“I thought it was so hot,” he explained, adding: “I would be in these dens, these clubs and strip places sometimes and all the girls said ‘oh you are very exotic’…. They said I looked like some tribesman or s**t.”

Before Bobby called Cus, he showed me a few moves that were meant to impress the old trainer. One was a diagonal side step that enabled me to swing coming out of the corner. I practiced that and got really good at it. Then Stewart called Cus and asked him if he’d take a look at me.

In 2003, the boxer filed for bankruptcy after his exorbitant spending, multiple trials, and bad investments caught up with him. To curb expenses, the boxer also sold his upscale mansion in Farmington, Connecticut, to rapper 50 Cent for a little more than $4 million. He crashed on friends’ couches and slept in shelters until he landed in Phoenix, where he bought a home in 2005.

He is the titular character in Mike Tyson Mysteries, which started airing on October 27, 2014, on Adult Swim. In the animated series, Tyson voices a fictionalized version of himself, solving mysteries in the style of Scooby-Doo.

We sat down, and Cus told me he couldn’t believe I was only 13 years old. And then he told me what my future would be. “If you listen to me, I can make you the youngest heavyweight champion of all time.”

Washington herself testified that Tyson had “called her around 1:45 a.m. to tour the city, then picked her up in his limo, took her back to his room, and made small talk as they both sat on the bed.” After propositioning her for sex, box Washington stated that she firmly refused and went to use the bathroom before leaving. “After using the bathroom, she said, she noticed some discharge on her panty shield. Washington said she removed the liner and threw it away.” When she came out, “Tyson then pulled her to the bed, pinned her down and raped her, she testified. “He was mean, evil,” she said. “I got on top and started to try to get away, but he slammed me down again.””. “Three days after the assault, Washington went to the police and accused Tyson of rape.” Partial corroboration of Washington’s story came via testimony from Tyson’s chauffeur, Virginia Foster, who confirmed Desiree Washington’s “state of shock” after the incident. Foster also testified that Tyson had previously attempted to sexually assault her too, having “lured her to his hotel room, tried to touch her, and then exposed himself”. Further testimony came from the emergency room physician, Dr. Thomas Richardson, who examined Washington after the incident and confirmed that Washington’s physical condition was consistent with rape. Richardson testified that Washington had suffered “two small vaginal abrasions, consistent with 20 to 30 percent of the injuries seen in sexual assault cases”, and that in approximately 20,000 cases over a period of 20 years, “only twice had he ever seen such abrasions following consensual sex.”

He continued: “Cus was one of the most unique men ever to walk the planet. He touched the lives of so many people and helped them become a better version of themselves. He took the weak and made them strong.”

In 2000 Tyson dismissed everyone who was working for him and enlisted new accountants, who prepared a statement showing he started the year $3.3 million in debt but earned $65.7 million. In August 2007, Tyson pleaded guilty to drug possession and driving under the influence in an Arizona court, which stemmed from an arrest in December where authorities said Tyson, who has a long history of legal contentions, admitted to using cocaine that day and to being addicted to the drug.

Earnie Shavers and Larry Holmes rumble at Caesars Palace in #LasVegas in 1978. Holmes won by 12 round unanimous decision, the victory earning Larry a shot at title-holder Ken Norton. #Heavyweight #History #Boxing #Legends pic.twitter.com/dWeY8JIPdd

Since Tyson’s release, it seemed that he could not escape a life of crime. In 1997, Tyson’s boxing license was revoked for one year after he bit off a chunk of opponent Evander Holyfield’s ear during a boxing match. In the following years, Tyson was charged with two counts of misdemeanor assaults, one felony count of possession of drug paraphernalia, one felony count of drug possession, and two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence.

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. In a fight on February 11, 1990, he lost the undisputed championship to Douglas in Tokyo. Tyson was a huge betting favorite; indeed, the Mirage, the only casino to put out odds for the fight, made Tyson a 42/1 favorite. Tyson failed to find a way past Douglas’s quick jab that had a 12-inch (30 cm) reach advantage over his own. Tyson did catch Douglas with an uppercut in the eighth round and knocked him to the floor, but Douglas recovered sufficiently to hand Tyson a heavy beating in the subsequent two rounds. After the fight, the Tyson camp would complain that the count was slow and that Douglas had taken longer than ten seconds to get back on his feet. Just 35 seconds into the tenth round, Douglas unleashed a brutal uppercut, followed by a four-punch combination of hooks that knocked Tyson down for the first time in his career. He was counted out by referee Octavio Meyran.