SPIDER38
LE
I started reading this around a week ago,it is one of the best books i've ever read it reads like a novel in that there is every type of emotion its funny and very sad in places,most people are aware of his background ie young street boy who meets a "Rocky" type trainer in Cus d Amato who then trains him to become the most feared and intimidating heavyweight perhaps EVER.
But this book covers everything in graphic detail and his upbringing is no differant ,he stopped going to school at around seven after a bully smashed his glasses,his mother who was a respectable woman lost her job and with it the roof over their heads [he had one brother and sister,no father],they then moved into what can only be described as hell,his mother then becomes very street wise.I had no idea he was such a serious criminal,he says that he often opened fire out of his mothers house windows at people ,that he burgled houses violently and likewise mugged people.
Then by the age of eleven he found himself in reform school,it was a twist of fate that he met the man that knew Cus d Amato,cus can be descibed as vissionary and philosopher,he told Tyson he'd be champ before he'd even had a amateur fight,he also told him he'd be rich and a legend.
Often when word spread of Tysons ferocious nature fighters began not turning up or their parents simply pulled them out,that left him at fourteen fifteen fighting grown men and sometimes these failed to show up!,sadly both cus and tyson met at the wrong time he was in his seventies,unfortunatly cus progammed him to be a fighting and frankly killing machine but died before he could "unprogamme him" [to me it seems cus pulled the pin from a hand grenade and threw it to someone else]..Tyson says that subconciously they both knew time was running out.As we know he died before Tyson won the title.
oddly Tyson comes across as very unintelligent when you witness his neanderthal violence , but this is FAR from the case,he is highly intelligent and is not only a history buff but it seems he has read verociously people like Tolstoy and Orwell.The problem is he is very imature and is very insecure,in fact imo he is borderline mad.
Hence the truly unbelievable spriral into drugs, women and Prison...the book goes into good detail about his time in jail,and basically him and his friends had a very comfortable time through various racketts he was also having regular sex with a female teacher ,she would simply announce over the prison tannoy for him to come for extra lessons ,often three times a day..he says he was looking forward to entering the prison system to prove he was as crazy as the inmates,he truly has zero fear.
BUT as good as the book is i'm not convinced by him as to his likeabilty or honesty,he goes into the details of the fights he losses and always seems to have an excuse ie drugs, not training,injury ect,...and its hard not to believe his "conviction" wasn't correct,he had no respect for women at all [..or people regardless of age,he speaks about kicking don king in the head repeatedly,once so hard someone saw powder fly off his hair...] and even his one time friend an ex boxer told the court this,..you can only imagine him as a two hundred and thirty pound man versus a woman of perhaps hundred pound
in fact if you read the book you'll be amazed it was only one conviction for the offence considering the amount of women he had and sometimes the type,the book is so honest but imho the honesty only goes up to a point,its hardly suprising don king ripped him off [if he did] and its hardly suprising he was convicted of rape after the way he treats women,the woman that he is now with he seems to have forgotten her whilst SHE was imprisoned expecting his child,[she was jailed for trivial offences and it seems he is lucky he found her she might have saved his life] and its hardly suprising he ends up constantly being arrested or sued when he punches people in the face for saying hello.
Having read it i wont be at all suprised if we wake up one morning and find out on the news he's dead,Saying this however it is a brilliant book and absolutely hillarious in places, a crazy crazy life,highly recommended
But this book covers everything in graphic detail and his upbringing is no differant ,he stopped going to school at around seven after a bully smashed his glasses,his mother who was a respectable woman lost her job and with it the roof over their heads [he had one brother and sister,no father],they then moved into what can only be described as hell,his mother then becomes very street wise.I had no idea he was such a serious criminal,he says that he often opened fire out of his mothers house windows at people ,that he burgled houses violently and likewise mugged people.
Then by the age of eleven he found himself in reform school,it was a twist of fate that he met the man that knew Cus d Amato,cus can be descibed as vissionary and philosopher,he told Tyson he'd be champ before he'd even had a amateur fight,he also told him he'd be rich and a legend.
Often when word spread of Tysons ferocious nature fighters began not turning up or their parents simply pulled them out,that left him at fourteen fifteen fighting grown men and sometimes these failed to show up!,sadly both cus and tyson met at the wrong time he was in his seventies,unfortunatly cus progammed him to be a fighting and frankly killing machine but died before he could "unprogamme him" [to me it seems cus pulled the pin from a hand grenade and threw it to someone else]..Tyson says that subconciously they both knew time was running out.As we know he died before Tyson won the title.
oddly Tyson comes across as very unintelligent when you witness his neanderthal violence , but this is FAR from the case,he is highly intelligent and is not only a history buff but it seems he has read verociously people like Tolstoy and Orwell.The problem is he is very imature and is very insecure,in fact imo he is borderline mad.
Hence the truly unbelievable spriral into drugs, women and Prison...the book goes into good detail about his time in jail,and basically him and his friends had a very comfortable time through various racketts he was also having regular sex with a female teacher ,she would simply announce over the prison tannoy for him to come for extra lessons ,often three times a day..he says he was looking forward to entering the prison system to prove he was as crazy as the inmates,he truly has zero fear.
BUT as good as the book is i'm not convinced by him as to his likeabilty or honesty,he goes into the details of the fights he losses and always seems to have an excuse ie drugs, not training,injury ect,...and its hard not to believe his "conviction" wasn't correct,he had no respect for women at all [..or people regardless of age,he speaks about kicking don king in the head repeatedly,once so hard someone saw powder fly off his hair...] and even his one time friend an ex boxer told the court this,..you can only imagine him as a two hundred and thirty pound man versus a woman of perhaps hundred pound
in fact if you read the book you'll be amazed it was only one conviction for the offence considering the amount of women he had and sometimes the type,the book is so honest but imho the honesty only goes up to a point,its hardly suprising don king ripped him off [if he did] and its hardly suprising he was convicted of rape after the way he treats women,the woman that he is now with he seems to have forgotten her whilst SHE was imprisoned expecting his child,[she was jailed for trivial offences and it seems he is lucky he found her she might have saved his life] and its hardly suprising he ends up constantly being arrested or sued when he punches people in the face for saying hello.
Having read it i wont be at all suprised if we wake up one morning and find out on the news he's dead,Saying this however it is a brilliant book and absolutely hillarious in places, a crazy crazy life,highly recommended
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