Mike Tyson's new four-part Netflix documentary, TYSON, premiering on October 13, uncovers his criminal past, revealing he was first arrested at age 12 and had more than 30 arrests by the time he was 13. He was eventually sent to a juvenile detention centre where he shared space with actual killers.
Early Life in Brownsville
Tyson, 60, was raised in the notorious Brownsville neighbourhood, where prostitution and gang violence were common. Regularly mocked by schoolmates for his dirty clothes, Tyson saw a way out by robbing others. He returned to the streets he first fought on while filming the documentary.
"I was bullied on these streets, I used to rob on these streets," he said while touring his old neighbourhood. "Now I'm famous and I'm 'Mike Tyson'. That always just tripped me."
Arrests and Detention
Tyson confirmed his mother, Lorna, was a prostitute, while the man he knew as his father was a pimp. He said he and everyone he knew lived "a life of crime," which eventually led him to discover he could fight.
"I was 12 years old the first time I was arrested," he said. "That's the first time I went to Spofford [juvenile detention centre]."
Tryon and the Path to Boxing
Spofford was just the beginning of his disciplinary experience. Once the state saw Tyson wasn't cleaning his act up, he was sent to Tryon, a more rigorous facility that housed those who had committed much more serious offences.
"They sent me to Tryon, where no-one gets freedom," he continued. "That's where all the bad kids go that kill people, that did bad crimes, you know, apex predators."
It was in Tryon that Tyson discovered some fellow inmates had been sparring with a guard, Bobby Stewart, and wanted to try his own hand. After displaying some promise, Stewart promised to introduce Tyson to a trainer contact if he improved his school grades. Tyson became a model student and was brought to meet Cus D'Amato.
D'Amato took Tyson on as his protege, and he quickly rose up the ranks, becoming a Junior Olympian before embarking upon one of the most dominant career streaks ever seen in the sport.
