Tyson (2026) s01e03 Episode Script
Trust
[distant cheering]
[commentator]
And we are live in Tokyo, Japan.
[Tyson] At my worst,
I can beat anyone in the world.
Regardless of the performance,
at my worst,
no one in the world can beat me.
[commentator] Twelve rounds of boxing
for the heavyweight championship
of the world.
-[Floyd Russ] Were you intimidated?
-Never. It's go time.
-[bell rings]
-[commentator] We're set to go.
You see Mike Tyson in the black trunks
and Buster Douglas.
That right hand got through.
He's surprised.
I was ripping shots, getting off first.
Wasn't looking around, waiting to get hit.
You know, I was taking it to him.
[commentator] Oh, that right hand
actually caught Mike.
I had some friends over.
I'm watching the first round
out of the corner of my eye,
and I notice Tyson's getting beat.
[commentator] There's the bell,
ending round one.
I got to tell you, folks,
this is exciting.
So I said to my boys,
"I'm done. I have to go over here.
I probably have to write."
I said, "He just lost the first round.
That's his best round."
"So it's only going to get worse."
-[bell rings]
-[crowd cheering]
[commentator] An uppercut got through
that time by Buster.
This fight is supposed to be a walkover.
[video rewinding]
[Fagan] I got to Tokyo
three days before the fight.
And when I go to Mike's room,
Mike is sitting there
with a big bowl of fruit.
But he's slow, man.
"Hey, Ouskie. What's up, Ouskie?"
[trainer] Right there.
Keep hitting. Keep hitting.
[Tyson] I'll be better next time.
[trainer] There you go. Get up.
You all right, Mike?
Mike was dropped in training.
Nobody had done that for a long time.
So I'm concerned.
[commentator] Let's see how it goes.
Round 3.
Mike looks like he's got
the adrenaline going a bit better here.
I wasn't in the greatest shape,
but I thought
I'd be able to beat him still.
I beat better fighters than him
being in less shape.
[commentator] Look at this!
Buster landing some shots.
He got hit with more punches
than he ever got.
[bell dings]
I never thought
it was going to go this way.
[bell dinging]
In the eighth round,
I felt, you know,
like it was going my way.
[commentator] Buster drops
that big right hand,
but Mike takes it on the gloves.
And he backs off Mike again with a left.
I started looking and mugging
instead of letting my hands go
like I did the previous rounds.
[commentator]
Oh, that's a nice uppercut that time!
Then I got caught.
[commentator] It drops Buster Douglas!
It's over. It's over.
"Oh, maybe he pulled it out here."
[commentator]
The count's up to two, and three.
[Douglas] I had a lot of doubters,
you know.
But in that brief moment,
you know, the motivation became even more
because of things that were going on
in my life and leading up to the fight.
Four!
She meant a great deal to me,
and I'm going to miss her…
tremendously.
But, um… you know, it's got to go on.
My mother had passed.
So I had to stay focused
and get my eye on the prize.
[commentator] Up to seven.
-And eight… and here it is at nine.
-Eight. Nine.
[commentator] Is he gonna get up?
Yes, he does! All right.
-[bell ringing]
-And the bell ends the eighth round.
[Tyson] He was so lucky that night.
You figure Mike gonna finish him.
Mike gonna definitely finish him.
[commentator] And now the big question is,
can Buster get it together?
All it takes is one punch.
[commentator] Well, here we go
with round number nine.
Come on, Buster's throwing shots back!
He was being Mike.
You know, fighting his fight.
It was just that
I was being Buster Douglas.
[commentator] Buster fights back strongly,
landing some big shots.
I'm sitting there watching this, like,
"This is not… This is not Mike Tyson."
"It's not what Mike's capable of."
You are watching
the dismantling of a legend.
[commentator]
Tonight, Buster's got the heart back.
[bell dings]
I went to Japan to do a concert
at Tokyo Dome.
[rapping indistinctly]
[Brown] The night before the fight,
Mike showed up to the concert
and we partied after the concert.
That night was full of drugs
and full of women.
[electronic music playing]
We just got out of hand.
His fight was the next day.
I believe we were up all night.
He didn't feel
like he could be harmed at the time.
[bell dings]
[commentator] Oh, a right hand landed
as the referee was breaking them.
Oh, nice uppercut!
Oh, the uppercut. What an uppercut!
Look at this!
[crowd cheering]
[commentator] He's got Mike Tyson down
for the first time in his career!
[somber music playing]
[Tyson] I'm Mike Tyson.
Everybody likes me.
Four!
Five!
[King] Long live the heavyweight champion.
I can't be beat. I refuse to lose.
Six!
