1 week Ago By Dan Burnham
Mike Tyson has had his fair share of legal troubles, most notoriously so his 1992 rape conviction . After being arrested the previous year, Tyson was sentenced to six years behind bars, with four years of probation. He served less than half of that term at the Indiana Youth Center due to good behavior, earning time off for each day served.
Tyson's fame made him a prime target in prison, but he managed to handle the challenges . Iron Mike, who makes his remarkable pro boxing return against Jake Paul today (November 15), revealed how in a fascinating November 1998 Playboy interview. Mike Tyson and Jake Paul to get immediate boxing suspensions after fight Mike Tyson told Jake Paul is scary for four reasons - and huge age gap isn't one of them Tyson faced threats from the moment he entered prison, with inmates testing him due to his formidable reputation and impressive 41-1 professional record, marred only by Buster Douglas' stunning knockout in February 1990.
He recounted an incident where he "nipped it in the bud" after an inmate tried to provoke him. "People will try you. They'll try the strongest.
You have to be a man. They'll try anybody," Tyson said. "They start by saying something funny, something sarcastic, to see how far they can go.
But you nip it in the bud. "You don't let anyone get away with saying anything funny or sarcastic. You have to demonstrate who you are right on the spot.
That's what I do. That's who I am. I'm a settler.
I'm in my glory in a place like that. Chaos all over. Yeah, they tried me a few times.
" The former boxing champion also had to be cautious of knife attacks. When asked if anyone had ever pulled a blade on him, Tyson responded: "They had them, but they didn't have anything I didn't have." The now-58-year-old reportedly found himself in trouble during his first year locked up when he threatened a guard, accusing him of conducting a rough full-body search.
This led to him spending time in solitary confinement - a situation most would consider a nightmare. However, Tyson appreciated the experience, even suggesting it helped him survive throughout his sentence. "The hole was cool," he insisted.
"The box was my saviour." He infamously bit Evander Holyfield's ear during his sixth fight after being released, leading some to speculate that the isolation in prison had driven him mad. He dismissed such suggestions.
"No, the hole could never drive you crazy," he said. "I like to be alone. That's who I am.
I need to be into myself in order to deal with the issues that are happening around me." Tyson's comments about solitary confinement become more understandable when considering his candid admission about one of the darkest aspects of prison life. Sexual assaults were a common occurrence.
When asked if he had witnessed any violence, he responded: "All over the place. I didn't intervene. It wasn't my business.
If I was getting f---ed or raped, you think somebody would intervene? No. My job was to do my time, no one else's." Tyson was focused on getting through each day without incident where possible to serve his time as quickly as he could, although he had to adapt to the environment to cope with the struggles it presented.
"It's something you get accustomed to," he said. "You can't wait to get home. I was just happy to make it through the day without being written up.
"Those were successful days. If you made it to the next day, the last count, boom! Another day you didn't get written up.".
