John McGlothlin on Quora
(I read this post on Quora written by John McGlothin)
Is it true Mike Tyson beat up Wesley Snipes in a street fight or is it just media fabrication?
‘Kid Dynamite’ was born in Brownsville, New York, and grew up a feral kid on the streets. His mother was a drug addict, and he never knew his father.
By the time he was 12 years old Mike Tyson was fighting, and beating up, grown men. Taken out of reform school by Cus D’Amato and trained to be fighter, Mike never forgot where he came from, and while the kid might have been taken out of the streets, the streets had not been taken out of the kid.
CREDIT PICTURE DAILY MAIL
Mike did not stop having trouble once he became famous.
Wesley Snipes felt Mike’s wrath because he was dumb enough to cheat with Mike's girlfriend.
According to Tyson's former bodyguard, Rudy Gonzalez, yes, Tyson knocked out Snipes over a girl. Supposedly Tyson's girlfriend was cheating on him with Snipes, and after Rudy followed her and called Mike, an altercation occurred in a bathroom at Roscoes, a soulfood hangout in downtown LA.
Gonzalez recounts how Mike had the girl followed, and when she jumped out of Wesley Snipes fancy ride and went into Roscoes, Mike was called, and came immediately. Wesley tried playing it off, but through the decades, Mike Tyson has demonstrated once he is mad, it is on, and off the two of them went to a bathroom to discuss it.
Only Mike came out of the bathroom.
Rudy wrote in his book "The Inner Ring, about hearing the fight in the bathroom after the two men went in there alone:
STORY: Mike Tyson vs. Wesley Snipes Street Fight Ended by Knockout
Flashback: That Time Mike Tyson Caught Wesley Snipes Messing With His Girl
But Snipes was by no means the only person to feel the physical wrath of Iron Mike!
Mike Tyson’s run in with Lennox Lewis is interesting, because Mike didn't punch out Lennox, he bit him. The guy who got punched was Lennox's bodyguard. The scene at the Hudson Theatre in New York in January 22, 2002 was truly ugly.
Anthony Pitts was Lennox Lewis's bodyguard, which was amusing, because at the time of the Snipes fight, which happened at least a decade earlier, he had been Mike’s bodyguard!
As Lennox took the stage at the Hudson Theatre at the press conference to speak, former champion Mike Tyson, dressed in menacing all black, strode angrily towards Lewis and Anthony Pitts reached out to stop him. (You would have think Pitts would have known better, having seen Mike in action before!)
A Tyson left dropped the interfering Pitts, and the brawl was on.
Mike told CNN/SI:
Boxing: Tyson bites Lewis on leg in public fracas
Shelly Finkel, Tyson's manager, said he knew nothing of the alleged bite:
The fiasco at the press conference had not just irritated Lennox, it had outraged Manny Steward, who told Lewis as he prepared to go to the ring the night of the fight:
Nor was Mike limited to punching or biting, as he related in "Undisputed" he kicked Don King in the head.
On a trip to try to make amends with his former promoter, Tyson flew in King's private jet down to Florida in 2003 but says he spent the entire journey getting high.
Tyson went into a rage, partly fueled by jealousy over the money he had earned King, the money he thought King had stolen or conned him out of, and partly due to the drugs he had taken. He claims he attacked King during negotiations over a $20 million deal for King to become Tyson's promoter again.
He says of the incident:
Tyson says that on more than one occasion if he encountered any obsessive fans who followed him around or asked for an autograph when he was in a bad mood he would:
Mike Tyson was supposed to fight Frank Bruno back in 1988 for $5 million. Mike, proving money was not the only reason he fought, put the smack down on Mitch "Blood" Green for nothing at Dapper Dan's Boutique in Harlem.
Sports Illustrated's Pat Putnam explains:
Green should have rested on his laurels for going the distance in the ring, because he did a lot worse in the sequel street fight.
Green sued Tyson, but he was awarded just $45,000 on his $25 million claim.
There is no doubt that Mike hit Robin Givens.
He admitted it in the memoir of his life written by fellow Cus D'Amato graduate Jose Torres, “Fire and Fear: The Inside Story of Mike Tyson.” Givens of course had maintained from the early days of their marriage that Mike was abusive, but Torres version of Mike's story included Tyson’s recollection of:
Mike apparently was willing back in those days to hit, kick, break bones and bite if irritated, and it did not take a great deal to irritate him.
Now, fortunately, Mike is much more mellow.
Talking on his podcast ‘Hot Boxing With Mike Tyson’ Mike got actually emotional speaking about his past to comedian Joey Diaz:
And those are the real facts, not ones from Never was Land
(I read this post on Quora written by John McGlothin)
Is it true Mike Tyson beat up Wesley Snipes in a street fight or is it just media fabrication?
‘Kid Dynamite’ was born in Brownsville, New York, and grew up a feral kid on the streets. His mother was a drug addict, and he never knew his father.
By the time he was 12 years old Mike Tyson was fighting, and beating up, grown men. Taken out of reform school by Cus D’Amato and trained to be fighter, Mike never forgot where he came from, and while the kid might have been taken out of the streets, the streets had not been taken out of the kid.
CREDIT PICTURE DAILY MAIL
Mike did not stop having trouble once he became famous.
Wesley Snipes felt Mike’s wrath because he was dumb enough to cheat with Mike's girlfriend.