[Givens] Pure hell. Worse than anything
I could possibly imagine.
[referee] Six! Seven!
-Eight! Nine!
-[commentator] He's… It's over.
-It's over!
-[man] Mike Tyson has been knocked out.
-[bell dinging]
-[commentator] Unbelievable.
[commentator 2] Buster Douglas is the new
heavyweight champion of the world.
That was heartbreaking.
You know, it's insane.
He whooped the shit
out of somebody who was unbeatable.
The biggest upset
in the history of fighting.
[commentator] One of the biggest upsets
in the history of boxing.
[dramatic music playing]
[announcer] Winner by way of knockout,
and new heavyweight champion of the world,
James "Buster" Douglas!
[Douglas] You know,
truly a dream come true.
And it was, like,
people literally telling you…
it's impossible.
Talk to me, baby.
How do you like me now?
As you seen over there,
he was flat on his ass.
[commentator] What a scene here in Tokyo.
Who would have believed this?
[Fagan] You can't tell him,
"I told you so."
But I felt like
he shouldn't have had this fight.
-[Floyd Russ] Why did you lose that fight?
-Because he kicked my ass, that's why.
After many years of being conditioned
and conditioned and conditioned,
you'd think you are invincible.
And what life will teach you
is you're absolutely not.
That was a bad performance,
but I'm not gonna make excuses.
I'm just gonna continue to go on
and make better results.
The world made it
like it was a catastrophe.
Turns out Mike Tyson
had a turmoil in Tokyo.
Mike Tyson knocked flat
as a pancake last night.
I think we're both just speechless.
But what are you gonna do after you lose?
That's the difference between a champion
and an ordinary fighter.
[operatic music building]
[music fades]
-[woman] Still the champ, Mike!
-[man 1] All right, Mike!
[man 2] Michael!
[man 3] Really proud!
[Fagan] After Mike lost the fight,
he went straight back to the Catskills
and just shut himself in.
He might've only came out for the pigeons.
He didn't go out that house
for nothing else.
It was good for me
to start back at square one.
I just needed to, um, regroup
and get back to discipline and training.
[somber music playing]
[Tyson] This is what I learned
from Cus D'Amato.
Human beings are not made to be humble.
They're made to be humbled.
They're born to be humbled.
That's what he told me.
[Holloway] During that time,
Mike was really motivated
to get all his hardware back.
And Buster Douglas has
a fight against Holyfield.
In one punch, he gets knocked out.
[commentator] What a shot
by Evander Holyfield!
So now Holyfield became
the new man on the block,
the new target.
[audience clapping]
Tyson is a fighter's fighter.
He's truly a tried and tested gladiator.
The best fighter I've ever seen.
And Tyson will knock out
Evander Holyfield.
It was building up to be the biggest fight
in the history of the sport.
[reporter] Tyson-Holyfield,
a $100-million event,
a pay-per-view bonanza.
And mentally,
Mike is right where you want him.
[tense music building]
And then the accusation
caught Mike out of nowhere.
[Tyson] I remember like it was yesterday
when I heard it.
We were in the car
driving around New York City,
and somebody called Ouie.
[line ringing]
Don King calls me, and he's like,
"Yo, Ouie, um, where Mike at?"
I said, "He's with me, right here."
He said, "They said
he raped somebody in Indiana."
So I say, "He raped somebody?
Mike ain't rape no-fuckin'-body."
[tense music playing]
[line ringing]
It's six o'clock in the morning,
I hear my phone ring.
I answer the phone. It's Mike.
He's like,
"I made this girl pissed off at me."
[Tyson] I met this young lady.
She came over. We had sex. I came.
She wanted me to walk her downstairs.
I didn't want to walk her downstairs.
So she was mad.
I'm like, "Mike, this is the one rule
we always talk about."
"Always walk 'em out."
"Make sure somebody sees you
kiss 'em on the cheek."
"Because if there ever comes a problem,
you have somebody
who can cast some type of suspicion."
It didn't happen.
I usually was with him 24-7.
I tried to keep him out of any situation
where they can say, "Mike did this to me,"
or "Mike did that to me." No.
If he had a suite,
I would be in the living room,
they'd be in the bedroom.
I would not leave.
But this time, I couldn't go
because it was the week of my wedding.
And lo and behold, what happened?
[reporter]
Mike Tyson stands indicted tonight
on charges of raping
a beauty pageant contestant
early this summer in Indianapolis.
You know, I trust Mike. It's nothing.
And then you realize this thing
is more serious than we first thought.
Do you think Tyson fully realizes
the seriousness of this,
that he could well be behind bars?
Possible knockout punch,
a 63-year jail sentence.
You know, it was like a punch
in the gut to everybody.
