Mike Tyson was one of the most famous and dangerous heavyweight boxers in history. He not only changed the sport forever, but he also made a lot of money. We look at Mike Tyson’s net worth and the critical financial events that shaped his life to learn more about his wealth.
What is Mike Tyson’s Net Worth Today?
This is Mike Tyson, an American boxer who used to be the undisputed world heavyweight champion. Mike Tyson is worth $10 million right now. In his prime, Mike was one of the world’s most famous and well-paid athletes. At age 20, he was the youngest champion ever. At his peak, he had a personal fortune of more than $300 million, which he either wasted or had stolen. In 2003, Mike filed for bankruptcy. He owed $23 million, according to the bankruptcy filing.
He made at least $430 million in purses and endorsements throughout his career, which is about $700 million when you take inflation into account. ESPN dubbed him “The Hardest Hitter in Heavyweight History,” and Sky Sports labeled him “the most vicious fighter to ever step into a professional ring.” Despite his prowess as a boxer, Tyson garnered a notorious reputation due to issues both inside and outside the ring.
Early Life
Michael Gerard Tyson was born in June 1966 in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, New York City. He had a brother named Rodney and a sister named Denise, who died in February 1990 of a heart attack. Even though his birth certificate identified his real father as “Purcell Tyson,” Tyson knew that his real father was a con artist named Jimmy Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick, born in Grier Town, North Carolina, left the family soon after Tyson’s birth, leaving Tyson’s mother, Lorna Mae Tyson, to raise the kids by herself.
Because of money problems, Tyson’s family had to move to Brownsville when he was 10. This put him in areas where crime was common. Tyson’s rough childhood led to many run-ins with the law, which led to several arrests by the time he was 13. Eventually, he ended up at the Tryon School for Boys in Johnstown, New York. It was there that counselor and former boxer Bobby Stewart noticed how good he was at boxing.
Tyson’s boxing skills got better with Stewart’s help, which led to a meeting with boxing manager and trainer Cus D’Amato. When Tyson dropped out of high school, he trained with Kevin Rooney, with some help from Teddy Atlas. He became Tyson’s legal guardian when his mother died when he was 16.
Tyson talked about his relationship with his mother and said he felt terrible that he didn’t have the chance to make her proud because of his troubled childhood. Even with this emotional weight on him, Tyson’s career did not change.
Boxing Career
✅Amateur Boxing Career
In his amateur career, Tyson won gold medals at the Junior Olympic Games in 1981 and 1982. In 1981, he beat Joe Cortez, and in 1982, he beat Kelton Brown, whose corner gave up in the first round. Tyson beat Jonathan Littles to win the gold medal at the National Golden Gloves in New York in 1984. As an amateur boxer, he fought Henry Tillman twice and lost both times by decision. In the end, Tillman won the heavyweight title at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
✅Professional Career
Tyson’s first professional fight was in March 1985 in Albany, New York. He was 18 years old and beat Hector Mercedes by TKO in the first round. He fought in 15 fights in his first year as a professional. While Tyson fought a lot, he won 26 out of 28 fights by knockout or technical knockout, and 16 of those wins came in the first round.
His opponents got better over time, becoming journeymen fighters and fighters on the edge of being contenders, like James Tillis, David Jaco, Jesse Ferguson, Mitch Green, and Marvis Frazier. News outlets paid attention to Tyson’s winning streak and hailed him as the next grand heavyweight champion. Some people think that D’Amato’s death in November 1985, early in Tyson’s professional career, caused many of the problems that Tyson had in his life and career afterward.
Rising Up to the Ranks🥊
ESPN showed Tyson’s first nationally televised fight, a heavyweight match against journeyman Jesse Ferguson at Houston Field House in Troy, New York, on February 16, 1986. In the fifth round, Tyson hit Ferguson with an uppercut that broke his nose and knocked him out. It looked like Ferguson was trying to avoid more punishment by holding and clinching Tyson during the sixth round.
The referee finally stopped the fight in the middle of the sixth round after telling Ferguson several times to follow his instructions to box. At first, the fighter’s corner argued that a disqualification (DQ) win would end Tyson’s string of knockout victories, so the decision was “adjusted” to a win by technical knockout (TKO).
