Mike Tyson is a retired American boxer who was the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world in the late 1980s. During his heyday, Mike was one of the most famous and highest-paid athletes in the world. He was the youngest champion in history at age 20. Unfortunately, he squandered and/or was bilked out of a personal fortune that topped $300 million at his peak. Mike declared bankruptcy in 2003. According to the bankruptcy filing, he was reportedly $23 million in debt at that point.
During his career, Mike Tyson earned at least $430 million in purses and endorsements, roughly $700 million after adjusting for inflation. ESPN called him “The Hardest Hitter in Heavyweight History,” and Sky Sports dubbed him “the most ferocious fighter to step into a professional ring.” Although Tyson was a talented boxer, his reputation was marred by controversy in and out of the ring.
Tyson won his first 19 professional fights by knockout, 12 of them in the first round. He won the WBC title in 1986 after stopping Trevor Berbick in the second round, and added the WBA and IBF titles after defeating James Smith and Tony Tucker in 1987. He was the first heavyweight boxer to simultaneously hold the WBA, WBC and IBF titles, as well as the only heavyweight to unify them in succession. The following year, Tyson became the lineal champion when he knocked out Michael Spinks in 91 seconds of the first round. He successfully defended his titles nine times, including victories over Larry Holmes and Frank Bruno. In 1990, Tyson lost the titles to underdog Buster Douglas, who knocked him out in the tenth round. Attempting to regain the titles, Tyson defeated Donovan Ruddock twice in 1991, but pulled out of a fight with then-undisputed heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield (who had defeated Douglas in 1990 to win the titles) due to a rib injury.
In 1992, Tyson was convicted of rape and sentenced to six years in prison, although he was released on parole after three years. After his release in 1995, he engaged in a series of comeback fights. He regained the WBC and WBA titles in 1996, after stopping Frank Bruno and Bruce Seldon. With his defeat of Bruno, Tyson joined Floyd Patterson, Muhammad Ali, Tim Witherspoon, Evander Holyfield and George Foreman as the only men in boxing history to have regained a heavyweight championship after losing it. After being stripped of the WBC title in the same year, Tyson lost the WBA title to Evander Holyfield by an eleventh round stoppage. Their 1997 rematch ended when Tyson was disqualified for biting Holyfield’s ears.
In 2002, Tyson fought for the world heavyweight title again at the age of 35, losing by knockout to Lennox Lewis. Tyson retired from professional boxing in 2006, after being knocked out in consecutive matches against journeymen Danny Williams and Kevin McBride. Tyson declared bankruptcy in 2003, despite having received over $30 million for several of his fights and $300 million during his career. At the time the media reported that he had approximately $23 million in debt