[reporter] Mr. King,
any comment you can make to us?
-Yeah, the man's innocent.
-[reporter] How do you know that?
He's innocent. He said he was.
It's the best evidence in the world.
And then this happens.
The heavyweight championship of the world
between Mike Tyson
and reigning champion Evander Holyfield
has been postponed.
Man, I was sickly worried.
Well, this is something
that needs our attention.
[James Voyles]
I was selected to be local counsel
by Vince Fuller
from the Williams & Connolly group,
who were the lawyers
primarily involved in the case.
Vince Fuller was a corporate attorney
who had represented Don King
in some civil lawsuits.
We see Fuller. I'm like,
"Mike, this dude is a fucking tax lawyer."
"What's he going to do for you?"
[Tyson] Don handled
a lot of the situation.
And at that time,
I trusted him with everything.
Vince came from a firm
that had a great reputation.
But as local counsel,
I know the court system,
I know the people in the system.
And so I may get
a different vibe than Vince does.
The actual charges, he had four.
Confinement,
sexual deviate conduct, two charges there,
and then you got a charge of rape.
I mean, those are difficult charges.
I'm confident that I'm innocent.
I'll prove that I'm innocent.
But when you have a person
who believes in their innocence
and feels it deep down
as part of their soul
that they didn't do anything wrong,
yeah, we're in for a fight.
[Matthews]
I covered every minute of that trial.
Tyson's accuser was
an 18-year-old pageant entrant
named Desiree Washington.
Hello, I'm Desiree Washington,
and I'm contestant number eight.
The strategy was like any other strategy
in a rape case.
This was consensual sex.
Desiree and Mike, they had met
casually at the Black Expo.
[announcer]
Welcome to the Indiana Black Expo
in Indianapolis, Indiana.
This is Fresh Prince,
recording live from the Black Expo.
[announcer] We the people!
Mike going to the Black Expo
was Mike being spontaneous.
It was like a Black excellence event.
They asked me to come, and we had fun.
There was a women's pageant,
and he wanted to go.
[upbeat dance music playing]
Oh, I'm in a dream day after day.
That's when I met Desiree Washington.
I thought she was a score.
I thought she was a score, yeah.
-[man] Now play with 'em a little.
-Yeah, definitely, that sounds better.
But I did not cross the line.
That didn't happen.
[chanting] Free Mike Tyson!
Outside the courtroom,
there was always a mob of people.
[reporter]
A circus atmosphere surrounds the trial,
with scalpers getting
as much as $100 a ticket
for courtroom seats.
We're surrounded by not only the press,
but spectators.
You can't compare this
to any kind of normal case
that I've been involved in.
[reporter 2] The main players
in this courtroom drama
arrived under varying circumstances.
The defendant, Mike Tyson,
under a barrage of cheers.
The alleged victim
under a cloak of secrecy.
Can you give us a preview
of what you'll tell the jury this morning?
The truth, and it's going to be enough.
Always is.
[Voyles] In many rape cases,
you have a situation,
it's he said, she said.
And between her testimony
and his testimony,
somebody had to make a decision
whether he was consensual or not.
It was a polarizing issue. It really was.
Desiree did not speak to the media at all,
except for one exclusive interview
with Barbara Walters.
He came up to me and hugged me,
and said, "Would you like
to go out on a date with me?"
I couldn't believe it.
I spoke with her earlier that day.
I asked her to come visit me.
Called her late at night,
two, three o'clock in the morning.
[Desiree Washington]
He said, "Can you come out?"
And I was shocked.
I said, "At this time? And do what?"
And so I went down to the limo
and, um, got in,
and the next thing I knew,
I was at the Canterbury Hotel.
We came in together. She came to my room.
[Washington] I had no intention
of doing anything with him,
and I didn't think that he had
any intention of doing anything with me.
It's just bullshit.
Why did she come at 3:00 in the morning?
You know, it's just…
[Washington] And then
he completely changed.
I had no control of anything.
All I could do was beg and cry.
[tense music building]
[Tyson] No. No, that's not true.
I believe it was consensual.
I hit him. It was like hitting a wall.
When he was raping me,
I did everything that I could,
and nothing worked.
How do you know what's real there?
You have to make a judgment.
This young lady was a very,
very powerful person in front of the jury.
She commanded the courtroom better
than any victim of a violent crime
that I think I've ever seen.
During the trial, I was in Indiana
every day, by Mike's side.
Mike had a nervous energy.
I mean, they're making Mike
seem like this monster.
I didn't think it was a good idea
for Mike to testify.
He's a guy who came from the streets,
who's pretty direct.
But Vince disagreed.