Tyson fought former world title challenger Marvis Frazier in New York, in July after getting six more knockout wins. The fight was shown on ABC Sports. Tyson was in charge. He charged at Frazier at the start of the fight and hit him with two straight uppercuts. The second one knocked Frazier out thirty seconds into the match.
WBC Heavyweight Championship🏆
On November 22, 1986, Mike Tyson fought Trevor Berbick for the WBC heavyweight title in a fight that a lot of people were looking forward to. As soon as the bell rang, Tyson threw a barrage of powerful punches that were too fast and hard for Berbick to handle. Even though Berbick tried to defend himself, Tyson’s constant attacks were too much for him to handle. Tyson hit Berbick with a powerful right hook in the second round, sending him to the canvas.
Even though Berbick tried hard to get up, he couldn’t beat the referee’s count, so Tyson won by knockout. Tyson, who is only 20, became the youngest heavyweight champion in history with this win. It also cemented his reputation as one of the most powerful boxers of all time.
Unified Heavyweight Championship🏆
When Mike Tyson fought James Smith for the WBA heavyweight title on March 7, 1987, it was an exciting fight. From the start, Tyson showed off his usual aggression by chasing Smith around and hitting him with powerful combinations. While Smith tried to fight back, Tyson’s faster speed and better accuracy kept him in charge of the fight.
In the seventh round, Tyson threw a series of devastating punches that ended with a brutal uppercut that knocked Smith to the ground. Smith was able to get back up, but Tyson’s constant attacks were too much, and the referee had to stop the fight. With this win, Tyson added the WBA heavyweight title to his collection, making him even more of a dominant champion in the history of boxing.
Undisputed Heavyweight Champion🏆
In the epic fight on August 1, 1987, between Mike Tyson and Tony Tucker for the heavyweight title, Tyson showed that he was the best. From the start, Tyson was as aggressive as always, dominating Tucker with lightning-fast punches and constant pressure. Even though Tucker was tough, Tyson’s brutality was too much for him. In the later rounds, Tyson kept showing that he was the better boxer by landing hard blows that made Tucker defend himself. Finally, after a tough fight, Tyson emerged victorious, getting a unanimous decision to keep his title as the undisputed heavyweight champion.
In the much-anticipated fight for the undisputed heavyweight title between Mike Tyson and Michael Spinks on June 27, 1988, Tyson put on a devastating show. From the start of the fight, Tyson threw a lot of hard punches, quickly outpacing Spinks with his speed and strength. Spinks tried to avoid Tyson’s attacks, but Tyson’s constant pressure was too much for her to handle. Tyson knocked Spinks out in just 91 seconds of the first round, showing how dominant he was. This made him the undisputed heavyweight champion and solidified his reputation as one of the most dangerous boxers in history.
Mike Tyson and Buster Douglas fought for the undisputed heavyweight championship in a historic match on February 11, 1990. Douglas put on an amazing show. Douglas showed right away how skilled and determined he was by not letting Tyson’s reputation scare him. Even though Douglas was a huge underdog, he showed amazing toughness and skill by outboxing Tyson the whole fight. Douglas shockingly knocked out Tyson in the 10th round, giving him his first professional loss and taking the heavyweight title. With this win, Douglas cemented his place in sports history as one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport.
✅Return to the Ring
After the loss, Tyson got back on track by knocking out Henry Tillman and Alex Stewart in the first round of his next two fights. Tillman won the gold medal in heavyweight at the 1984 Olympics. Tyson beat Tillman to get back at Tillman for beating him as an amateur. Evander Holyfield beat Douglas in his first defense of the world heavyweight title, setting up a match where the winner would get another chance to win the title.
Dan “Razor” Ruddock was the number two contender, and Tyson was the number one contender. The fight took place in Las Vegas on March 18, 1991. People thought Ruddock was one of the hardest-punching heavyweights and the most dangerous heavyweight around. The fight between Tyson and Ruddock went back and forth for most of it. In the seventh round, referee Richard Steele stopped it in favor of Tyson, which caused a lot of attention. Fans were furious about this decision, which led to a fight after the fight in the crowd. The referee had to be ruled out of the ring.
Trial and Incarceration
Authorities arrested Tyson in July 1991 for raping Desiree Washington, who was 18, in a hotel room in Indianapolis. After nearly 10hrs of deliberation, the jury found him guilty after his trial, which ran from January 26 to February 10, 1992. Witnesses from Tyson’s driver and a doctor at the emergency room backed up Washington’s story.
