Mike Tyson’s actions and words raise more questions than answers. But for the first time, this heavyweight boxing champ and convicted rapist tells his story directly to the camera in “Tyson,” a documentary that drew praise from film critics worldwide when it debuted in Cannes last spring. The fanfare brought Tyson to tears.

At press time, the film was only in American theaters in New York and Los Angeles, with more locations to be announced. Prepare for its Phoenix debut with this insightful essay from Terry Greene-Sterling, an award-winning local journalist who detailed his internal struggles in May 2007 in the essay, "Tyson vs. Tyson".


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Photo courtesy of AP photo/Doug Pizac

For a while, Mike Tyson was the most feared boxer in the world. No one could withstand the violence of his right hand, and no one could beat him. No one, that is, except Mike Tyson, the self-destructive has-been who was arrested in Scottsdale in December. At press time, the former PV resident was awaiting a trial date for charges of felony drug possession. Time will tell how this fight ends.

One day in late January, a 40-year-old man of average height and weight stood in a Phoenix courtroom. Once, this man had been a legendary heavyweight champion of the world. Once, this man had focused on breaking bones, and shoving noses through brains and teeth through ears.

But on this day, Mike Tyson was a just another defendant facing felony drug charges in Maricopa County Superior Court. He was caught in the fallout of his most recent self-destructive catastrophe – a December 2006 arrest in Scottsdale. If convicted, Tyson would likely go to prison again.

He had already served three years in Indiana for the 1991 rape of a young beauty-pageant contestant named Desiree Washington. He had denied the rape, and his feelings about Washington had vacillated between forgiveness and hatred. Shortly after being released from prison, Tyson announced on CNN that he wished Washington the best in life. A few years later, he changed his mind. He told reporters, “I just hate her guts,” and went on to say he wished he had raped Washington.

Tyson has a long history of offending and shocking journalists. He once said, for instance, that he wished he could assault their children. Another time, he warned a female journalist not to talk to him unless she wanted to “fornicate.”

The rhetoric sounded scripted. Both Tyson and Don King, his wild-haired promoter, knew shock-talk created free media coverage that hyped Tyson’s fights. Yet, despite Tyson having crafted his own beastly public image, he was given to lamenting that the press didn’t know who he was and that the press was out to get him.

“You guys have written so much bad stuff about me. I can’t remember the last time I fucked a decent woman,” he once told reporters.

In a less frenzied moment, Tyson told Larry King: “People want to see you crumble.”

These days, few reporters are on hand to watch the crumbling. Only a handful of local journalists attended his Phoenix court proceeding in January.

He was behaving himself that day. Dressed in a conservative business suit, he stood silently with folded arms and let his lawyers do the talking. The grayish courtroom light muted the famous tattoo that spirals around one of his eyes. Standing 5 feet 11 inches, Tyson seemed shorter and smaller than his lawyers. Occasionally, he smirked self-consciously, like a kid being bawled out for hurling a spitball.

After a not-guilty plea was entered on Tyson’s behalf, the former champ and his entourage of attorneys strode to the elevator. When the doors opened, they stuffed themselves inside, and one barrister blocked a reporter from entering, muttering something about a little privacy please.

And then the elevator doors closed.

The American gladiator had stepped out of the ring once again.

This time, he hadn’t battled Evander Holyfield or Lennox Lewis. This time, he had battled his most formidable opponent – himself. The courtroom scene was just another round in Tyson vs. Tyson, an epic match between self-redemption and self-destruction. No one knows when, or how, the match will end.

Wonderland
Shortly after the court proceeding in January, Tyson was whisked off to rehab in Southern California. At press time, the former heavyweight champion is reportedly checked into Wonderland, a resort-like rehab center favored by Lindsay Lohan. This information comes from Tyson’s friends, press reports and blogs. However, Wonderland’s spokeswoman, Mary Clare Williams, citing patient confidentiality, would not confirm that Tyson is a guest. In any case, he is unavailable for comment. His lawyers would not comment on the case. In addition, Tyson’s trial date in Phoenix has yet to be scheduled, and defense attorneys and prosecutors won’t say whether a plea bargain is in the works, although it’s likely.

If he’s convicted, Tyson faces prison time due to what Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas calls Tyson’s “violent priors” – the rape conviction and a short stint in a Maryland jail for assaulting a middle-aged couple over a traffic dispute.