Free Mike Tyson Essay Sample

Michael Gerard Tyson commonly known as Mike Tyson is a man who overcame all odds to become a champion. He is a retired professional boxer in America. Mike Tyson was born in Brooklyn, New York. He lived in Brownsville, New York with his five siblings and a single parent. At a tender age, he was exposed to domestic violence but he did everything he could to escape from the reality of life. His life changed when he was forced to brutally beat up a boy who beheaded one of his pigeons. From then onwards, he became a famous boy in the neighborhood (Mike Tyson biography). He was recruited to the local gang at age 12, and after participating in numerous criminal acts, he ended up in being arrested multiple times.
Mike Tyson’s life became a life on the streets. The streets were full of drugs, sex, violence, and pure repulsion and this is what Tyson embraced and they became his new life. He was engrained in violence and his mother eventually lost control over him. According to Heller, Tyson felt a superego in his actions because he thought it was an achievement to join the street gang (1995). When Mike Tyson was arrested, prison changed his life because he joined Tryon’s school and was able to study and later train as a professional boxer.
Mike Tyson’s personality and behaviors were greatly influenced by how he was raised as a child. At a tender age, he was exposed to so much violence and he grew up with the mentality that violence solves all problems. Being raised by a single parent, Mike Tyson was not given enough attention as a child and this affected his behavior as an adult. In addition, this affected his self esteem and confidence as he grew up. All children need attention and guidance from their parents as they grow up, and if the attention is enough, they get involved in devious behaviors. Like Mike Tyson, if he had a good guidance during his childhood, his adult life could have been good. Even after becoming a champion, Mike Tyson could not handle himself. In his developmental stages, Tyson never advanced fully in his conventional reasoning. His underdevelopment negatively impacted his life in future because he had trouble adapting to the society, regardless of his position as a champion in the society. Mike Tyson’s life was always filled with confusion and violence. He became a juvenile delinquent because of lack of attention from his mother.
Growing up without a father figure in his life, negatively affected Tyson’s life. The streets were like the father figure to Mike Tyson. Tyson was able to overcome juvenile delinquency through boxing. Just like many youths, Tyson dedicated his life into training to become a boxer in order to turn his life around. Even though Mike Tyson had a troubled childhood, he was able to learn from his life experiences and become a top boxer (Head, 2010). Even after he was convicted, he never let prison life stop him from achieving in life. He was labeled a sex offender which had adverse effects on his career, but he never gave up in his boxing career quest. In one interview, Tyson confessed that, “The time I spent in jail took away my humanity and my reputation” (Tyson, 2013). He never blamed even his parents for his behavior, and after he was released, he was back in the ring to continue with his career. Tyson showed the world that, he was in control of his destiny and the mistakes he made could not run his profession because in his first fight after he left prison, he knocked Peter McNeeley in 89 seconds. He was ready to build his reputation again.
Juvenile delinquency affected Mike Tyson’s life in a negative way. First of all, he joined the street and in his neighborhood and became one of them. He was involved in many acts of violence which led him to being arrested numerous times. Another negative impact of juvenile delinquency on Tyson was the use of alcohol and other drugs. The drugs and alcohol made him a violent person and he was even jailed for being a rapist. Mike Tyson had grown into a beast that was feared by everyone even in the ring because of how he was bullied as a child (Cashmore, 2005). According to him, he was aggressively bullied as a child and other children stole food and money from him, therefore, he was hereto beat them up and revenge for the pain they caused him. In fact, the bullying and harassing turned him into a juvenile delinquent after he joined the burglary team in his neighborhood. Tyson could have been prevented from acting in violence if he got good parental care and guidance while he was growing up. Nonetheless, even though juvenile delinquency had turned him into a robber and a drug addict, he fought for a career and Tyson will remain the world's most decipherable boxer of all times.
Not all juvenile delinquents are able to move on with their lives away from crime. Mike Tyson rose from childhood delinquency to become a boxing champion. In addition, he was able to overcome his past poor upbringing, violent past and drugs. In his book Undisputed Truth: My Autobiography, Mike Tyson narrates how he went from poverty to stardom and how it brought hell in his life despite being a ferocious all-time boxer (2013). Tyson narrates how he was able to overcome all the hell stardom and drugs had put him through. From an alcoholic, a drug addict, and a sexual offender, Mike Tyson reformed his life and he is still doing so after he retired from boxing.
In a nutshell, Mike Tyson will go down in history as one of the most polarizing athletes of all time. His life was filled with embarrassing and exciting moments as well as confusion and violence. Being raised in Brownsville, New York, one of the toughest neighborhoods in New York by a single parent, Mike Tyson became a person with weird behaviors. Nonetheless, Mike Tyson is not to be held responsible for his acts, his weird personality developed consequently of the reinforcements all through his life and the problems he had to face while growing up. Tyson was able to rise from delinquency and become a world champion. He will remain the world's most recognizable boxer and the most infamous character in sports (Safane, 2010). Currently, Mike Tyson is a changed man and has shunned away from violence, and drugs. After the end of his boxing career, Mike Tyson has overcome insurmountable odds and is now living a normal life like any other person away from his dark world.

References

Tyson, M. (2013). Undisputed Truth: My Autobiography. NY: Harper Collins.
Cashmore, E. (2005). Mike Tyson: Nurture-of-the-beast. Oxford; Malden, MA: Polity.
Heller, P. (1995). Bad Intentions: The Mike Tyson Story. Da Capo Press. August 1, 1995.
Mike Tyson biography. (1996-2013). Retrieved July 11, 2013, from Mike Tyson biography: www.biography.com/people/mike-tyson-9512980
Head, J. (2010, November 21). Mike Tyson his childhood and early boxing years. Retrieved July 21, 2013, from Mike Tyson his childhood and early boxing year: bleacherreport.com/article/523260-boxing-mike-tyson-and-the-early-years
Safane, J. (2010, December 8). Mike Tyson's career ended unceremoniously, but early dominance has him among top 10 fighters of all time. Retrieved July 21, 2013, from Nesn: nesn.com/2010/12/mike-tyson-career-ended-unceremoniously-but-early-dominance-has-him-among-top-10-figters-of-all-time