MIKE TYSON was so scared of killing opponents he would need to have sex with groupies moments before fights to take ‘the edge’ off his rage. Tyson was fuelled with so much pumping emotional energy that he would also cry before heading into the ring to eviscerate opponents.
Tyson was feared by all who came across him in the boxing worldCredit: AP
Iron Mike boasted incredible power and stunning speedCredit: AFP
That is the insight from one of his closest friends, recalling Tyson’s mindset and talent on the 35th anniversary of becoming the youngest heavyweight champion in history.
Tyson’s confidante, ex bodyguard and chauffeur Rudy Gonzalez revealed that his ‘dark side’ along with the New Yorker’s raw talent and elite training from boxing legend Cus D’Amato made him unstoppable in the mid 80s.
Gonzalez watched the then 20-year-old channel rage, grief and an inner psychological torment to destroy Trevor Berbick in round two to make history in the title fight on November 22, 1986.
Gonzalex said: “One of the greatest secrets with Mike was that he needed to have sex in the dressing room before fights.
“I would have to find a groupie, it did not matter who it was. He’d say ‘if I do not get laid I will kill this guy right now.’
“Mike had to get laid to disengage some of the strength he had. So I had girls tucked away in bathrooms and changing rooms.
“Sometimes he’d go in with them for a minute, bang the s*** out of them, snap his neck and say: ‘Okay this guy is going to live tonight.’
“His biggest fear was that he would kill someone in that ring. He knew he could do it.
His biggest fear was that he would kill someone in that ring. He knew he could do it. Rudy Gonzalez
“I still see some of the guys he fought. I was there at ringside seeing these huge men crying, bones shattering or their blood flying everywhere.
“It is no exaggeration to say Mike was like a train hitting these guys. Having sex was his way of disengaging that power and loosening up a bit.”
Gonzalez, whose book about his Tyson experiences – The Inner Ring – is being developed into an animated movie, added: “Someone once asked me why does Mike need four armed bodyguards, and I said ‘We are not here to protect him, We are here to protect him from you.'”
Gonzalez was at Tyson’s side from the mid 80s seeing his rise through the amateur ranks unbeaten in 27 fights and with a record 12–0 in 1986 alone.
Legendary trainer Cus D’Amato, who became Tyson’s legal guardian after serving time in juvenile prison, guided the teen criminal from a street fighting hoodlum into a polished power punching boxing phenom.
Tyson with D’Amato before a fightCredit: Capital Pictures
However a year before the history making Berbick showdown, D’Amato passed away.
Gonzalez said: “Mike used to break down in tears before fights. He had an anxiety problem where he would be in despair with anxiety of not feeling good enough or not wanting to screw it up.
“He never recovered the loss of Cus, because he found someone special who had faith in him and saved from the depths of hell.
“He used everyone one of those emotions for as long as he could – and that is why he walked into the ring with all that and beat the s*** out of Berbick.”
Veteran manager D’Amato trained Tyson during the day, pushed him to be build his fitness and made him study boxing history at his mansion’s attic in Catskill, New York.
“It was a love story. Mike had the fear that if he screwed this up would end up back in his old neighbourhood or be locked up.
“Cus was the only man he trusted. He would yell at him, and Mike would respectfully bow his head and and say ‘yes sir – no sir.’
“And he gave Cus a reason to wake up every morning – honestly Mike made him feel like he’d live for a thousand years.”
Tyson won 44 out of his 50 victories by knockoutCredit: Getty
Juvenile criminal Tyson grew up with a mother tormented by addiction issues in rundown apartment in Brownsville.
While serving time at Tryon School for Boys, a now-shuttered juvenile facility, ex boxer and guard Bobby Stewart, channeled his energy into boxing and then introduced Tyson to D’Amato.
Tyson’s ‘first real experience of home and family’ came as D’Amato and wife Camille Ewald moved him into their 14 bedroom mansion.
“Mike felt having keys to a house was a huge deal, because he’d never that security before.
“Camille would cook for him and we’d all eat together, it was the first time he had a sense of normalcy. We took it for granted, but how he grew up his family was his worst enemy.
“He always said I cannot believe white people like me. He’d been built one way before this – rob chains, get beat up, live in the worse humane conditions and start again.
“For the first time he experienced love from Cus and Camille. It was an unforgettable experience to see him break out of that shell.”
After D’Amato died, Tyson often returned to his old home even though he’d moved out.
He was kept on the straight and narrow while growing up by the D’Amato familyCredit: Getty
“We’d go back to the house where Mike would sit in Cus’ chair and transform into him. He liked to sleep in the attic of that home. He held on that love for as long as he could,” Gonzalez said.
“Years after Cus died, he asked me to drive to the house and parked in the driveway. He would stay in the back and cry for hours.”
Gonzalez has made headlines in the past with a book about his time with Tyson as he witnessed his fall from reigning champion to a convicted rapist.
Rudy levelled a raft of allegations against Don King, who became Tyson’s top aide and promoter.
He raised questions about how Tyson ended up being given a six-year prison sentence for raping beauty-pageant contestant Desiree Washington in Indianapolis in 2004.
He watched Tyson break down learning that his entire fortune was lost after signing over much to companies he never owned – given that he could not read properly.
Gonzalez claims King ‘psychologically broke him,’ adding: “Mike’s story would have had a different ending if Cus had lived longer. His sister Denise always made me promise to keep Mike away from Don, calling him a clown.”
He claimed that he witnessed ‘deceit, betrayal, and fraud perpetrated’ upon Tyson.
The Inner Ring (Premium Edition): The Set-Up of Mike Tyson and the Uncrowning of Don King Paperback is available now to buy.
Snoop Dogg predicts Mike Tyson will KO Logan Paul in second round of mega fight More
