By Vitali Shaposhnikov: If I had told you that the following quote was written with reference to “Iron” Mike Tyson, would you have a hard time believing me? “The 44-year-old ex-heavyweight champion is in bed by 8 and often up as early as 2 in the morning, at which point he takes a solitary walk around the gated compound in the Las Vegas suburb where he lives while listening to R&B on his iPod. Tyson then occupies himself with reading (he’s an avid student of history, philosophy and psychology).”
Recently, Daphen Merkin wrote a piece on Tyson in The New York Times. Merkin had an opportunity to meet with Tyson, have a few sit-down sessions with the former champ, and of course take a closer look at how the former most feared man in boxing lives nowadays.
What she discovered was maybe something that a small percentage of people expected, but the majority was stunned to find out. From biting Evander Holyfield’s ear to becoming a dedicated vegan, Mike Tyson has gone through a mind blowing one hundred eighty degree transformation.
A committed father and husband, Tyson enjoys the quiet and peaceful environment. He no longer expresses the extremes of human emotions, and finds pleasure in doing what nearly all “regular” people do on a daily basis. “I’ve learned to live a boring life and love it.”
First and foremost, I would like to say that Merkin did a huge favor for not only her readers, but for us boxing fans. Tyson has been in the direct fire of harm (physical, emotional, and financial) too many times, and as a big fan it was a real delight to see Tyson settling down and living his life in safety.
Losing a historical figure like Tyson to the negative things in life would be devastating. He has done too much for boxing, and still has the potential to do more good.
Now, having a show on Animal Planet called “Taking on Tyson” is spiraling his life back to the top! Not only is Tyson making money again, he is doing something that he truly loves and has been involved with long before putting on his first pair of boxing gloves: pigeon racing. “The first thing I ever loved in my life was a pigeon,” Tyson says. “It’s a constant with my sanity in a weird way.”
I simply wanted to expose the article to more people, and hopefully better their opinions on Mike Tyson and his life. Please enjoy Merkin’s phenomenal writing, and feel free to comment on your thoughts.
The New York Times article on Mike Tyson: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/20/magazine/mag-20Tyson-t.html?_r=2&hp=&pagewanted=all
Animal Planet: Taking on Tyson – http://animal.discovery.com/tv/taking-on-tyson/about.html