.

I now know that Mike Tyson sacrificed his humanity to be that bully in the ring we all bragged about.  His humanity broke under the weight of "Iron Mike."  He is an unstable person.  He is also entertaining, and always interesting.  The stories of self-destruction and promiscuity are staggering, and I am still in awe of how he blew $300 million so fast.  It's really too amazing to clearly comprehend.

I would love to see his one-man show based on this book, but it would still be tough to watch him as anything but the "Baddest Man on the Planet" and not get lost in disappointment that he didn't remain so.   That said, I'd laugh pretty hard at these stories even though I have already read them.  I imagine I'd be sad as well.