Nicknamed "Iron Mike"[4] and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "the Baddest Man on the Planet",[5] Tyson is regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time.

[39] The quality of his opponents gradually increased to journeyman fighters and borderline contenders,[39] like James Tillis, David Jaco, Jesse Ferguson, Mitch Green, and Marvis Frazier.

[40] Tyson's first nationally televised bout took place on February 16, 1986, at Houston Field House in Troy, New York, against journeyman heavyweight Jesse Ferguson, and was carried by ABC Sports.

In July, after recording six more knockout victories, Tyson fought former world title challenger Marvis Frazier in Glens Falls, New York, on another ABC Sports broadcast.

Donald Saunders wrote: "The noble and manly art of boxing can at least cease worrying about its immediate future, now [that] it has discovered a heavyweight champion fit to stand alongside Dempsey, Tunney, Louis, Marciano, and Ali.

[46] Tyson also possessed notable defensive abilities, holding his hands high in the peek-a-boo style taught by his mentor Cus D'Amato[47][48] to slip under and weave around his opponent's punches while timing his own.

Another fight, in October of that year, ended with a victory for Tyson over 1984 Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist Tyrell Biggs by TKO in the seventh round.

In March, Tyson then fought contender Tony Tubbs in Tokyo, Japan, fitting in an easy second-round TKO victory amid promotional and marketing work.

[68] By 1990, Tyson seemed to have lost direction, and his personal life was in disarray amidst reports of less vigorous training prior to the Buster Douglas match.

[70] The knockout victory by Douglas over Tyson, the previously undefeated "baddest man on the planet" and arguably the most feared boxer in professional boxing at that time, has been described as one of the most shocking upsets in modern sports history.

In a surprising turn of events, Holyfield, who was given virtually no chance to win by numerous commentators,[88] defeated Tyson by TKO when referee Mitch Halpern stopped the bout in round eleven.

Novelist and commentator Katherine Dunn wrote a column that criticized Holyfield's sportsmanship in the controversial bout and charged the news media with being biased against Tyson.

[104] On July 9, 1997, Tyson's boxing license was rescinded by the Nevada State Athletic Commission in a unanimous voice vote; he was also fined US$3 million and ordered to pay the legal costs of the hearing.

[106] During his time away from boxing in 1998, Tyson made a guest appearance at WrestleMania XIV as an enforcer for the main event match between Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin.

[110] Promoting the fight on Secaucus, New Jersey television station WWOR-TV, Tyson launched into an expletive-laden tirade that forced sports anchor Russ Salzberg to cut the interview short.

"[43] In October, Tyson fought the similarly controversial Andrew Golota,[116] winning in round three after Gołota was unable to continue due to a broken cheekbone, concussion, and neck injury.

[160] Despite criticism of facing underwhelming competition during his run as champion, Tyson's knockout power and intimidation factor made him the sport's most dynamic box-office draw.

[177] Tyson spoke with The Ring magazine in 2020 about his six greatest victories, those over Trevor Berbick, Pinklon Thomas, Tony Tucker, Tyrell Biggs, Larry Holmes, and Michael Spinks.

[...] Though he'd represented such notables as John Hinckley Jr. and junk-bond king Michael Milken, his reputation came mostly from federal court white-collar cases such as tax fraud and bribery.

[187] Alan Dershowitz, acting as Tyson's counsel, filed an appeal urging error of law in the Court's exclusion of evidence of the victim's past sexual conduct (known as the Rape Shield Law; Dershowitz alleged that Washington had "falsely accused one of her high school classmates of rape"),[188] the exclusion of three potential defense witnesses, and the lack of jury instructions on honest and reasonable mistake of fact.

[215] On May 23, 2020, at All Elite Wrestling's Double or Nothing, Tyson helped Cody defeat Lance Archer alongside Jake Roberts and presented him the inaugural AEW TNT Championship.

Tyson alongside Henry Cejudo, Rashad Evans, and Vitor Belfort appeared on the May 27 episode of AEW Dynamite facing off against Chris Jericho and his stable The Inner Circle.

[232] At the time of the divorce filing, Turner worked as a pediatric resident at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C.[233] She is the sister of Michael Steele, the former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland and former Republican National Committee chairman.

[252] On December 29, 2006, Tyson was arrested in Scottsdale, Arizona, on suspicion of DUI and felony drug possession; he nearly crashed into a police SUV shortly after leaving a nightclub.

According to a police probable-cause statement, filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, "[Tyson] admitted to using [drugs] today and stated he is an addict and has a problem.

In September 2011, Tyson gave an interview in which he made comments about former Alaska governor Sarah Palin including crude and violent descriptions of interracial sex.

[260] The woman claims to have experienced "guilt, loss of self-esteem, shame, embarrassment, sadness, anger, depression, anxiety, violent tendencies, drug and alcohol addiction and confusion", as well as inability "to maintain and/or develop healthy relationships with men or other people in general".

This led to a social media backlash, prompting Tyson to release the following statement on Instagram: "I want to clarify the recent portrayal of an event I attended," he wrote on Thursday.

With Donnie Yen reprising his role as the titular character, Bruce Lee's martial arts master, Ip Man, while Mike Tyson joined the cast as Frank, an American property developer and proficient boxer.

"[290] [291] Select pay-per-view boxing buy rates at American closed-circuit theater television venues: The Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, in 1989 awarded Tyson an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters: "Mike demonstrates that hard work, determination and perseverance can enable one to overcome any obstacles.