According to the Telegraph’s Jon Swaine, Mike Tyson’s memoir reveals significant details about his past struggles with substance abuse, including instances where he entered important fights under the influence of drugs and went to great lengths to avoid detection during drug tests.
Swaine highlights some impactful excerpts from Tyson’s memoir, particularly focusing on the shocking defeat he experienced in 2004 against Danny Williams.
In his memoir, Tyson candidly writes, “I was deeply involved in cocaine use,” confessing that he had used the drug until shortly before the fight commenced.
Furthermore, Tyson mentions that he initially experimented with cocaine at the young age of 11 and was exposed to alcohol during infancy, which seemingly laid the foundation for his subsequent patterns of excessive indulgence in these substances.
Swaine details a unique strategy employed by Tyson to avoid detection during drug tests:
Tyson openly shared that he was under the influence of drugs before his fight against Lou Savarese in Glasgow in June 2000. However, he ingeniously devised a method to evade detection by the official testers of the sport.
Admitting to using “blow” and “pot” prior to the bout, he revealed, “I had to utilize a prosthetic device known as a whizzer, which allowed me to substitute someone else’s clean urine and pass the drug test.”
Tyson attributed a hefty fine of $200,000, imposed on him for testing positive for marijuana after a 2000 fight against Andrew Golota in Detroit, to the unfortunate circumstance of being tested before having access to the ‘whizzer.’ He claims that a member of his team, who usually carried the device from fight to fight, was unable to provide it in time.
When Tyson engaged in a confrontation before his January 2002 fight with Lennox Lewis, he attributed his actions, which included biting into one of Lewis’ legs, to the influence of cocaine.
“I completely lost control,” admitted Tyson. “I glanced at him and felt an intense urge to strike him.”
Despite appearing to have achieved sobriety through years of rehabilitation, the 47-year-old disclosed in August that he had come close to death as a result of his alcohol addiction and had been dishonest about his recovery.
The fast-paced lifestyle began taking its toll on Tyson as early as 1989 when he faced Frank Bruno for the first time. Tyson revealed that he was in such poor condition that Bruno should have emerged victorious, yet Tyson managed to secure a fifth-round TKO triumph.
Swaine’s report delves into another facet of Tyson’s tumultuous life, specifically his financial struggles. Despite earning millions of dollars per fight during the pinnacle of his career, Tyson found himself consistently on the verge of “financial ruin.”
Tyson achieved a remarkable feat by becoming the youngest boxer ever to win the WBC, WBA, and IFC heavyweight titles. Throughout his career, he amassed an impressive record of 50 wins and 6 losses, with 44 of those victories being knockouts.
Despite his remarkable accomplishments inside the ring, Tyson’s journey was not without its share of controversies outside of it. Interestingly, these details suggest that some of those off-the-ring challenges may have influenced his performances during bouts as well.