They called his defense lawyer's tactic
"the creep defense,"
which basically meant, "You know
what you're getting into with Mike Tyson."
It's like,
"You know my client's a murderer,
so don't complain that you got murdered."
Which was kind of a curious defense.
[Tyson] At that time,
I was a bad guy in the press.
They gave me a name,
something they called me.
"Serial butt fondler" or some shit
they called me.
And I… "Fuck, yeah, okay."
I didn't attack nobody,
strip their clothes off,
or rape them or anything.
[reporter] Miss Black America contestant
Tonya Traylor testified
Tyson was openly groping
and propositioning contestants.
[Tonya Traylor] I attended the Black Expo
as part of the Miss Black America pageant,
and I was representing Florida.
The Expo was exciting
because we didn't know
what celebrities were showing up.
And we definitely were not told
Mike Tyson would be attending.
I remember we were dancing,
and when he came in, he was very blunt.
You could hear him.
You know, like, "Yo, you want to go out?
Sex or a kiss? Work? No? Okay."
"Yo, you want to go out?"
-[Floyd Russ] He'd just go down the line?
-Yes, just going through people.
He's a straightforward kind of guy,
so if he had an interest in sex,
sometimes he would say
what was on his mind.
You and I might be a little more subtle
than that, but he wasn't that way.
The lines were direct and rude.
It was just, "Okay, you know what he's on.
Stay your distance."
But Desiree, she was young and naive.
[reporter] …you went to a guy's room
at two o'clock in the morning?
I wouldn't go to a guy's room
at two o'clock in the morning.
[woman] Especially Mike Tyson.
-[Floyd Russ] Did she ever say no?
-No, she never said no.
[Floyd Russ] You know
when you cross the line and you don't?
-Do you?
-Well, I didn't cross the line.
Mike had a lot going on internally,
but expected…
The guys to hit the punches were us.
So now you've got to cross-examine her
with inconsistencies.
And so we questioned.
"Desiree, what were you doing up there
at two in the morning?"
-Do you think it was bad judgment?
-I just wasn't thinking.
When you're in the room,
do you agree to get on top?
Do you ask about protection?
These are things that are inconsistent
with you being taken advantage of.
The other interesting thing was
that when she got there,
she had a pad on.
She went to the bathroom,
she removed her pad, and we had sex.
She either wanted a relationship
with him or wanted money,
and he said no, and he left.
Honestly, she knew what she was doing.
It's only the public, buddy.
All they want is the publicity.
[Voyles] When women say,
"I did this at two in the morning,"
people say,
"What were you doing up there?"
She raped herself!
-She went in a room--
-[man] Shame on you!
…he wanted sex.
[man] Shame on you for blaming the victim.
Is she a victim?
He's a victim too. Look at that.
You're victimizing him
just like she was a victim.
He's being raped right now.
[chanting] Lawyers and King,
do the right thing.
We don't want the victim
to become the defendant.
She was a victim.
Do you wanna tell people why
you wanted to do this interview?
Believe me or not,
but if you don't believe me,
this is gonna happen to someone else.
[man] I was emergency physician
at Methodist Emergency Medicine
and Trauma Center.
Desiree Washington came in the ER.
Uh, she presented to triage,
stating that she had been
a victim of sexual assault.
She had some evidence
of almost what looked
like an abrasion on her labia,
making the likelihood of it being
nonconsensual sex much higher.
Well, in that case,
let's look for any kind of bruising
that would be consistent with somebody,
the strongest, fastest man in the world,
holding her down
or taking advantage of her.
I don't recall seeing
any other bruises or injury on Desiree.
There weren't any.
Ultimately, the only two people that know
are the two people in the room.
[crowd chattering]
[Holloway] It was hard for me
to see him in that position,
but Don was doing everything he could,
possibly humanly possible, to help Mike.
He was trying to win the public's appeal
because of the environment that we was in.
[crowd chanting] No means no!
Ain't nothing but white men
out there talking about… Y'all got nerve.
[Matthews] We're in Indianapolis,
which apparently was
one of the birthplaces of the KKK.
So it's not a place
known for a lot of racial tolerance.
-I think he's guilty.
-[reporter] Why?
He looks the type to be guilty to me.
I didn't ever think he had a chance
because of the racism in Indiana.
Racism perpetuates itself.
It don't need a co-signer.
It don't need nobody
to give it any support.
Don King trotted out the usual,
"Miscarriage of justice."
"What do you expect in America?"
These things are not untrue
that he's saying,
but you could've written the script.
You could write out exactly
what he's going to say.
[King] Let's fight through demonstration.
[Holloway] Don gonna do anything
for his fighters.
Let's fight by removing the evil forces
that continue to subdue us.
