The legend of the game made some bad choices outside the ring

Mike Tyson has revealed how he lost his entire fortune ahead of going bankrupt back in 2003.

Tyson is now preparing for a boxing return, facing Jake Paul in Arlington, Texas this summer. The legend of the sport is reportedly set to earn $20 million from the fight, which will be broadcast live on Netflix.

At his peak, Tyson earned as much as $35 million for a fight, and he earned that career-high purse against Lennox Lewis back in 2002. Just one year later, he declared himself bankrupt after losing his life’s fortune.

Tyson has now opened up on his difficulties while speaking to tennis star Nick Kyrgios. He said: “At the beginning, I didn’t handle fame too well. You know because at first you want the fame of being a champion, but you have no control then.

“And that’s when I first started getting in trouble because sometimes I might be walking the streets, they don’t know my mother died or something about my family. I’m hurt and they just jumping in, ‘Hey man, give me a picture. Hey man this. Hey man. I love you. Give me this’.

“I might not be in the mood, so I used to be violent about it. And then, I started getting quite a few lawsuits and I stopped. I’m a glutton for pain, but I stopped. I couldn’t sign anymore checks so. I was always being sued.

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“Constantly blew my money away from being sued and going to court and just associating with the wrong people and making bad business decisions. And it was just the whole caboot, pretty much. That was just me getting caught up in a vortex of destroying myself.”

A career of big purses

As one of the best ever, it’s no surprise that Tyson has regularly earned huge amounts. He once earned $6 5million between two fights alone, and was once said to be worth as much as $300 million.

He is now estimated to be worth just $10 million, but that still represents a strong recovery having lost it all. And this summer, he is in line to earn another $20 million as he prepares to fight the youthful Jake Paul.

An amateur Mike Tyson gave the professional ranks a taste of things to come with one epic knockout.

Heavyweight legend ‘Iron Mike’ enjoyed a stellar boxing career, having achieved it all at professional level before retiring in 2005, having reigned as undisputed world champion from 1987 to 1990.

And his credentials were certainly proven at amateur level, where he won a gold medal at the 1981 Junior Olympics in the heavyweight division.

In the final, the heavy-handed American made a statement like no other with the landmark event lasting just eight seconds against rival Joe Cortez.

Tyson quickly burst out from his corner with just one intention, and began loading up some vicious shots.

But after just eight seconds with Cortez clearly way out of his depth, the 15-year-old at the time landed a crushing right-left combination which sent his opponent crumpling to the canvas.

Cortez was left flat on his back out cold, and the referee immediately waved off the fight while seeking medical attention for the silver medalist.

Tyson’s quickfire KO came as no surprise, with the amateur champion seen as one of the most dynamic punchers to have come through at the time.

He went on to win another gold medal at the 1982 version of the tournament, before making the step to the professional ranks with a huge reputation.

He missed out on the 1984 Olympic Games, but made up for the heartache with a glittering career as a pro. He quickly went from strength to strength, demolishing rivals with ease on his rise to becoming the youngest ever heavyweight world champion aged 20, when he beat Trevor Berbick with another thumping KO in November 1986.

The feared puncher went on to share the rings with some greats, including Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield whom he lost to, while he beat other names like Larry Holmes and Michael Spinks in a stint that saw him go down as one of the greatest of all-time.

He eventually hung up his gloves in 2005, admitting he no longer had the desire to fight on.

However, in 2020 he returned to face Roy Jones Jr in an exhibition and is now training for another fight, against Jake Paul in July.

Surprisingly the contest has been sanctioned as a professional fight, despite the 31-year age gap between the pair.

Tyson has been posting a series of training clips to justify to fans his return at age 58, but the public have still urged the pair to cancel the showdown.

He has also received a host of medical warnings from doctors over his health if he receives punches as a veteran, but has ignored them to pursue a contest which will count on his record.

Tyson and Paul will fight in July

The exhibition boxing match between Jake Paul and former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson is already a global phenomenon, three months before it will be streamed live on Netflix from AT&T Stadium. The showdown will have significant ramifications for the sport of boxing as well as the two fighters — with Paul, a former YouTube star, attempting to make a statement against Tyson, once one of the most feared athletes on the planet.

But after the fight, life will go on for Paul and for Tyson. The latter has spent years cultivating a business and media empire away from the ring, and it received a fresh boost with a surprise announcement on Monday.

An earful…of edibles?
In 2022, Tyson and Evander Holyfield controversially announced a joint venture…selling edibles. The shock stemmed from the 1997 bout between the two boxers, in which Tyson bit off a portion of Holyfield’s left ear — and the edibles, called “Mike Bites,” are manufactured in the shape of a human ear.

Mike Tyson is releasing candy weed edibles in the shape of ears

They are called Mikes Bites 👂 pic.twitter.com/Wg8WTMkZ2D

— Dexerto (@Dexerto) March 15, 2022

On Monday, Tyson’s cannabis firm “Tyson 2.0” reached a deal with pharmaceutical company PHCANN to distribute Mike Bites and other products to German and British consumers in a groundbreaking career move for the 57-year-old boxer.

