History Creator / MikeTyson

* RevengeByProxy: His famed beatdown of Larry Holmes, who years before had roughed up a then well past his prime UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli.[[note]]Though Holmes later said he knew from the start that Ali was not capable of defending himself, and tried to get the referee to stop the fight. The referee told Holmes to continue, and from that point he held back greatly--but still caused tremendous damage to a well-past-his-prime Ali.[[/note]] Tyson, a huge fan of Ali, swore that one day he'd get big and give Larry what for in payback. He got his wish in 1988 and proceeded to utterly dismantle Holmes, handing him his only career knockout.

* RevengeByProxy: His famed beatdown of Larry Holmes, who years before had roughed up a then well past his prime UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli. Tyson, a huge fan of Ali, swore that one day he'd get big and give Larry what for in payback. He got his wish in 1988 and proceeded to utterly dismantle Holmes, handing him his only career knockout.
* TeachHimAnger: How his old trainer, Cus D'Amato, taught him how to be such a vicious and ruthless fighter was by hypnotizing him to be such a monster in the ring; he made him read history books about old conquerors such as Alexander The Great and Genghis Khan ([[CulturedBadass Though Mike has admitted he just came to like reading historical works anyway]]) to understand the mindset that took them to "the top". This allowed him to better adopt a cruel and animalistic way of acting when dealing with other people and when he was in the ring.

INeverGotAnyLetters: When he was signed with Don King, he wasn't even aware that he had a fan club, that King's daughter was handsomely paid to (supposedly) run. He finally visited the place, and found crates with [[https://web.archive.org/web/20170702024848/http://www.cigaraficionado.com/webfeatures/show/id/6164/p/2 thousands of unopened letters.]]

* WorthyOpponent: Even at his most violent and arrogant, he tended to give his opponents their due if they proved tough enough; note his post-fight interviews against Donovan Ruddock and James Douglas, in particular. After shooting a scene with him for ''Film/IPMan3'' where he fractured Mike's finger with an elbow block, Mike acknowledged Creator/DonnieYen as one of the few people who could legitimately beat him in a fight.

* LightningBruiser: In his prime as a boxer, this was Tyson's bread and butter. Despite his unconventional physique for a heavyweight (as described below), Tyson possessed a horrific kind of strength that was paired with the kind of speed you would normally find in the lower weight divisions. His knockouts were almost universally highlight reel worthy by virtue of his speed and brutality.

* PintSizedPowerhouse: Only relatively speaking, given he fought at Heavyweight. Compared to the average person, Mike Tyson is a looming presence. But at a mere 5'10", he was dramatically undersized compared to most of his contemporaries (most of his opponents were north of 6'2" with his final championship bout against the 6'5" Lennox Lewis). He typically fought at a weight between 215 lbs to 225 lbs, which offset the height disadvantage somewhat because Tyson's sheer muscleboundness made him heavier than men who had several inches on him.

* TeachHimAnger: How his old trainer taught him how to be such a vicious and ruthless fighter was by hypnotizing him to be such a monster in the ring; he made him read history books about old conquerors such as Alexander The Great and Genghis Khan ([[CulturedBadass Though Mike has admitted he just came to like reading historical works anyway]]) to understand the mindset that took them to "the top". This allowed him to better adopt a cruel and animalistic way of acting when dealing with other people and when he was in the ring.

* VocalDissonance: One of the most famous and oft parodied vocal discrepancies in media. With his bulldog looks and punching power offset by a high, lispy voice.

* TeachHimAnger: How his old trainer taught him how to be such a vicious and ruthless fighter was by hypnotizing him to be such a monster in the ring; he made him read history books about old conquerors such as Alexander The Great and Genghis Khan (Though Mike has admitted he just came to like reading History anyway) to understand the mindset that took them to "the top". This allowed him to better adopt a cruel and animalistic way of acting when dealing with other people and when he was in the ring.

* HeroicBuild: Even at thirteen years old he was incredibly muscular and built for his age. His physique only improved with age to where he barely had a neck because his trapezius and upper back was so huge.

Speaking of the latter, he is quite frequently cast {{as himself}}, and stars [[AdamWesting as a nuttier version of himself]] on ''WesternAnimation/MikeTysonMysteries''. He also hosts the ''[[https://www.youtube.com/c/HotboxinwithMikeTyson/videos Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson]]'' video podcast where he interviews musicians, celebreties, boxers and MMA fighters alike while [[MushroomSamba smoking them under the table]]. [[NeverLiveItDown Oh, and he had an infamous moment when he bit off Evander Holyfield's ear.]]

Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is a retired heavyweight boxer, media personality, pigeon lover and general [[TheTysonZone odd duck]], known for being the youngest ever heavyweight champion of the world at twenty years old, a record he still holds to this day.

Tyson's life is generally split in into three parts. His complete dominance of the boxing world (1985-1991), his fall from grace after a series of lawsuits and legal troubles (involving multiple stints in jail for rape, assault and battery, cocaine possession, and driving under the influence) which coincided with his dominance fading as better opponents stepped on to the scene (1991-2005), and his eventual reemergence as a bizarre media darling with occasional acting gigs. Speaking of the latter, he is quite frequently cast {{as himself}}, and stars [[AdamWesting as a nuttier version of himself]] on ''WesternAnimation/MikeTysonMysteries''. He also hosts the [[https://www.youtube.com/c/HotboxinwithMikeTyson/videos Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson]] video podcast where he interviews musicians, celebreties, boxers and MMA fighters alike while [[MushroomSamba smoking them under the table]]. [[NeverLiveItDown Oh, and he had an infamous moment when he bit off Evander Holyfield's ear]].

The Creator/{{HBO}} movie, ''{{Film/Tyson}}'', tells the story of his rise to fame and (initial) fall from glory. He is the {{Trope Namer|s}} for TheTysonZone (though the term itself was coined by Creator/TheSportsGuy) because of all the aforementioned scandals.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[RedBaron Iron Mike. Kid Dynamite. The Baddest Man on the Planet.]]]]

* WorthyOpponent: Even at his most violent and arrogant, he tended to give his opponents their due if they proved tough enough; note his post-fight interviews against Donovan Ruddock and James Douglas, in particular. After shooting a scene with him for ''Film/IPMan3'' where he fractured Mike's finger with an elblow block, Mike acknowledged Creator/DonnieYen as one of the few people who could legitimately beat him in a fight.

The Creator/{{HBO}} movie, ''{{Film/Tyson}}'', tells the story of his rise to fame and (initial) fall from glory. He is the TropeNamer for TheTysonZone (though the term itself was coined by Creator/TheSportsGuy) because of all the aforementioned scandals.