Mike tyson He turned 60 with a certainty that took decades to build: that each failure was part of a path. The former world boxing champion, who went to prison, lost loved ones and fought against cocaine and alcohol addiction. He stated in an interview with the magazine People who is grateful for everything he experienced, including the darkest. The trigger for this reflection is the premiere of TYSON a four-episode docuseries that comes to netflix on October 13.
“Everything that was, in quotes, ‘negative,’ ended up being positive for me. I am very grateful for everything because it made me a better person. Everything bad that happened to me, I appreciate it“, the boxer told the American media. Tyson has not used cocaine or alcohol for ten years, although he clarified that he smokes marijuana and defines himself as “Californian-style sober.”
The series, directed by Floyd Russruns through the life of sportsman from his early years in poverty to his consecration as the youngest heavyweight champion in history. As a child, Tyson grew up in a humble home and racked up 38 arrests for theft before he turned 13. It was at a juvenile detention center where he took his first boxing class, and that turn changed everything.
TYSON addresses the prison, addictions and duels that marked the life of the former champion (@miketyson)
There he discovered it Cus D’AmatoLegendary trainer with a gym in Catskill, New York. The trainer became his legal guardian, welcomed him into his home along with other boxers in training and treated him like a son. “It gave me confidence. It gave me character. It made me believe in myself and what I could do”the former champion recalled in statements to People.
The coach died in 1985 at the age of 77, and his absence left the athlete exposed to those who, according to him, betrayed him financially. “The only man I loved was no longer there,” he said, referring to how that loss made him vulnerable to managers and promoters who never looked out for his interests.
The former boxer says that he went through more than ten rehabilitation centers and maintains that the most difficult moments were essential to becoming a better person (Video capture)
TYSON does not avoid the most painful chapters of the boxer’s life. The documentary addresses his turbulent one-year marriage to the actress robin dicethe accusations of sexual crimes that he always denied and that cost him two years in prison, and the death of his mother, his coach and his four-year-old daughter.
The battle against drugs and alcohol is another of the central axes of the production. Mike himself acknowledged in previous interviews that he entered more than ten rehabilitation centers. With a decade of distance from those substances, look at that period as part of a transformation that would not have been possible without the previous break.
“The past is the past. But our memories are imprisoned in our minds forever,” said the boxer. The phrase summarizes the tension that runs through the entire series: that of a man who chose gratitude without erasing the memory of what he experienced.
The Netflix production addresses poverty, prison and the loss of his daughter, in addition to the decisive bond that the boxer built with coach Cus D’Amato during his youth.
Despite the magnitude of his career, Tyson admitted that it is difficult for him to understand the sustained interest his figure generates. “I just don’t understand why they still want to know about me. They already made so many documentaries about me! But I think I understand,” he said with a laugh to People.
TYSON was produced by Jenna Millman, Jacob Miller and Alexa Ginsburg, with Bill Simmons among executive producers. The photography was by David Bolen and Jacob Møller, with music by Raffertie. The four episodes, approximately one hour each, premieres October 13 on Netflix.
