The Top Seven Interesting Facts from Tyson | SPIKE

Whether you love him or hate him, everyone can agree that Mike Tyson is one interesting character. His life has been one huge rollercoaster, and in the soon-to-be-released documentary, Tyson, you hear the crazy stories from the man himself. We were lucky enough to get an advanced screener of the film, and here are some of the more interesting revelations about his up-and-down life.

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7. He Was a Wuss in School

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As a child, Mike described himself as “the fat kid.” He had awful lungs. In the documentary you can still hear him wheezing. He claims that his bad wind is the reason he always tried to knock his opponents out as quickly as possible. You’ve probably heard that Tyson used to take care of pigeons when he was a young boy, but you probably didn’t know that the birds are what ultimately helped him overcome his timid demeanor. He was picked on as a child and often humiliated by older kids, but one day the bullies found his birds and ripped the head off one of them. This sent Mike into a rage, causing him to fight for the first time in his life. He won against a much older, stronger guy.

6. He Didn’t Believe in Himself

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Despite doing things the right way with an incredible trainer, when Mike went to his first amateur boxing tournament he was scared to death. He had fought in the streets, but he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to put it all together in the ring. He was so frightened, in fact, that he tried to find the train station to go home. He couldn’t find it, and so he returned to the tournament to take what he thought would be a beating. He ended up knocking out every opponent in the first round and scored a record eight-second KO.

5. No Sex = A Better Fighter

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Mike claims that when he was rising through the ranks in his young professional career he abstained from sex for five years because he was told fighters should never have sex before a fight. He wanted to be the best, so he said no. He also mentions that having sex after not doing the deed for five years is the best feeling in the world. Mike’s sexual exploits are a big part of the film. He claims he likes to dominate powerful women, has had countless one-night stands, and believes that few women are able to handle him in the sack.

4. He Still Hates Don King

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Mr. King isn’t exactly known as a humanitarian, and Mike is still angry at him after all these years. He shared a story about running into Don King outside the Beverly Hills Hotel and “stomping him” in front of a bunch of senior citizens. Considering Mike also said that when he punches someone he imagines his fist going through their head, King is lucky to be alive. According to Mike, Don King is, “a wretched, slimy, reptilian motherf*****. He would kill his mother for a dollar. He doesn’t know how to love anybody. He’s a piece of s***.” If you can’t tell already, Mike doesn’t pull any punches in the film.