Even though Tyson said he had sex with someone he knew, the court found him guilty. Alan Dershowitz, Tyson’s lawyer, filed an appeal saying that the court made mistakes when it threw out evidence and witnesses. Both the Indiana Court of Appeals and the Indiana Supreme Court agreed with the lower court that Tyson was not guilty.
This led to Tyson getting six years in prison and four years of probation on March 26, 1992. He did his time at the Indiana Youth Center and got out in March 1995. As a result of his conviction, Tyson has to register as a Tier II sex offender.
✅Comeback
Tyson easily won his first fights back after getting out of prison against Peter McNeeley and Buster Mathis Jr. With a record-breaking $63 million in PPV sales in the US, Tyson’s first fight after a long break made more than US$96 million around the world. 1.52 million homes paid to watch the battle, which was a record for both PPV viewers and sales. Some people said Tyson’s management was setting up “tomato cans” to make sure he would have easy wins when he came back. TV Guide named the Tyson vs. McNeeley fight one of the 50 best sports events ever shown on TV in 1998.
Second Reign as Unified Heavyweight Champion🏆
While fighting Frank Bruno in March 1996, Tyson easily won the WBC title back by knocking him out in the third round. In 1996, Tyson offered Lennox Lewis $13.5 million to fight him, but Lewis turned it down. Instead, he took $4 million from Don King to step aside and let Tyson fight Bruce Seldon for what was expected to be $30 million. Tyron beat Seldon in the first round and now has the WBA belt. Public opinion and the news media were very mean to Seldon for appearing to pass out after Tyson’s harmless punches.
Evans Holyfield tried to challenge Tyson for the WBA title in the fourth fight of his comeback. Holyfield had retired in 1994 after losing his title to Michael Moorer. Don King and other boxers thought he was no longer good enough to fight. “Finally,” the name of Tyson’s title fight with Holyfield, took place in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 9, 1996.
Many commentators thought Holyfield had almost no chance of winning, but he surprised everyone by beating Tyson by TKO in the eleventh round. With this win, Holyfield became the second boxer in history to win the heavyweight title three times. But Tyson’s team said that Holyfield hit him in the head a lot during the fight, even though the referee said it was all accidental. In the rematch, these headbutts would be a point of contention.
✅Post-Title Career
Tyson vs. Holyfield II🥊
Holyfield fought Tyson in a rematch on June 28, 1997, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fight was named “The Sound and the Fury II” because it was so anticipated. It was a fight for the WBA Heavyweight Title. During the third round, Tyson bit Holyfield twice in the ear, which led to his disqualification and the end of the fight. Holyfield’s camp strongly objected to Tyson’s actions, which shocked the boxing world and caused chaos in the ring. The event gained Tyson a lousy reputation and became one of the most famous events in boxing history.
Tyson vs. Lewis🥊
There were a lot of nerves before the much-anticipated fight between Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis on June 8, 2002, in Memphis, Tennessee. Lewis won the fight quickly, showing how good he is at boxing and strategy. Lewis was taller and had more experience than Tyson, so it took a lot of work for Tyson to find his rhythm. In the eighth round, Lewis hit Tyson with a hard right hand that knocked him out. Even though Tyson tried to keep fighting, the referee stopped it and said Lewis won by knockout. The loss was a significant setback for Tyson, and it was the end of an era in heavyweight boxing.
✅Retirement
Tyson quit before the seventh round began in the close fight against Kevin McBride on June 11, 2005. In the 2008 documentary Tyson, he admitted to fighting McBride for a payday, not expecting to win, being in poor shape, and feeling fed up with taking boxing seriously. He had lost three of his last four fights and said he was going to quit boxing because he no longer loved the sport.
In 2000, Tyson fired all of his employees and hired new ones. They made a statement that showed he was $3.3 million in debt at the beginning of the year but made $65.7 million by the end. Tyson admitted to using cocaine and being addicted to it during an arrest in December, which led to his plea deal in August 2007 in an Arizona court for drug possession and driving while impaired. Tyson has a long history of legal problems.Tyson wrote about this in his autobiography Undisputed Truth, which came out in 2013. He said that he had used his ex-wife Monica Turner’s urine to pass doping tests. From 1997 to 2003, he was married to Turner. He did the same thing with his baby’s urine, too.
