Quote Originally Posted by X
Tyson was always a manic depressive. He had a lot of self-hate and (as many of these guys do) he would do things that were likely to harm himself (think of Jake LaMotta taking punches on purpose). That's why he would go with people like King etc, even though he probably knew deep down that they did not care for him.

Tyson did not care for himself, he thought he was unworthy to receive love and affection, so why should anyone else give him love, affection or respect?

Ironically, becoming famous has fed this illness, as he continued to negatively reinforce this while he was at the height of his fame.

I think that the reason Tyson was such a devastating fighter (and let's not rewrite history and say that he was not) was that he was terrified when he was in the ring. I think he was terrified of losing because he felt unworthy in every other respect. That is why he was so quick and powerful - he was hyped on fear adrenaline, and the victory was the only thing that could keep his biggest fears at bay.

Once he lost, and his while world did not fall apart, he no longer had the depth of fear that he had before ...... and he was never the same fighter again.

Sorry - cheap psychology, but is's only my opinion!
I agree with you entirely...have you read the book ''Fire and Fear'' by Ray Torres? gives much the same analysis..Tyson was always a very troubled kid and his whole sense of value and self worth was winning in the ring...Tyson was so insecure even as an amatuer he would come crying back to his corner if his opponent would still be fighting back come the 3rd round...and as you stated when he lost and found the world didn't end, it wasn't so bad maybe even better than winning...In losing he still got paid, peole still treated him well and he had no expectations of winning his next fight....fighting wasn't a passion for Mike Tyson, it was an escape from the horrors and fate of his Brownsville life...

In an historical look at Mike Tyson, I see Mike as a fighter with Great potential who had some Great fights and who was sometimes a Great fighter...and yes he had a Great career...BUT, due to his inconsistancy he just misses being an All-time Great(top10 that is) in my book...