Mike Tyson has described his time in prison as the best three years of his life. In 1992, Tyson was convicted of rape and sentenced to six years in prison with four years of probation but was released in 1995.
Tyson denied the allegations and claimed the sex was consensual but is now required to register as a Tier II sex offender under federal law for life. At the time, “Iron Mike” was clawing his way back into the world title picture after dropping his WBA, WBC, and IBF heavyweight titles to Buster Douglas in 1990. Back-to-back victories over Donovan “Razor” Ruddock placed Tyson in pole position for a shot at the world titles but prison time put an end to those hopes.
It wouldn’t be until 1996 that “The Baddest Man on the Planet” would become a world champion again after capturing the WBC belt against Frank Burno in Nevada. But despite spending much of his prime in prison, Tyson claims he enjoyed being locked up.
Describing his time inside, Tyson explained on The Pivot podcast: “I’m just very grateful – I’m a cool guy, I’m a good person, I treated everybody nice. I had the best three years of my life in prison.”
During his three-year stint in prison, Tyson converted to Islam and worked on becoming a more peaceful individual. Despite all of his character development, Tyson continued to get in trouble both inside and outside the ring.
In his highly anticipated rematch with Evander Holyfield in 1997 — billed as the “Sound and the Fury” but afterwards infamously referred to as “The Bite Fight” — Tyson bit off a part of his adversary’s ear much to the dismay of spectators. Tyson fought up until 2005, finishing his professional career with a 50-6 record.