Has Tyson talked with Rooney since 1988?

Not at all.

 

And hes a wanker for not doing so.
I hope he looks back and takes a long look at what Kevin Rooney did for him and then look at what Don King and Snowell did for him

 

I think hes very aware of how he screwed his boxing career up, but he obviously cared more about making money the easiest way possible, and he could still be a mega millionaire star just putting in half the effort. He clearly stopped caring about his boxing legacy.

 

Rooney may be a good trainer, it doesn't mean they had a good relationship. People go their seperate ways in life. Tyson also alluded there was allot of in-fighting over him between the management/trainers when Cus died

 

Rooney was very loyal to Bill Cayton. He felt he was a fair man and sided with him during the whole mess in 88. I think it goes to show you Rooney was a pretty straight up guy. He didnt sell himself short to ditch a guy he felt was fair. It ultimately ended their relationship, but its all Tysons fault. He found out the hard way that Cayton was in fact looking out for his best interests.

 

Thats mainly beacuse Rooney and Cayton were telling Tyson something which Tyson refused to hear.

They were telling him Miss Givens and Mr King werent good for him, but Mike wouldnt listen and look where that got him.

And secondly Tyson was slacking in training around that period and Rooney was constantly on his case about this, hence why Rooney was disposed off and yes men bought in

 

they were involved in a lawsuit in the late 1990s/early2000s and I believe Rooney won.

 

Yes he won 2 million dollars based on a verbal agreement that Rooney said Tyson told him he would always be his trainer. Tyson got shafted in that one.

 

Unbelievable the spin Don King put on Cayton, with Givens and Roper siding with King, before realizing Cayton was right when it was too late. The damage had been done and King rose above the ashes with his trophy. What a shame.

Good to see Rooney staying loyal to Cayton.

Lefthook, can you tell me anything about Jeremy Williams' development and his early pro career? Were you involved with any of this?

 

No never involved with Jeremy Williams, but I never thought of him as a heavyweight. He was a decent LH as an amatuer. He was an exciting fighter, but never had the chin for his style. I dont if you remember him challenging Henry Akinwande for the title, but he got overly excited and was just blasted out quickly.

 

What? Is that for real? Am i understanding this right....

Theres no contract involved...Tyson just said that, mid-conversation or whatever sometime...and youcan be taken to court and sued for millions because of this?

 

. We were asking for $49 million dollars. The jury only gave me $4 million dollars. (Laughs). They should’ve gave me $18 million dollars. So, that’s that.
Q – How much did you have to give to your lawyer?
A – I gave half to my lawyer, the rest to the government and I had at one time back in 1996, 1997, I had a little money in my back account. But-----this is now. So, the money’s gone.
Q – What did you have, a little over $1 million dollars?
A – Actually I had a little under $1 million dollars. Then, I got hit in 1996, 1997, whenever it was, I had to pay $800,000 to the government. They took $1.9 million on the back-end, so I feel like I kind of got screwed. (Laughs). But, I’m not gonna cry about it.
Q – As long as we’re talking about money, people will say Mike Tyson earned between $200-$400 million dollars in his career. On paper he made that money-----but did Mike Tyson really ever see any of that money?
A – O.K. Here we go. When Mike went with Don King and then went with Shelly Finkel, at that point Mike was suing Don King for $125 million dollars. He was claiming that King had robbed him of $100 million dollars. And what does Shelly Finkel do? He settles the case for $14 million dollars over a 3 year period. I think the period is already up. I think it was back in the late 90’s, early 2000, 2001. That’s what the great Shelly Finkel negotiated with Don King. Shelly don’t care. He was just looking to make money, and he was making money with Tyson. Tyson was getting the money once in awhile from Shelly. He wasn’t out and out robbin’ him. He made that deal with Tyson when he had a $100 million dollar lawsuit and guess what? When I sued him (Tyson) and won the jury gave me $4 million. With interest and penalties that $4 million was $8.7 million dollars. Now, if you got $100 million dollars lawsuit against Don King, definitely $150-$200 million dollars-----take it to court and testify and Tyson would have won. He would have had a ton of money. No-----the great Shelly Finkel made him settle for $14 million dollars where he’s paid off in increments of $3 million here, $3 million there, for, I don’t know, 2 or 3 years, is how I remember it. Anyway, Mike was a money machine. King has screwed every fighter he’s ever been with. Larry Holmes. Berbeck Tucker. The whole 9 yards. Muhammad Ali. King was a bookmaker. He used to run numbers. He’s very smart when it comes to numbers. (Laughs). He knows what he’s doing. He’s a thief, and he got away with it. He went to trial twice and he beat the Federal government. They were tryin’ like hell to get him.
Q – Are you in contact with Mike Tyson today? Do you ever speak to him?
A – No. He never calls me. He knows where I live. I’m living in the same house when I was with Mike back in the early 80’s. He’s living out in Phoenix or something. Mike is now supposedly doing like an exhibition tour. He’s sparring with people. He’s going across Europe. He’s fighting guys for like 3 or 4 rounds. Like they did in the old days when Joe Louis did that back in the 30’s and 40’s. The last time I heard he’s got some promoter out of Vegas that was gonna take him on a world tour. I’m guessin’ he’s gonna make $50,000-----$100,000. I don’t really know how many people are gonna show up. He’s still an attraction. People are still memorized by him. Once he went with Don King, then Don King took over and Don King was the boss and Mike became second-hand nothing. When he was with Jimmy Jacobs, Bill Cayton, and Steve Watt, he was the man. He was the first guy to make the most money when he fought Spinks. He got $21 million dollars to do that back in the 80’s. When he got out of jail, he was fighting for $30 million dollars here, $30 million dollars there. Mike just went through the money. We all go through money. You got money one day. You got nothing the next day. (Laughs). That’s how it is.