Who is Mike Tyson?
A lot of people know of, or have heard of, one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. His professional boxing career spanned 20 years and he has stepped back into the ring many times since his retirement in 2005 (Wikipedia, 2024, par. 1). He has also played small roles in a few movies, one of the most popular being The Hangover. However, his road to success was not a smooth one.
How did he accomplish his American Dream?
Mike Tyson was raised in some of the most adverse conditions a child can face. His father left his family at the early age of two and he was raised by his mother and two older siblings. However, Fort Greene, Brooklyn in New York City is not the safest place for a boxing idol to grow up – especially in the 70’s and 80’s. That said, he witnessed a lot of crime and inevitably had to get involved in things such as stealing to make ends meet for his family. He described his childhood days in Brooklyn like, “no cops come to protect you… everybody was always locked up, everybody was getting shot or cut it was too common” (Mishra, 2023, par. 5).
This continued until he met a man that would change his life forever, Cus D’ Amato, at the age of 12. That is when he started pursuing boxing in which his initial goal was to be able to defend himself against thugs and bullies. He got so involved with the sport he eventually dropped out of high school to pursue it fulltime. Eventually, he climbed the ladder until he made his professional debut at 18 years old in the world of professional boxing. At age 20, he had claimed the champion spot in the heavyweight division and was feared by many elite and veteran boxers. Despite all the setbacks, which were not only faced in his childhood but in his adulthood as well, Mike continued to push through adversity and came out on top. Mike accomplished, through literal blood, sweat, and tears, what most would consider the American Dream.
References
Mishra, M. (June 8, 2023). Mike Tyson Opens Up About Horrific Criminal Life He Lived Before Meeting His Mentor. Essentially Sports. Retrieved from: https://www.essentiallysports.com/boxing-news-i-almost-died-getting-crippled-37-years-after-cus-damatos-death-mike-tyson-opens-up-about-horrific-criminal-life-he-lived-before-meeting-his-mentor/
Wikipedia. (2024). Mike Tyson. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Tyson