Prøve GULL - Gratis
'There's nothing nice about me, I'm not a nice person'
The Independent
|November 01, 2024
Mike Tyson, once known as 'the baddest man on the planet', talks to The Independent ahead of his fight with Jake Paul

Mike Tyson is not a nice guy, and he is not at peace. Those are his words. The words of a former world heavyweight champion. The words of a brutal fighter once proclaimed (fairly) as the “baddest man on the planet”. The words of a fighter who chewed a chunk out of an opponent’s ear. The words of a father, husband, podcaster and convicted criminal.
There was a time when Mike Tyson was a simple being – 40 years ago, perhaps. So purely violent and destructive was the boxer that he was arguably as one-dimensional as he was singleminded. Nowadays, things are more complicated. For a long time, he has been a genuine enigma.
The American, who still holds the record for being boxing’s youngest-ever world heavyweight champion, is older now. The 58-year-old did his time in prison – from 1992 to 1995 after being convicted of rape, plus nine months in 1999 for assaulting two motorists – and served his ban for biting into Evander Holyfield’s ear.
Despite his troubling and troubled past, Tyson is loved by many boxing fans for the memories he gave them during his prime; he is treasured for the sense of wonderment he drilled through their TV screens and into their living rooms with vicious, merciless strikes in the Eighties and Nineties. Punches that altered the lives of Tyson’s opponents and audiences, in different ways.

Denne historien er fra November 01, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.
Abonner på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av kuraterte premiumhistorier og over 9000 magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
FLERE HISTORIER FRA The Independent

The Independent
Gaza left in environmental freefall after two-year war
Gaza’s water, sanitation, and energy systems are on the brink of a total collapse after nearly two years of war.
3 mins
October 17, 2025

The Independent
You're in spy territory now
Witness statements shed fresh light on the China spy case, alleging the accused men communicated with each other
3 mins
October 17, 2025

The Independent
Johnson praises ChatGPT as a 'fantastic' AI platform
Boris Johnson has admitted he “loves” AI and ChatGPT, and revealed that he uses it while writing his books.
2 mins
October 17, 2025

The Independent
Cardiff to impose higher parking charges for SUVs
A Welsh council could become the first in the UK to impose higher parking charges on drivers of large vehicles such as 4x4s in a bid to discourage people from buying them.
1 min
October 17, 2025

The Independent
MI5 thwarted China attack in past week, chief reveals
The head of MI5 has revealed Britain thwarted an attack from China just this week, as he issued a stark warning over the daily threat to the UK posed by Beijing.
4 mins
October 17, 2025

The Independent
Wincing through the disco
Tame Impala's new album, 'Deadbeat', begins with possibly the best opening track of the year, as he makes mountains out of social awkwardness molehills
3 mins
October 17, 2025

The Independent
Shiko, rattle and roll: sumo casts its spell on London
With professional sumo being held outside of Japan for just the second time ever, Alex Pattle reports on a transportive night of wrestling, salt and ritual at the Royal Albert Hall
5 mins
October 17, 2025

The Independent
How Palestine's 'Speed Sisters' allowed girls to dream in the face of war
Kieran Jackson talks to the trailblazers who in the Noughties formed the Arab world's first all-female motor-racing team
7 mins
October 17, 2025

The Independent
France's pension crisis may also spell trouble for Britain
Bankers warn compromise plan by French prime minister won't solve the nation's debt problem
3 mins
October 17, 2025

The Independent
Where does football go after Guardiola's ideology fades?
After 15 years of dominance, the Catalan's ideas of pressing and possession that gripped the game have now unravelled. Is this an 'end of history' moment
5 mins
October 17, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size