Billionaire Road
MT

Born 1966.

Mike Tyson

Where the hours went: Under Cus D'Amato.

A reform school counselor taught him to box.
About six years later he was the youngest heavyweight champion ever.

Type card: Cus D'Amato took custody at fourteen, champion at twenty
No photo. Billionaire Road shows living men by their work.

In thirty seconds

His hours

About six years under Cus D'Amato, from fourteen to the title.

His rep

Amateur bouts first, then a first round knockout in his pro debut.

It reached

Still the youngest heavyweight champion in history, at twenty.

Most men think the titans got there on talent.
They got there on where the hours went.

01Brownsville

He was born in Brooklyn in 1966 and grew up in Brownsville.[1][7]

02Tryon

As a boy he was sent to the Tryon School for Boys, a reform school in upstate New York.
A counselor there taught him to box.[2][4]

03Cus

In 1980 the trainer Cus D'Amato took custody of him, at fourteen.
He started fighting amateur bouts.[2][4]

04Twenty

He turned pro in March 1985 with a first round knockout.
That November, D'Amato died.
On November 22, 1986, he knocked out Trevor Berbick and became the youngest heavyweight champion ever, at twenty.[1][4][5]

05Tokyo

On February 11, 1990, Buster Douglas knocked him out in the tenth round.[1][3]

06The last bout

In June 2005 he quit on his stool against Kevin McBride and retired.[4][5]

The legend vs. the reps

The legendHe was a natural, born to fight.

The repsA reform school counselor taught him to box.
Then about six years under Cus D'Amato before the title.[1][2][4]

The legend counts talent.
The record counts reps.
Six years with Cus D'Amato before the belt.

His years

Every year the record allows, with its source.

1966Born

He was born in Brooklyn.[1][7]

1980At 14

Cus D'Amato took custody of him.[2][4]

1985At 18

He turned pro in March, and D'Amato died in November.[1][2]

1986At 20

He knocked out Trevor Berbick, the youngest heavyweight champion ever.[1][5]

1990At 23

Buster Douglas knocked him out in Tokyo.[1][3]

1992At 25

He was convicted of rape and sentenced to six years in prison.[1][2][4]

1995At 28

He was released in March after three years and went back to the ring.[1][4]

1997At 30

He was disqualified for biting Evander Holyfield's ears.[4][6]

2005At 38

He lost to Kevin McBride and retired.[4][5]

No photo. Billionaire Road shows living men by their work.

Where his hours went

In the ring under Cus D'Amato from fourteen.
About six years of it before the title.
Back in the ring after prison, until 2005.

See where your hours go.

A week is 168 hours.
One minute to see where yours went.

Count your 168 →

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Sources

  1. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Mike Tyson: birth in Brooklyn in 1966, turning pro, the title against Berbick at twenty, the loss to Douglas, the 1992 conviction and sentence, release in 1995.
  2. UPI, Mike Tyson Chronology (February 11, 1992): Tryon, Cus D'Amato's custody, D'Amato's death in 1985, the 1992 conviction.
  3. Sports Illustrated, The Rise and Fall of Mike Tyson: the loss to Buster Douglas in Tokyo on February 11, 1990.
  4. CNN, Mike Tyson Fast Facts: Tryon School for Boys, D'Amato's custody in 1980, the first pro fight in March 1985, the title in November 1986, the 1992 conviction and six year sentence, release in March 1995, the Holyfield rematch, retirement in 2005.
  5. ESPN, Iron Mike Tyson: boxing career major milestones (2024): the Berbick fight, the McBride fight on June 11, 2005.
  6. History.com, Mike Tyson bites Evander Holyfield's ear (June 28, 1997).
  7. Encyclopedia.com, Tyson, Mike: born in Brooklyn, raised in Brownsville.