Don even met with the Ku Klux Klan,
trying to help Mike's situation.
All we want is a level playing field
with due process,
uh, so that justice can prevail.
[reporter] Feel confident about the case?
Feel good about the case. Yeah.
[Voyles] Clients are always hopeful.
They always feel
that, with good representation,
they're gonna prevail.
[Tyson] I knew I was innocent.
[man] Mike!
And I was very confident I was gonna win.
He's innocent until proven guilty.
[chanting] Free Mike Tyson!
[news anchor 1] This just in.
Jurors in the Mike Tyson rape trial
have reached a verdict.
[news anchor 2] Eric Shawn
is standing by live in Indianapolis
with the verdict on Mike Tyson.
[news anchor 3]
After two weeks of testimony,
the jury in the rape trial
of Mike Tyson has spoken.
[reporter] Mike Tyson was found…
guilty of rape.
[reporter 2] Tyson was convicted of rape
and criminal deviate conduct.
[reporter 3] Jury found Tyson guilty.
-Tyson found guilty of rape.
-[reporter] Convicted rapist.
[Floyd Russ] How did the verdict hit you?
This is a really, really down point
in my life.
You know, I don't want
to fucking talk about it.
You're not talking fast enough
to make this over.
[menacing music playing]
[reporter] Judge Gifford sentenced Tyson
to six years in prison and a $30,000 fine.
It is believed to be
the most severe conviction ever
in the history of sport.
[Pitts] I was devastated.
"They gave this man six years?"
You know, your stomach dropped
when you got to leave Indiana
without your boy.
I just couldn't believe it.
I was like, "How?"
His life seemed like it was over.
It really did.
I didn't want to believe it,
but I saw it coming.
Vince put him in a position
where he was an untenable kind of guy
because he was a creepy guy.
And we're in a rural state,
and we have a rural community around us.
Mike didn't have the kind of background
that the jury could relate to.
I think Mike… shouldn't have testified.
I'm not sure
that he did a bad job in testifying.
But one thing with Mike,
he's very truthful.
And I think the truth hurt him…
in this case.
That ain't no fair trial.
They railroaded Mike Tyson.
[protestors shouting indistinctly]
[Floyd Russ] Why do you think
they convicted you?
[Tyson] Listen,
if they really believed I raped her,
they'd have gave me
close to 60, if not more.
I would still be in there.
[Floyd Russ] Do you think
they made a symbol of you?
Absolutely, that was a political move.
[Floyd Russ] Is there anything you think
could've changed the outcome?
Well, what we had
that we didn't get to put in evidence
was that two to three days
into the trial, we got a call.
These three women had seen Mike
in the limo with Desiree.
The car was parked about…
right here.
And they were hugging and kissing.
At 1:30 in the morning outside this hotel.
[interviewer] More importantly,
did you see her kiss him?
They were kissing each other.
But Judge Gifford thought that
that evidence should've been presented
in advance of the trial.
But it didn't come to our attention
until almost two to three days
into the trial.
It was devastating
not to be able to use that
in the courtroom at that time.
But as far as him committing the rape,
I can't say whether he did it or not.
You understand? Because I was not there.
[somber music playing]
[man] Mike Tyson!
Hey, Mike!
[woman] Mike, what would you like
the fans to know?
Is there anything you can tell
your supporters, Mike?
You gonna fight again?
[Tyson] I did nothing to deserve that.
I was just really angry back then.
I was pretty angry back then.
If you want to follow me and judge me,
do that from a distance.
[Milhouse] I was concerned.
Not "Will it ruin his career?"
About him, the human.
What will happen now?
[scoffs]
It hurt me, man.
[tuts, exhales]
Just to know his life had changed,
like, from that…
And now he's back
where he's not supposed to be,
where we never thought
he would go back to.
But I know prison life,
and anything can happen.
[Tyson] It's interesting.
It's really interesting to be
in a place where there's…
where nobody cares about you.
It's quiet.
You hear people screaming sometimes.
Everybody in there is capable
of killing you.
Even the weakest, the smallest guy.
They're all capable of killing you.
So you start
just from that perspective right there.
I just was afraid
because he was in the Midwest.
And in the Midwest, you had a lot
of the Aryan Nations and all of that.
So I was like, "Just be you.
Don't get crazy, man."
[David "Farid" Barnes]
I was already at IYC for two years
before Mike got there.
We ended up being roommates
and developed a bond as brothers.
[Tyson] Well, I met Farid in Indiana,
in the prison system.
Beautiful person.
And a moral compass, um,
big as this house.
Just a really beautiful person.
There were a few people
who probably wanted to challenge Mike.
