When you think of Mike Tyson, you probably think of the guy with the crazy hair who bit someone’s ear off in his boxing match in 1990. Or perhaps you think about his tiger tattoo, which he had removed from his face in an attempt to turn over a new leaf as a Christian. He is also that guy who once spent time in jail for rape after being found guilty of raping a woman at a party at his own home. It is fair to say that Mike Tyson has had something of an eventful life. However, what may come as a surprise is how broke Mike Tyson appears to be right now. If you want to know if Mike Tyson is broke or not, and what he has been doing with his money lately, read on for the details.
Is Mike Tyson Broke?
Yes, first off do not look at a man’s wealth in this case you would be wrong, Mike Tyson has stayed broke since he filed for bankruptcy in 2003, despite becoming one of the highest-paid athletes of all time and the one-million-dollar boxing contract he signed in the late 80s. While in his prime Tyson earned $20 million per fight and upward of $100 million throughout his career, most of which was squandered by bad investments and terrible advice.
When Was Mike Tyson At The Pinnacle Of His Career?
- Mike Tyson was at the pinnacle of his career when he was the heavyweight boxing champion in the late 1980s. He had a record-breaking run of nine fights in a row, which included victories over Trevor Berbick, James “Quick” Tillis, Michael Spinks, and Buster Mathis Jr. His last fight with Spinks ended in a draw in 1988. It was at this point that Tyson won the Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship.
- Tyson was a huge star in the United States, but he was also well-known in the UK. The first time Tyson came to the UK, his face was covered in bandages after he had been bitten by a dog. His second trip to the UK ended in controversy when Tyson bit Evander Holyfield’s ear off during their fight in 1990. The fight was halted after Tyson bit through Holyfield’s ear and resulting in both fighters being disqualified. Holyfield later sued Mike Tyson for $100 million in damages. In 1992, they settled out of court for an undisclosed amount of money (although it is reported that it was around $18 million).
- Mike Tyson was at the pinnacle of his career in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During this time, he was the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history. He is also the only boxer to become the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion. This means that he held all three major titles at the same time. In 1988, Mike Tyson was the first ever boxer to earn $100 million.
- This was at a time when the average annual income was $15,000. So, in comparison, Mike Tyson was earning an extremely high amount of money. Mike Tyson’s most notable fight was against a 42-year-old heavyweight champion, ‘Iron’ Mike Spinks. After the fight, Mike Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in the history of boxing. He was just 21 years of age at the time.
- Mike Tyson and his career are a bit of a mystery. He was born in 1966, which makes him nearly 40 years old at the moment. His first professional fight came in 1985 when he won the WBC Heavyweight title after knocking out Trevor Berbick in the second round. This is how things were for Mike Tyson up until 1991 when he was convicted of raping Desiree Washington in a hotel room. Eventually, he was sentenced to nine years in prison for this crime. He served his time and then went on to have a couple of fights after being released from prison, but neither of them was particularly successful.
How Much Money Did Mike Tyson Earn During The Peak Of His Career?
- At the peak of his boxing career, Mike Tyson earned a whopping $400,000 per fight. This was a time long before any of the current boxers had reached their earnings potential.
- Since then, Mike Tyson has made a few sporadic boxing matches, but nothing like the amount of money he earned earlier in his career.
- His most recent fight took place in June of 2018. After winning the fight by technical knockout, Mike Tyson earned $3 million.
- Prior to this, his last fight was in February 2017. He won this fight by technical knockout as well, earning $2 million in the process.
How Did Mike Tyson Lose All His Money?
- As you can imagine, Mike Tyson’s earning potential had a lot to do with the amount of money he earned. However, there are also some factors that contributed to his downfall as well. For starters, he has been convicted of rape twice in his life. He was convicted of raping a woman at a party at his own home in 1992. He was also convicted of rape in 2006. In both cases, he served two years in prison.
- He also spent time in jail for cocaine possession in 2003 and 2004 (although this case was later dropped). However, the most damaging factor to Mike Tyson’s financial situation is the fact that he has fallen on hard times since becoming bankrupt in 2015. This happened after many years of bad investments and poor business decisions on behalf of Mike Tyson himself. He has been trying to get back on track ever since, but it doesn’t look like it will be easy now that he is out of jail on another parole violation.
- Mike Tyson’s financial troubles have been well documented. He has gone through several banks and financial institutions as well. His current assets are estimated to be around $2 million. This is a far cry from the $400 million that he earned during the peak of his career.
What Is The Biggest Source Of Income For Mike Tyson?
- When it comes to Mike Tyson’s earnings, he has been very lucky in that he has made a lot of money from two sources. The first source is boxing. He was the youngest heavyweight champion in the history of boxing. This led to a lot of opportunities for him to earn money through endorsements and paid appearances. He also received a lot of money from his 2006 movie “Tyson” and his 2011 autobiography “Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth”. Mike Tyson also makes money from his rap album called “Undisputed Truth: The Rise of Mike Tyson”.
- The second source of income for Mike Tyson is gambling. This involves him betting on sports such as football, basketball, horse racing, and poker. However, this isn’t all that he does when it comes to gambling.
- He also bets on games like roulette, card games like blackjack, and even games like Russian roulette. He has been known to bet on the outcome of his fights. He has also been known to bet on the outcome of his fights over the phone and even online.
Other Costs Associated With Being Broke
- Mike Tyson’s Medical Bills – Mike Tyson has always experienced health problems. He has been bedridden with various injuries throughout his boxing career. Since retiring from boxing, Mike Tyson has also suffered several strokes.
- In July 2013, Mike Tyson was hospitalized after his team noticed abnormal behavior. Doctors discovered that he was severely sleep-deprived. They also discovered that he had severely low blood pressure. This was attributed to the fact that Mike Tyson was taking diet pills that contained too much caffeine.
- Mike Tyson’s Child Support – The irony of someone who once made a lot of money owing money is never lost. However, it is important to note that the law is the law. If you owe someone money, you must pay it back. Mike Tyson had two children with his first wife, Robin Givens.
- He also had two more children with his second wife, Monica Turner. As such, Mike Tyson had to pay child support for four children. This cost him a total of $81,000 per year.
Conclusion
Mike Tyson is one of the most fascinating figures in the world of boxing. He is a man who earned millions of dollars during his boxing career. He also spent a great deal of this money on lavish houses and parties. However, the truth is that Mike Tyson is now broke. After earning millions of dollars during his career, Mike Tyson now lives a meager lifestyle. As such, he has been forced to make monetary sacrifices.