Personal Life
After three marriages, Mike has had seven children, one of whom has died. Along with his six biological children, he includes the oldest daughter of his second wife. He follows the rules of being sober as a Muslim.
Tyson said that the Mike Tyson’s Legends Only League would start in July 2020. Together with Sophie Watts and her company, Eros Innovations, he formed it to give retired professional athletes the chance to compete in their sport. Legends Only League’s first event was the Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. fight at the Staples Center in November 2020. It was the most popular pay-per-view event of 2020 and one of the ten most popular pay-per-view events of all time.
It was August 2022, and Mike Tyson had a small role in the Telugu-Hindi movie “Liger.”
A male passenger on a Jet Blue flight from San Francisco to Florida was bothering Tyson and throwing water at him. In April 2022, Tyson made headlines when he punched the man several times. His actions did not lead to criminal charges.
A woman who did not want to be named sued Tyson for $5 million in 2023, saying that he raped her after they met at a nightclub in Albany, New York, in the early 1990s.
Career Earnings
Before his fight with Alex Stewart, Mike signed a $27 million deal with HBO for eight fights in 1987. In two minutes and 27 seconds, Tyson beat Alex Stewart. After that, he signed a long-term $120 million deal with Showtime that included several fights, such as Holyfield I and II.
He made at least $430 million from fights and endorsements throughout his career. This amount of money is equal to about $700 million today.
Many people have known for years that promoter Don King took a big chunk of his earnings, at least his pay-per-view earnings. Later, a court case would show that Mike’s deal with King gave the promoter the right to 30% of his earnings.
In Nevada, this was technically against the law. People say that after some unknown extra fees, Don would cut Mike a check for 50% less than the total amount. One example of a fee would be $100,000 per fight to Don King’s wife as a consultant. Plus, Don King’s sons got $50,000 per fight to help with the business. When Mike was at his best, he gave $1,000 a week to the head of the Mike Tyson Fan Club. It turned out that the President was the daughter of Don King.
At other times, creditors like the IRS took money from his paychecks. A case in point is that Tyson got $8 million to fight Danny Williams in 2004. Unfortunately, the IRS seized $6 million of Mike’s earnings, leaving him with only $2 million to show for his work.
FAQ’s
- What is Mike Tyson’s current net worth?
- Mike Tyson’s current net worth is estimated to be around $10 million.
- How did Mike Tyson accumulate his wealth?
- Tyson primarily earned his wealth through his successful boxing career, endorsements, and various business ventures.
- What was Mike Tyson’s peak net worth during his career?
- At the height of his career, Mike Tyson’s net worth reached hundreds of millions, but financial challenges led to a significant decrease.
- What business ventures contributed to Mike Tyson’s net worth?
- Tyson has been involved in various business ventures, including owning a record label, launching clothing lines, and securing endorsements.
- Did legal issues impact Mike Tyson’s finances?
- Yes, legal troubles, including a highly publicized divorce and bankruptcy, significantly affected Tyson’s financial situation.
- How successful was Mike Tyson’s boxing career financially?
- Tyson was one of the highest-paid athletes during his prime, earning massive purses for his fights.
- What is Mike Tyson’s current source of income?
- Tyson’s income stems from various sources, including business ventures, endorsements, and entertainment appearances.
- Has Mike Tyson made a comeback in boxing for financial reasons?
- Yes, Tyson returned to boxing for exhibition matches, contributing to his income.
- How did Tyson’s financial perspective change after his boxing career?
- Tyson faced financial challenges post-retirement but has been involved in diverse ventures to rebuild his wealth.
- Is Mike Tyson’s net worth expected to increase in the future?
- Depending on his ongoing ventures and projects, Tyson’s net worth may experience fluctuations in the future.
Conclusion
Mike Tyson’s net worth has changed over the years because of his successful boxing career, business ventures, legal problems, and personal problems. Tyson has been through tough times financially, but he has shown he is strong and is still looking for ways to get rich again. His reputation as one of the best boxers of all time lives on, and his desire to be successful continues to drive him forward. Tyson is learning how to deal with the complicated parts of fame and money. His story shows how to keep going and find success outside of boxing.