But Mike, he was blessed
to have people around him, like myself,
who would remind him, "Bro, look,
if that guy says something to you,
just ignore him.
He's gonna be in here forever."
He kept me out of trouble, yeah.
Because I am attracted to trouble.
[Barnes] A person like Mike,
who's been living his life,
doing whatever he wants to do, you know,
living a five-star type of life,
and then to be dropped immediately
right into Indiana Youth Center
and being told when he can eat
and when he can sleep.
It was a big change for him.
Took me a minute. Took me a minute.
First six, seven months.
Because I was mad that I was in prison.
Sometime after Mike had been incarcerated,
a letter arrived at my house.
There was a paragraph on page three,
and it said, "Mr. Gray, I will never admit
to something I didn't do."
Next paragraph. "However…"
[Tyson] There's a lot of other things,
that I was crazy and doing,
I should have been in prison for
back then. But for that, please.
I've asked him
what those other things were,
and he just said,
"What I wrote you was true."
[Barnes] What we had to inform him is,
this is not a normal environment.
And once you start accepting
this environment as normal,
then you yourself become abnormal.
So understand that you have to create
your own system within this system.
And he took advantage
of his situation, basically.
[man] Salami, prosciutto, a lot of cheese.
Come on. What else?
[Barnes] Have you ever seen
that movie, um, The GoodFellas?
They were in prison,
and they were doing all this stuff.
That's kind of what--
We were living like that.
Eating lobster, eating Chinese fried rice,
or, you know, barbecue chicken.
These were things
that were being brought in to us.
I lived pretty good.
You wouldn't think I'm in prison, no.
[man] Officials admit they're
making it easier for the ex-champ
with his own visiting room.
Mike had visitors from Florence Henderson…
Mike!
[Barnes] …to Louis Farrakhan,
and everybody in between.
A lot of people came.
Maya Angelou, Jesse Jackson.
Tupac came to see me, yeah.
Came to see my sorry butt.
[TV host] Please welcome Tupac Shakur!
["I Get Around" playing]
All respect to those
who break their neck to keep… ♪
[Barnes] Tupac looked at Mike
like a big brother.
Mike Tyson was the only person
I can remember being a millionaire,
just being like a real brother.
And that was our hero,
and I want to be like that.
The only Black person I know
that made it to that millionaire status
and treated rappers
with some kind of dignity.
You don't think
God can make somebody like that.
Just some little Black kid
from the ghetto who don't give a fuck.
[Tupac] "Thug life," I mean that shit.
'Cause these white folks see us as thugs.
I don't care what y'all think.
[Tyson] So he came in the visiting room,
and people started losing it.
-[Floyd Russ] Cheering him on?
-[laughs]
Yeah.
Tupac literally jumped on the table
in the visiting room
and was talking about,
"We gotta stay strong, Mike!
We can't let 'em bring us down."
He got souped up. We tell him to get down.
Like, "Yo, man, get off the table, man.
Get off the fucking table."
"We're in prison, man! You can't do that."
They were gonna kick him out.
I'm surprised they didn't bum-rush him.
Beautiful person.
We never really understood the loss
of Tupac until probably ten years later.
It was a big loss.
For some reason, God decided
to make this a great part of my life,
a big part of my life,
for me to be able to deal with.
Murder, dying friends.
I learned a lot about myself in prison.
I learned that I deserve being loved.
-[Floyd Russ] You learned that in prison?
-Yeah.
[Floyd Russ] That's an oxymoron, isn't it?
[scoffs wryly] That's what…
That's what I am.
[chuckles] That's what I am.
I'm a big believer everybody gets what
they deserve to make them who they are.
So I looked at my life
from that perspective.
[somber music playing]
[Barnes] After two years
of being in prison,
they came at Mike and said,
"If you plead guilty,
we'll reduce your sentence,
and you can come home early."
[woman] Mike Tyson!
[man] Mike,
did you rape Desiree Washington?
[dramatic music playing]
Mike's like, "Why would I agree
to something I didn't do?"
"Hey, I'm a fighter. I'm fighting this."
I'm not trying to be a hero from that.
By no means.
It just wasn't true.
It's as simple as that.
I'm not dead. As long as I'm breathing,
my brain is functioning,
my heart is functioning,
I'll prevail.
Sometimes, we have
to just relieve ourselves
of all our weight
and just observe and learn and listen.
[Barnes] He went through a growth.
I introduced him to Islam
for the most part in prison.
We need religion to function.
We have to look at ourselves
bigger than what we are,
and that's what religion does.
[Barnes] And we used to do
a lot of reading.
I read so many books,
I can't even read anymore.
I hurt my head reading so much.
I almost went blind.
You remember that movie,
The Count of Monte Cristo?
