The former heavyweight champion of the world used to be a man led by rage and aggression. After years of “losing,” he finally realized that the only way he could win at life was to change his ways. Recent years have seen Mike Tyson become a leader, helping others on their journey to more fulfilling lives. Several instances have helped bring him to this place, including the passing of his four-year-old daughter Exodus.
These days, Mike spends most of his time interviewing others on his podcast series Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson. The show has already given us several viral moments of Tyson schooling people on how to be better humans. This includes his hilarious exchange with Boosie Badazz when he admits that his trans-child had plans to fly to Los Angeles to beat Boosie up after comments made towards the Wade family. Most recently, Tyson tried to speak some sense into Blueface and Chrisean, expressing to them how much happier they’d be if they stopped drinking.
Iron Mike Tyson grew up with a lot of aggression. He was a school bully who learned how to fight at an early age. Mike grew up on the streets of Brooklyn, and it is believed that his mother was an adult worker, with the man who raised him being her pimp. His mother passed when Mike was 16, something he has become grateful for over the years. According to Tyson, losing his mother gave him the ammunition he needed to become tough and forced him into a life where he had to constantly defend himself. These things helped him become the boxer the world came to love.
Despite his incredible success in the world of professional boxing, Mike’s real life continued to be in turmoil. He would face many accusations surrounding his relationships and eventually mutilating fellow boxer Evander Hollifield during a fight in 1997. By the 2000s, Mike Tyson’s legacy was becoming a joke, and he began to look to transform his life for the better. In 2005, Mike Tyson admitted to feeling his life was a “waste” and wanting to become a missionary to escape all his mistakes. This included the boxer struggling with substance issues.
Tyson later made a pivotal life change that has allowed him to become much happier in recent decades. Tyson attributes his current marriage and his introduction to psychedelics in helping transform him for the better. Arguably the most transformative moment in Mike Tyson’s life was the passing of his daughter Exodus in 2009. The four-year-old was found hanging from an exercise machine by her seven-year-old brother. Despite attempts by her mother to revive her, she was pronounced deceased a day later.
While speaking with Oprah about it, Tyson admits that he does not want to know specifics about how she passed. According to him, his years of work and rehab gave him the tools to focus on giving her a proper burial and memorial. Tyson says that knowing specifics would allow him to blame someone, and he feels that would not be good for anyone involved.
Mike Tyson’s daughter would have turned 18-years old this year. Although it’s been nearly 14 years, the loss has been one of the boxers most difficult to face.
