The man, the mystery, the Mike Tyson. Luckily for all those entranced and puzzled by the boxer, his autobiography “Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth” was released Tuesday.
In the book, he discusses the details of his difficult childhood and rise to boxing fame, but the most interesting tidbits revolve around his stint as a ward of the state.
When facing rape charges in 1992, he consulted a voodoo man, the Daily Mail reports.
He said he “knew that guy had nothing,” so he did the logical thing and next sought out a “hoodoo priestess.”
She told him to put five hundred dollar bills in a jar, pee in it and keep it under his bed for three days. He also went to a Santeria priest who told him to go to the court with a pigeon and an egg, and drop the egg while releasing the pigeon and yell “we’re free.”
None of these helped, as Tyson was sentenced to six years in prison.
He only served three, and now believes the jail time marked a turning point.
Before jail, “in my mind I had no peers,” he said. “I was the youngest heavyweight champion in the history of boxing. I was a titan, the reincarnation of Alexander the Great.”
After his time, he felt slightly more humble.
He still holds that he did not rape Desiree Washington, as charged. His career chugged along, but began to wane by the time of the infamous Evander Holyfield fight in 1997. He had to declare bankruptcy after that, selling a whopping 62 vehicles. He also slept his way through Cuban hookers and convinced himself he had AIDS.
Now, Tyson is clean and sober, but looks back on his life as a lesson.
“All I wanted back then was to be glamorous and glorious,” he said. “That’s why I f*** all my money away.”