There's been a mistake.
[Tyson] He was in love with this woman,
I think she was a countess or something,
and the person
that he was competing with for her
did some skulduggery stuff,
set him up as a killer
or robber or something,
and had him put in jail.
And I believe that happened to me,
so I looked at my life
from that perspective.
What is my crime?
It's really about revenge too.
Being wrongly convicted about something,
then getting revenge.
No angel, no demon
could keep me from my revenge.
[gun fires]
[Floyd Russ]
How did you plot your revenge?
Well, to be the richest fighter
in the world once I get out.
To be champion again.
You want to get the best revenge?
The most success you can get,
that's what I believe is the best revenge.
[Barnes] One thing about Mike,
when he's focused, he is focused.
He'd wake me up, and he'd say,
"I need to do some sit-ups.
Hold my ankles."
So I would hold his ankles
while he's doing 500 sit-ups.
He would do so many sit-ups
that his butt would
actually start bleeding,
from… on that hard floor in your cell.
Sometimes, he'd wake me,
"I'm ready to run."
I said, "Okay, brother."
And I'd just go back to sleep.
Lot of time running in the cell,
running in place, doing exercise.
[Barnes] And then when I wake up,
the whole room was sweaty.
I went into it at 270-something
and came out 215.
I mean, I seen him go
from being this overweight guy
to chiseled down to, like, an Adonis.
How have you adjusted to losing power?
I've never lost my power.
My power was always in me.
My greatest asset is me.
When Mike Tyson was in prison,
boxing's heavyweight division had a void.
There weren't as many good fights.
-[crowd cheering]
-[commentator] Look at Holyfield!
[Tompkins] Here was Evander Holyfield,
and here was Lennox Lewis,
and they were starting to rise,
but still the cash cow
for both of those guys was Mike Tyson.
He was the guy everybody wanted a piece of
because you weren't really gonna be
the champion unless you got by him.
He was still the biggest name out there,
in and out of the ring.
And Don was setting things up.
He did it while Mike was still in prison.
Mike Tyson is getting paid millions
for his return to the ring.
[Holloway] Don came up with a structure
between Showtime and MGM together
that would guarantee Mike
like $73 million as a signing bonus,
and for like 15 fights.
Over 30, 35 million a fight.
It was for $395 million
all together, period.
Listen, no one had ever done that
in the history of mankind.
Not sports, in the history of mankind.
When you go to prison, on your way out,
take this 73 million
and we got 400 million waiting for you.
It's just never been done.
There was a huge expectation of,
"What would he be able to do
when he got out of prison?"
It just speaks to the celebrity culture
that everybody was wrapped around.
And that culture was
that they were willing
to overlook this conviction
because of the talent and the excitement
that he brought to the sport.
Like, people was waiting for him
to serve his time and get out.
[helicopter blades whirring]
[Barnes] Don and them are all there,
and they were trying to talk
about doing this big fanfare
when Mike come out.
And they's like,
"So Brother Farid, what do you think?"
And I said,
"What you guys are talking about,
Mike doesn't want all that."
[crowd cheering]
[Barnes] All he's wanting to do
is go home.
When I came outside, there was
just a mass of people and press.
The helicopters from the news reports.
I didn't want to leave.
I was scared.
For a moment there,
I was institutionalized.
For a moment, they got me.
[reporter] Tyson arrived
at his Ohio estate near Cleveland
not too long after his release
from an Indiana detention center.
[reporter 2] The frenzy
with Tyson's release
hasn't gone unnoticed in his hometown.
[horn honks]
We staked him out there for a few days.
I was there three or four days,
just waiting to see him come out.
Like waiting for the Pope
to come out on the balcony.
That's what it was like.
[Barnes] I could tell
he wasn't feeling none of this.
He just wanted to be left alone.
[man] We're ready to see
the champ come home, man.
He's back in Ohio,
the place where he belongs.
[Lathan] Right now,
people can still remember
somebody that was so dominant
and so captivating.
But after prison,
Mike was very protective of himself now.
[Tyson] Coming from a place,
I was comfortable
for three and a half to three years.
Now, I'm coming out
to this psycho madhouse again
where no one gives a damn about you.
You know, at least in prison,
you know somebody has your back.
Isn't that something?
Then you come out in the world,
no one has your back.
[chuckling] It's a trip, right?
Now you think about things.
Being incarcerated allowed him
to really evaluate his self and his life
and what he needs to do with his life,
and he wanted to slow down now.
Mike came home, and he figured
now he gotta change his ways,
and he got a good woman
and he gonna do it.
[Tyson] I met Monica Turner.
She was a doctor.
Yes, a children's doctor.
