Mike Tyson's LIfe in A Nutshell

[Traveler]

Tyson Files for Bankruptcy Protection
By CHAKA FERGUSON

NEW YORK (AP) - Mike Tyson has filed for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, claiming his finances are in disarray.

The former heavyweight champion has squandered nearly $300 million in ring earnings through lavish spending and bad advice. Tyson's handlers said in a news release on Friday that Tyson has taken control of himself and wants to resolve his financial problems.

They blamed his out-of-control spending habits and subsequent mounting debt on mismanagement by others.

``As a professional fighter, who relied on others to manage his affairs, he discovered that his debts far exceeded his assets,'' Tyson's attorney Debra Grassgreen said. ``Now, he has taken the lead in bringing order to his financial affairs.''

The fighter frittered away millions on mansions, Bentleys, jewelry, and even Bengal tigers while buying extravagant gifts for his entourage. Don King also took a huge chunk.

Tyson has a $100 million lawsuit pending against King that goes to trial in September. The suit claims King cheated Tyson out of millions after he got out of prison in 1995 and went back to fighting for the promoter.

Earlier this year, as part of a divorce settlement, Tyson agreed to pay his ex-wife, Monica, $6.5 million from future earnings.

Besides his financial problems, Tyson is also facing possible jail time again.

He pleaded innocent last month to misdemeanor assault, harassment and disorderly conduct charges for pummeling two men during a brawl at a Brooklyn hotel on June 21. Tyson's lawyers claimed his actions were justified because the two men allegedly menaced the boxer first by telling him they were armed. Prosecutors say the assault went too far.

Tyson, who served three years in prison for rape in the 1990s, faces up to a year if convicted of the latest charges.


08/03/03 00:02

P.S. I hope copying it this way is legal
lol

 

[Krokus]

The guy is a maniac...but hey, I wish him luck, I guess. Aw hell, who am I kidding, no I don't.

 

[Mitchell]

What happened to Mike Tyson is tragic, although much of it was his fault. I mean with all that he's been through, the jail sentence for rape, the Holyfield ear biting incident, and now his bankruptcy, it's just a story of a guy with great potential who essentially "Shot the moon" so to speak. As a boxer, Tyson had a chance to be one of the greatest champions ever. He gained the title at such a young age, and a couple of times defended it with sheer brute force. I was personally present with my father in Atlantic City on two occasions in 1988 when Tyson won two major fights, including his 91 second first round knockout of Michael Spinks in June 1988. That fight was over so fast that we didnt even have time to receive our drink orders from the waitress that we had placed prior to the fight! LOL! For the life of me, I dont see how a guy squanders that much money. I hope for Tyson's sake that he can somehow iron out his problems and get back on his feet. The guy could have been a boxing legend, and just ended up destroying everything due to self destructive behavior in all areas of his life.

 

[phfttklr]

Mitch... I loved watching Mike Tyson when his fights were first televised. Mike was and is basically "bottled mayhem". Cus, kept him in check and when he passed away, people only cared about Mike's wallet and not him. He most certainly had the skills to be one of the best fighters ever. I joke with my friends and say. "He's so out of control, that somone should take him behind the barn and pull an Old Yeller on him". What a shame and a waste of talent.

 

[BigJim]

Mike Tyson is someone severely lacking in moral fibre. At his best I would rate him as the second best heavyweight fighter of all time. No-one could have touched him. But he didn't have the discipline to control his good fortune and pissed it all against the wall. He entirely created his problems with his own idiocy, stupidity and lack of thinking. I lost any shred of respect I felt for the man when he felt the need to thump a septugenarian in a road rage incident. I wish him the best of his bankruptcy and pleasantly hope that he dies a broken man, in penury, of some agonising and unspeakable disease. For the harm he's caused in his life he deserves nothing less.