Nothing is sadder to see in life than potential wasted. Most of the time it’s a private affair where parents see a child throwing away they could haves or would haves, but sometimes it’s a very public spectacle as in the case of Mike Tyson.
Mike Tyson could have been the greatest fighter to ever live.
Mike Tyson could have been the sport’s largest legend.
Mike Tyson has become the sports biggest joke.
In an interview with USA Today, Mike Tyson brings to light what many of us have thought about his career and some of us, his life.
Mike says:
“I’ll never be happy. I believe I’ll die alone. I would want it that way. I’ve been a loner all my life with my secrets and my pain. I’m really lost, but I’m trying to find myself. I’m really a sad, pathetic case. My whole life has been a waste — I’ve been a failure.”
This isn’t about boxing, but about a lifetime of lost identities. For instance Mike Tyson claims that we has 38 he couldn’t find out who is real father was:
”Sometimes, I don’t know who the hell I am. My mother said it was Jimmy Kirkpatrick, but my birth certificate says Purcell Tyson. How embarrassing it was, at 38, to try and get a passport only to find out I don’t know who my father is.”
Mike Tyson has made over $400 million dollars in his career, but he’s lost it all to various addictions. Drugs, sex and spending have been the main culprits.
Mike says:
”I was depressed (after being upset by journeyman Danny Williams last July). I was hanging out with a lot of prostitutes and stuff. I felt like scum so I hung out with scum. I was getting high all the time. But you realize you’ve got to put all the drugs away and deal with reality.’
Mike Tyson has six children he’s trying to form relationships with:
- Gena 16
- Mikey, 14
- Rayna, 9
- Amir, 7
- Miguel, 3
- Exodus, 3 months.
It’s a sad story and one that won’t likely have happy ending.