Mike Tyson Talks of Retiring
By Mitch Abramson (December 27, 2004)
Mike Tyson was at Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn a few weeks ago, not to train, but to complete community service stemming from a fight he was involved in last year. Looking fleshy and relaxed, Tyson slipped on a pair of training mitts and offered a group of kids a short lesson in throwing and ducking punches, something his career has taken plenty of recently.
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After he satisfied his last autograph seeker, of which there were hundreds, Tyson sat down for an impromptu press conference and confirmed his loyalists’ worse fears, rattling off a grocery list of Tysonisms that showed he was in top form, not physically but mentally: He admitted to snubbing his therapy sessions to rehab his recently operated knee, which he tore in a knockout loss to Danny Williams on July 30.
“I haven’t been to therapy in more than a few months,†he said.
Although he is cautiously scheduled to fight in March, Tyson shot down that rumor by confessing, in a statement that would be startling coming from anyone else that he may never fight again.
â€ÂI’ve reached a point in my life where I’m saying to myself, ‘what’s all of this stuff for?’†he said. “I don’t want to do it.â€Â
Warming to the subject, when a reporter asked him what he might miss of boxing if he left the sport for good, Tyson replied, “nothing,†and used an expletive to show his disdain.
“Sometimes I train and sometimes I don’t,†he went on. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m trying to eat.â€Â
His need to pay off his famously incurred debts might drive him back into the ring. He made nearly $400 million during his career, yet filed for bankruptcy last year.
Enormously popular, Tyson has always been a magnet for trouble.
Earlier this year, Tyson pleaded guilty to charges of disorderly conduct from a brawl in a Brooklyn hotel lobby. Gleason’s owner Bruce Silverglade suggested to Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes that part of Tyson’s sentencing is spent teaching kids to box, and Tyson was ordered to complete 100 hours of community service, which he satisfied in Arizona, where he now lives, and at Gleason’s.
This past November, Tyson was arrested when a man accused him of jumping onto the hood of his car in the parking lot of an Arizona nightclub.
It’s this reporter’s opinion that Tyson should never fight again. It’s obvious his love of the sport has been replaced by an indifference and contempt that is astonishing given Tyson’s credentials. Yes, a well-conditioned, healthy Tyson would probably whip some of today’s premier heavyweights, but it’s clear that Tyson is not serious about the sport anymore, a shame since he has more charisma and talent in one of his fingers than practically the whole division.
In his current state, John Ruiz would beat him. With all due respect to Ruiz, what does that tell you?
