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Tyson was born in
Brownsville,
Brooklyn.
His mother, Lorna Smith, was forced to provide for her family
following the departure of his father, Jimmy Kirkpatrick, when
Tyson was two. Tyson's reputation as a child was that he would
assault anyone who ridiculed his high-pitched
lisp.
This was fueled by constant abuse from older children on the
streets of Brownsville. Mike
Tyson grew up in crime-infested neighborhoods of New York City.
When he was 10 years old, his family moved to Brownsville where
he lived with his two siblings and mother.
Brother Rodney, older by five years, is
a physician's assistant in the trauma center of the Los Angeles
County-University of Southern California Medical Center. He has
always been very supportive of his brother's career and was
often seen at Mike's boxing matches in Las Vegas. When asked
about their relationship, Mike Tyson 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."
The closest person to Mike as he grew
into childhood was his sister Denise - who changed her name to
Anderson upon marriage. She died at the age of 24, with reports
indicating that she may have died of cardiac arrest, as she
weighed between 300 and 400 pounds. Tyson financially supported
Denise's children upon her death.
The Tyson's survived on welfare after
Lorna's lover Jimmy Kirkpatrick walked away. As times grew
harder they were forced out of their tenement in tough
Bedford-Stuyvesant and into Brownsville, Brooklyn. Tyson has
been quoted saying, "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." Tyson's mother died when
he was 16, and two years later, boxing manager and trainer
Cus D'Amato
became his legal guardian.
Tyson made his way through the streets
of Brooklyn by
mugging
and stealing; by the age of 13, he had been arrested 38 times.[4]
He ended up at the Tryon School for Boys in Johnstown, New York.
It was at the school that Tyson's raw boxing ability was
discovered by Bobby Stewart, a juvenile detention center
counselor and former boxer.[2]
Considering Tyson as an outstanding athlete, Stewart trained him
for a few months and then introduced him to D'Amato.
Tyson was later removed from reform
school by D'Amato. He saw Tyson's
potential and took over his training; he later became his
legal guardian,[2]
and Tyson has often referred to his love for D'Amato as a father
figure.
Kevin Rooney
also trained Tyson under D'Amato, and they were occasionally
assisted by
Teddy Atlas,
who was dismissed by D'Amato when Tyson was 15. Rooney
eventually took over all training duties for the young boxer.
As an
amateur,
Tyson amassed a 24-3 record and was considered a formidable
opponent and prime candidate to represent the USA in the
1984 Summer Olympics
in
Los Angeles.
However, two controversial losses to
Henry Tillman
ended his Olympics chances. In 1984 he was also the
National Golden Gloves
Heavyweight Champion. Tyson turned professional soon after. He
had another controversial loss in 1983 in the Golden Gloves
tournament to Craig Payne. Tyson had many other amateur bouts of
which the dates, names of opponents and results aren't certain.
Tyson made his professional debut on
March 6, 1985, in
Albany,
New York.
He defeated Hector Mercedes with a first round
knockout. |
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