According to Tyson's former bodyguard, Rudy Gonzalez, yes, Tyson knocked out Snipes over a girl. Supposedly Tyson's girlfriend was cheating on him with Snipes, and after Rudy followed her and called Mike, an altercation occurred in a bathroom at Roscoes, a soulfood hangout in downtown LA.
Gonzalez recounts how Mike had the girl followed, and when she jumped out of Wesley Snipes fancy ride and went into Roscoes, Mike was called, and came immediately. Wesley tried playing it off, but through the decades, Mike Tyson has demonstrated once he is mad, it is on, and off the two of them went to a bathroom to discuss it.
Only Mike came out of the bathroom.
Rudy wrote in his book "The Inner Ring, about hearing the fight in the bathroom after the two men went in there alone:
This story is also well chronicled online:
STORY: Mike Tyson vs. Wesley Snipes Street Fight Ended by Knockout
Flashback: That Time Mike Tyson Caught Wesley Snipes Messing With His Girl
But Snipes was by no means the only person to feel the physical wrath of Iron Mike!
Mike Tyson’s run in with Lennox Lewis is interesting, because Mike didn't punch out Lennox, he bit him. The guy who got punched was Lennox's bodyguard. The scene at the Hudson Theatre in New York in January 22, 2002 was truly ugly.
Anthony Pitts was Lennox Lewis's bodyguard, which was amusing, because at the time of the Snipes fight, which happened at least a decade earlier, he had been Mike’s bodyguard!
As Lennox took the stage at the Hudson Theatre at the press conference to speak, former champion Mike Tyson, dressed in menacing all black, strode angrily towards Lewis and Anthony Pitts reached out to stop him. (You would have think Pitts would have known better, having seen Mike in action before!)
A Tyson left dropped the interfering Pitts, and the brawl was on.
Mike told CNN/SI:
According to The New York Times, the Lewis camp accused Tyson of biting the champion:
He bit right through the fabric, the person from the Lewis camp said, adding that Lewis got a tetanus shot from a local doctor.
Boxing: Tyson bites Lewis on leg in public fracas
Shelly Finkel, Tyson's manager, said he knew nothing of the alleged bite:
The fight, somehow, survived this fiasco. Nevada, originally scheduled as home to the bout, passed, refusing to license Tyson in a hearing the week after the brawl. Memphis was there to pick up the pieces and the fight was eventually held at The Pyramid, where Lewis knocked Tyson out in eight rounds.
The fiasco at the press conference had not just irritated Lennox, it had outraged Manny Steward, who told Lewis as he prepared to go to the ring the night of the fight:
While the fight was a one sided beating that was no contender for "Fight of the Year," the press conference riot, meanwhile, won Ring Magazine "Event of the Year" award.
Nor was Mike limited to punching or biting, as he related in "Undisputed" he kicked Don King in the head.
On a trip to try to make amends with his former promoter, Tyson flew in King's private jet down to Florida in 2003 but says he spent the entire journey getting high.
Tyson went into a rage, partly fueled by jealousy over the money he had earned King, the money he thought King had stolen or conned him out of, and partly due to the drugs he had taken. He claims he attacked King during negotiations over a $20 million deal for King to become Tyson's promoter again.
He says of the incident:
Mike also related some interesting stories in "Undisputed" about how fans could drive him to violence.
Tyson says that on more than one occasion if he encountered any obsessive fans who followed him around or asked for an autograph when he was in a bad mood he would:
He expresses regret for doing so, referring to himself in "Undisputed" that at this time he was a:
A fine example came in 2003, when he said fans were annoying him:
Mike's most famous street fighting escapade was probably his brawl with Mitch Green.
Mike Tyson was supposed to fight Frank Bruno back in 1988 for $5 million. Mike, proving money was not the only reason he fought, put the smack down on Mitch "Blood" Green for nothing at Dapper Dan's Boutique in Harlem.
Sports Illustrated's Pat Putnam explains:
Ironically, Mike pleaded self defense, claiming he was fearful, of what Green, ranting like a madman about Don King owing him money, would do:
The two had fought before in a boxing ring - Tyson won by decision over 10 rounds in 1986. Green became just the second man to go the distance with "Kid Dynamite."
Green should have rested on his laurels for going the distance in the ring, because he did a lot worse in the sequel street fight.
Green sued Tyson, but he was awarded just $45,000 on his $25 million claim.
There is no doubt that Mike hit Robin Givens.
He admitted it in the memoir of his life written by fellow Cus D'Amato graduate Jose Torres, “Fire and Fear: The Inside Story of Mike Tyson.” Givens of course had maintained from the early days of their marriage that Mike was abusive, but Torres version of Mike's story included Tyson’s recollection of:
Tyson and Givens divorced after a brief marriage. Tyson also detailed a sadistic viewpoint on sex in the book:
And then there was Mike trying to break the arm of Frans Botha. (Mike said “he pissed me off!”)
Mike apparently was willing back in those days to hit, kick, break bones and bite if irritated, and it did not take a great deal to irritate him.
Now, fortunately, Mike is much more mellow.
Talking on his podcast ‘Hot Boxing With Mike Tyson’ Mike got actually emotional speaking about his past to comedian Joey Diaz:
52-Year-Old Mike Tyson Makes A Profound Confession
And those are the real facts, not ones from Never was Land
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