"Logic Behind the Leather" A Candid Portrait of Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson is undoubtedly one of the greatest heavyweight boxers in boxing's history.  No other boxer has created so much fear and destruction in the ring like Tyson did during his career.  The sheer mention of his name spoke volumes in terms of how great of a fighter he was, including his ability to knockout many of his opponents in the early rounds, and sometimes minutes of his bouts.  But as we all know, Tyson has had his share of ups and downs, inside and outside of the ring.  Legal woes have not only plagued his boxing career but his personal life also.  And who can forget his infamous bout with Holyfield, bitting his ear during the fight.  More recently, Tyson has confessed to being an alcoholic and drug addict.  Many have thought that Tyson was moving on with his life and changing it for the better, but he has "fooled everyone around him," according to Tyson.  He has only admitted to being sober from drugs and alcohol for six days, something of a "miracle" for Iron Mike.  In a teary eyed, sometimes whimpering talk during a press conference, Tyson shared another side of himself, referencing being a "dark and negative vicious alcoholic, and how it's "dangerous to hang out this neighborhood (pointing to his head), "It wants to kill everything, it wants to kill me too, I don't want to die."
There are a lot of people out there that will view Tyson's press conference and think that he must be crazy and that he should've gotten help a long time ago.  Others will see Tyson's confession as a step in the right direction toward his sobriety and living a sober life.  Both assumptions are true in their own respects.  Tyson has shown over the years, how unstable and unpredictable that he can be.  But no one cared about his state of mind, as long as he was knocking out everyone he was matched up against, and keeping those people who were riding his coattail funded and famous.  Where is the support now from the people who were with him during his thriving career? Where were the same people when his 4 year old daughter died tragically? As humans, where was the sense of responsibility to recognize his shortcomings and unfortunate circumstances?  Mike Tyson is not the only person we should blame for his catastrophic life, as the responsibility should be shared by the people who stood by and watched his fall from grace.
But there is a light and the end of this tunnel, as Tyson is making the necessary strides toward reclaiming his life.  Let us not dwell on his downfall, but embrace his passion for wanting to live and be a better person.  After all that has happened to Mike Tyson, there is no denying his greatness as a boxer.  Not only was he a beast in the ring, he was an intellectual fighter, understanding the sweet science of boxing.  Hopefully Iron Mike will continue to take his sobriety seriously and embrace the sweet science of life!