THE PENANCE OF MIKE TYSON!

November 2nd, 2009 By Brian Gorman

UH OH…. DON KING?!!!

Pittsburgh, PA- With apologies to Yonnhy Perez and Joseph Agbeko for a terrific IBF bantamweight (118 lbs) title bout, the reunion of Mike Tyson and Don King delivered this weekend’s enduring image from the sport of boxing. Sharing the ring for an interview on Showtime probably evoked a variety of reactions – disappointment, concern, amusement – but for me, the former “baddest man on the planet” just continued his impressive recent path towards redemption.

DON’T CONFUSE IRON MIKE’S TEARS FOR WEAKNESS

Some have recently mistakenly seen the fact that Tyson now cries more than Dick Vermeil and Joe Biden combined as unmanly, when it’s the opposite – he’s facing down the demons that have dominated most of his life instead of ignoring or excusing them. He came to boxing as a juvenile delinquent and left as a wife beater, convicted rapist and unstable thug. The world will never forget those parts of him, but as we saw with the reception of his documentary movie and appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show, the public will forgive, and redemption sells, in part because people want a happy ending. Clearly, “Iron Mike” is struggling to come to terms with all the bad he’s done; one question is whether he can appreciate the greatness he achieved.

DON’T DIMINISH WHAT HE DID BECAUSE OF HIS FAILURES

That Tyson won the WBC title over Trevor Berbick after less than two years as a pro, with just one of his many highlight reel knockouts, and that he continued unifying titles until destroying the unbeaten Hall of Famer Michael Spinks to become the undisputed heavyweight champ, were amazing accomplishments given where he started – on the streets of New York, a kid probably destined for prison or an early demise. He captured the public’s imagination and interest more than any fighter since Muhammad Ali. Strange as it may now sound, experts then spoke about not only whether he was the greatest ever, but whether anyone was even capable of beating him, given his ferocity, dangerousness and genetics. (I remember experts discussing whether his head and neck structure made him impervious to knockouts.) As it turned out, Tyson learned that invincibility is as temporary and tenuous as it is empowering.

IS TYSON SINCERE, UNSTABLE OR AN OPPORTUNIST?

Though Tyson earned money and promoted himself with his documentary and recent television appearances, he clearly came across as a man desiring to own up to his sins so that he can overcome his past and not repeat them, which brings us back to the tears. It can be difficult and emotionally unsettling to look at yourself for who you are and consider youth misspent and opportunity wasted. At the same time that he cannot get that time back, he cannot get it out of his mind. That’s not easy for a healthy person to deal with, and it’s multiplied many times over for someone with his mental issues. Yet he took his past head on in the movie, and he literally reached out to Evander Holyfield in a telling moment when he grabbed his old foe’s arm.

OKAY, GREAT, BUT DON KING?!!!

Surely, Tyson owed many people apologies, but least among them is Don King, who never met a boxer he didn’t like… to rip off. (Inexplicably, in some boxing circles King is now viewed with some sympathy and fondness, due to his fall from favor and apparent reemergence. For those, let me offer this: Screw him.) Was Tyson embracing King Saturday night a sign of him selling out? Of a marriage of necessity? Time will tell, but I suggest that he needs to patch things up with him as much for his search for betterment as he does for his pocketbook. By embracing a man who has done you so wrong, you once again made me proud Mike…. I just hope he paid you up front this time.

Brian Gorman