Mike Tyson dishonest?

newby johnson · Apr 1, 2014

Can anyone give me some source where Teddy talks about Mike being weak minded and folding under adversity?

OneLennoxLewis · Apr 1, 2014

Kid Cincinnati said: ↑

Mike used to say many outrageous things both before and after a fight. And as time went on he became more outrageous. In his book Mike says that he often felt like he was an actor playing a character called "Mike Tyson." This character was an intimidator. "I'm Sonny Liston. I'm Jack Dempsey. I'm cut from their cloth". This character was in fact created very consciously by Cus D'Amato.

It was partly to intimidate his opponents and gain a mental edge.

It was also partly because boxing is a part of show business. As Cus taught him, it's not enough to hit and not be hit. It's not even enough to win. You must win in exciting fashion. This is what moves the public.

And it was also a Cus D'Amato technique for dealing with the fear that every fighter feels going into the ring. It is the same technique of displacement that actors use. The fighter tells himself, "It's not me up here. I'm just playing a character." And this helps him manage his fear.

For example when Mike said that he tried to push his opponent's jaw into his brain, Mike did not make that up. He got that from Cus, and said that Cus would have approved of his saying it.

When after one fight Mike said "How dare they challenge me with their primitive skills!" he was surprised that no one knew that he was quoting Apocalypse from the X-Men comics. He thought for sure someone who notice that he was just pulling everyone's leg with obvious comic book bravado. But no one even noticed.

Mike is also a huge fan of pro wrestling and took a lot of inspiration from its characters, as Ali famously did with the wrestler Gorgeous George.

Later in his career Mike went off the deep end with the stuff he would say. Eating people's children, calling reporters little white pussies, etc. Some of that was part of his intimidator act, some was just him being outrageous for effect and to shock people.

And some of it also had to do with the way Mike perceived himself. In his personal life, Mike considered himself a kind of Brownsville legend/latter day Jack Johnson.

And I guess some of it had to do with his career winding down and the stress and motivational problems he was dealing with. On the other hand, he was also often heavily medicated by doctors, had quite a few of his own dysfunctional issues, and was abusing drugs and alcohol for years.

I wouldn't be surprised if someday his book made it onto some kind of "must read" list of the American Psychiatric Association. I think there is more in his book that will interest psychiatrists than boxing fans.
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:happy absolute, 100%
as soon as i read the op my thoughts went to ' bone in the brain, primitive skils, I heard him squeal like a lil girl'

He's no angel, never has been, far from it, but dont demonize him because of what the tabs say, what the image was.

There are people, very good people who have opinions of Mike diverse from the trash media image, dont you ever wonder why?

newby johnson · Apr 27, 2014

To the point someone made about Tyson ripping off those lines like eating folks' children, here's Teddy Atlas talking about it, from the beginning of the video he's talking about Tyson and its very interesting stuff, you should watch it whole, but the stuff about stealing lines, if that's what you're interested specifically, is about 2/3 of the way through:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76uwUPjAP64

robert80 · Apr 27, 2014

jose torres, said a similar thing in his book fire & fear. mike, is a extremely disturbed individual, who hides behind a load of mystical bull****!!!

stormy · Apr 27, 2014

Kid Cincinnati said: ↑

Mike used to say many outrageous things both before and after a fight. And as time went on he became more outrageous. In his book Mike says that he often felt like he was an actor playing a character called "Mike Tyson." This character was an intimidator. "I'm Sonny Liston. I'm Jack Dempsey. I'm cut from their cloth". This character was in fact created very consciously by Cus D'Amato.

It was partly to intimidate his opponents and gain a mental edge.

It was also partly because boxing is a part of show business. As Cus taught him, it's not enough to hit and not be hit. It's not even enough to win. You must win in exciting fashion. This is what moves the public.

And it was also a Cus D'Amato technique for dealing with the fear that every fighter feels going into the ring. It is the same technique of displacement that actors use. The fighter tells himself, "It's not me up here. I'm just playing a character." And this helps him manage his fear.

For example when Mike said that he tried to push his opponent's jaw into his brain, Mike did not make that up. He got that from Cus, and said that Cus would have approved of his saying it.

When after one fight Mike said "How dare they challenge me with their primitive skills!" he was surprised that no one knew that he was quoting Apocalypse from the X-Men comics. He thought for sure someone who notice that he was just pulling everyone's leg with obvious comic book bravado. But no one even noticed.

Mike is also a huge fan of pro wrestling and took a lot of inspiration from its characters, as Ali famously did with the wrestler Gorgeous George.

Later in his career Mike went off the deep end with the stuff he would say. Eating people's children, calling reporters little white pussies, etc. Some of that was part of his intimidator act, some was just him being outrageous for effect and to shock people.

And some of it also had to do with the way Mike perceived himself. In his personal life, Mike considered himself a kind of Brownsville legend/latter day Jack Johnson.

And I guess some of it had to do with his career winding down and the stress and motivational problems he was dealing with. On the other hand, he was also often heavily medicated by doctors, had quite a few of his own dysfunctional issues, and was abusing drugs and alcohol for years.

I wouldn't be surprised if someday his book made it onto some kind of "must read" list of the American Psychiatric Association. I think there is more in his book that will interest psychiatrists than boxing fans.
Click to expand...

:rofl:rofl:rofl:rofl:rofl funny thing is you are probably right

stormy · Apr 27, 2014

:rofl:rofl:rofl

Kid Cincinnati said: ↑

Oh yes. I forgot this also. Mike was a child bullfighter in Southern California. :deal
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this thread is awesome :rofl:rofl:rofl

stormy · Apr 27, 2014

puncherschance said: ↑

so what are you saying, that mike tyson is part mexican? that mike tysons grandfather was chicano?
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keep it coming lads this is frikn great stuff!!:rofl:rofl:rofl:rofl

ATP · Apr 27, 2014

I forgot about the Rakim Oaks story haha there was a whole thread about it a few years back, quality stuff lol

Danebrogen · Apr 27, 2014

Give the guy a break. Afterall, he broke his back. Spinal.

robert80 · Apr 28, 2014

mike, is a dangerous individual indeed. These same critics condemn floyds antics, but protect this known criminal with serious mental problems, stemming from childhood?

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