“I’m excited to make our world-class products available to medical cannabis patients in the region,” Tyson said in a statement. “Together, we’re setting new standards and delivering something that no one else is bringing to the table.”

🇺🇸 @MikeTyson's TYSON 2.0 cannabis brand is coming to European medical via an exclusive deal with 🇵🇱 PHCANN, currently cultivating in North Macedonia.

It's planned for Tyson #MedicalCannabis products to be made available in both the 🇬🇧 UK and 🇩🇪 Germany.https://t.co/9DLv5pzsvy

— 🇬🇧 MedBud.wiki (@MedBudUK) April 15, 2024

Tyson, who owns a 420-acre “weed resort” in southern California, has previously stated that he will abandon his marijuana habit in order to prepare fully for his bout with Paul — which will take place in Arlington, Texas, on July 20.

The former heavyweight champion hasn’t fought for three years

As a former heavyweight boxing champion with 58 career bouts and 50 wins to his name, Mike Tyson is used to getting in the ring. But ahead of his fight with Jake Paul, the veteran admits he is fearing the worst from his exhibition match.

The pair will fight at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on July 20 in a hotly-anticipated bout, which has also attracted criticism due to the massive age gap between Tyson and Paul.

The YouTuber is just 27 years of age and has only 10 fights to his name. Tyson, 57, hasn’t fought in the ring since his last exhibition match against Roy Jones Jr in December 2020, which ended as a draw.

It is no surprise then that Tyson, who has suffered from mobility issues in recent years, is dreading coming against the American fighter. However, he insists this all part of the process before a fight.

“I have a weird personality – I don’t think it’s weird though. Whatever I’m afraid to do, I do it. That’s how it is,” Tyson told Sean Hannity on Tuesday night. “I was afraid of the Roy [Jones Jr.] fight [in 2020].

“I was 100 pounds overweight, I was however old, 54, 53, and I said ‘Let’s do it.’ Anything I’m afraid of, I confront it. That’s my personality. Right now, I’m scared to death.”

Tyson wary of Paul threat
Video footage from Tyson’s training sessions have been uploaded onto social media as a way of dispelling theories that he could struggle to fight against Paul, who has a 9-1 record in boxing.

Paul’s reaction to those clips suggested he might have been wary of the threat posed by his opponent, with Tyson looking sharp in preparing for the fight.

And he explained how he channeled his nerves into helping him feel ‘invincible’: “I always believed that adversity and nervousness pretty much catapulted me into success,” Tyson said.

“If I didn’t have these feelings, I wouldn’t go into this fight. I have to have these feelings to fight. Without them, I would never go in the ring. As the fight gets closer, the less nervous I become, because it’s reality. And in reality, I’m invincible.”

But he admits that he knows Paul’s YouTuber days cannot be taken into account when he steps into the ring: “I saw a YouTube of him at 16 doing weird dances. That’s not the guy I’m gonna be fighting,” he added. “This guy is gonna come, he’s gonna try to hurt me, which I’m accustomed to, and he’s gonna be greatly mistaken.”

Here is the response from Jake Paul’s camp to the allegedly proposed rules for the fight against Mike Tyson

Recently, there were reports of the alleged proposed rules for the Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul fight on July 20th and the Youtuber’s manager just came out to claim those are fake news. These allegedly proposed rues included bigger gloves, 2-minute rounds, no winner unless it’s a KO, both fighters getting tested for anabolic steroid use, and no judges. But Jake Paul’s manager Nikasa Bidarian uploaded a video that claims these rules are nothing but false information. He wated to offer the only details of this fight that have been confirmed to this day, which have nothing to do with these allegedly proposed rules.

Mike Tyson is looking scary again
Bidarian is part of Jake Paul’s crew and he has been monitoring Mike Tyson’s training sessions. He uploaded a video where he offers an update on that and on alleged tickets being sold for the vent. He said: “Breaking news, there is no news. Stop spreading fake news, there’s no truth regarding Jake Paul-Mike Tyson. Here’s what is true, 1. Mike Tyson is in unbelievable shape and training like he hasn’t in many, many years and is looking scary for Jake Paul. 2. There are no tickets for sale. 3. Over 85,000 people have signed up to get access to tickets when they go on sale, this is going to be a historic event.”

🚨 Jake Paul's agent forced to issue new statement after more 'leaked rules' for Mike Tyson fight go viral pic.twitter.com/5FMODstplz

— SPORTbible (@sportbible) March 30, 2024

Despite this new information, there is still concern for Mike Tyson’s well-being due to his age and the dangers he could face for getting hit in the head. People like Dana White or Eddie Hearn have been very vocal against watching Mike Tyson getting into the ring with the Youtuber. At the end of the day, we will only know how ready Mike Tyson is for a fight like this until he steps on that ring. But the training videos of him with that ripped physique show him looking scary and still with some of the same speed he had during his prime. People would love to know about the rules that will be approved for this fight, stay tuned for an update.