Mike Tyson is set to return to the ring in July to take on YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in an exhibition match. And while Tyson has been a man of many nicknames – considering his experience at the highest level and who he has matched up with in the past – there are three that he loathes.
In his autobiography “Undisputed Truth,” which was released in 2013, the ferocious boxer explained how growing up in Brooklyn, New York, children around his age used to bully him for the conditions he found himself in. Tyson shared in detail how his home life was and how that affected him as he tried to live a normal life.
“I was scared to be in the house and I was also scared to go outside,” Tyson revealed in the book. “By then, I was going to a public school and that was a nightmare. I was a pudgy kid, very shy, almost effeminately shy and I spoke with a lisp.”
Because of how he was seen by other children, that led them to pick on Tyson. As such, he was bullied for being who he was, for being around his older sister, whom he was instructed to follow, and for the lack of adequate utilities at his home.
“The kids used to call me ‘Little Fairy Boy’ because I was always hanging out with my sister, but my mum told me I had to stay around Denise as she was older than me,” Tyson recalled. “They also called me ‘Dirty Ike’ or ‘Dirty Motherf*****’ because I didn’t know about hygiene back then.”
Reaching further back, Tyson detailed how his home life was, including the struggles of having properly heated water and gas to heat water for a shower. When his mother attempted to impart knowledge on hygiene, Tyson shared that her attempts left something to be desired.
“We didn’t have hot water to shower in and, if the gas wasn’t on, we couldn’t even boil water,” the former champion said. “My mother tried to teach me about it but she didn’t do a very good job. She used to take soap and fill a bucket up with hot water and wash me.
“But when you’re a young kid, you don’t care about hygiene. Eventually, I’d learn it in the streets from older kids – they told me about Brut and Paco Rabanne.”
Tyson dropped out of school at just seven because of how the other children treated him. By 13, he had been arrested 38 times and dropped out of high school as a junior, after being introduced to boxing.
At 18 years old, Tyson made his professional boxing debut in boxing, defeating Hector Mercedes in the first round via TKO. Then two years later, Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history, defeating Trevor Berbick for the WBC heavyweight title at just 20 years old.
With Tyson’s rise to fame because of his immense boxing skills, the former champion was then bestowed different nicknames such as “Iron Mike,” “Kid Dynamite” and “The Baddest Man On The Planet.”
Considering Tyson reportedly has a “scary” game plan for Paul in their upcoming fight, perhaps the 57-year-old will be given another nickname for his dominance. However, three nicknames will stick with him, especially because they pertain to a very rough part of his life.