They end up getting married.
[Tyson] I wanted
to be married to somebody.
I wanted to really try
and make this stuff work.
I thought
I could really make this stuff work.
When Mike first got out,
I was really stalling.
I wanted him to just get
his self together, just mentally.
But Don had other plans.
We are launching the Tyson meteorite today
and announcing the fight
between Mike Tyson
and Hurricane Peter McNeeley.
[TV narrator] You've waited four years
for this.
The fighter of the decade.
The boxing event of the year.
On August 19th, guess who's back.
[Holloway] Mike, we understand
that he needs time.
We can't put him in there
with a real seasoned guy.
At the same time, somebody's paying you
tens of millions of dollars.
You know what I mean?
So now everything has to be right.
You got this white kid.
He talk a lot of crap.
You know, bravado.
I'm Hurricane Peter McNeeley
from Medfield, Mass.
On Saturday night,
watch me kick Tyson's ass.
It was a business decision.
Talk to 'em, Peter.
He gonna help you promote the fight.
I didn't take him seriously at all,
but it was a big fight.
[King] Question.
[reporter] If Desiree Washington
were here, would you have a message to her
who's now suffering through rape
and watching you earn millions?
[laughing wryly] Just enjoy the fight.
[crowd laughs]
[King] Enjoy the fight.
[Floyd Russ]
What would you say to Desiree now?
I don't know.
Whatever bad she tried to do, she lost.
You know, listen.
She didn't even get any money.
What did she get?
A million and a half bucks?
I came out of prison
with 400 million bucks.
So I don't know. You tell me.
I'm invincible.
Nothing can hurt me. Nothing can stop me.
That's what I believe.
He talked the shit he talked,
but it bothered him.
[woman] Mike Tyson is a convicted rapist,
and we don't think that lionizing a man
with his history of violence against women
is the way to end violence.
[Fagan] We'd have to walk
through these places,
and women is yelling,
"You rapist, you're this and that"
in front of the MGM.
I'm like, "Whoa!" Like, "Jeez."
The media was rough on Mike,
but it just made Mike harder.
They're rough on me, and I'm president.
Mike Tyson!
[Tyson] My mission was
like I had to be the preacher,
preaching to everybody
about their rights and their wrongs.
No, I don't take that responsibility.
[announcer] And the former
heavyweight champion of the world.
[Milhouse] I don't believe that
half the world wanted him to come out
and restore his self and his career.
I believe they thought that would be
the very end of the Mike Tyson era,
and it was really just the beginning.
[crowd cheering]
[Barnes] It was a big deal.
It was a big deal for me,
because I had never experienced
that before.
[announcer] You are now part
of the largest audience
to ever view a boxing event.
The turnout and the response was insane.
Okay, everybody was there.
[announcer] It's showtime!
[Milhouse] I think from the beginning
to the end, nobody sat down
because we were so excited
that he was back.
I started getting goosebumps
watching him come down to the ring.
[announcer] All right, gentlemen,
let's get it on!
I wanted to be champion of the world.
Nothing stopped me
from getting it back again.
[commentator] Here we go.
And McNeeley, as advertised,
comes right at Mike Tyson.
Down goes McNeeley!
[Tyson] I knew
it was gonna be an easy fight.
[commentator]
Mike Tyson going to the uppercut.
Tyson with a left hook, a right,
and down goes McNeeley again!
[commentator 2] He's very hurt.
He can barely stand up.
[commentator 1] That's it, he quit.
McNeeley has quit.
His corner threw in the towel.
[commentator 2] And that is it.
Just like that, it's over.
[triumphant music playing]
That shit was over so quick,
we wouldn't have to call that a fight.
He was back.
The train was back up and rolling.
It turned out to be one of the biggest
pay-per-view events in history.
[interviewer] Mike, your thoughts
on your return to the ring,
as short as it was?
I was just happy to be in there.
That was awesome,
having all that attention.
I missed that.
Mike's return to boxing…
was definitely a validation
that, A, he belonged…
[commentator] Another right uppercut,
and down goes Mathis!
…and B, redemption.
[bell rings]
[Patti] You can hit Mike,
you can knock him down,
you can say bad things about him,
you can take away his freedom,
but guess what?
"I'm still here."
And more than anything,
Mike wanted to be champion again.
I'm looking forward
to fighting for the title.
I'm willing to fight any man.
I'm not afraid of anyone.
I'm the best fighter in the world,
and I'd like to say "I love Mikey."
[interviewer] All right, Mike.
[Miki] You know, it's funny.
When you think of your parents,
do you ever still see them in your head
like how you did when you were younger?
Even now, when I think of them,
I always think of them
how they were when I was little.
I still imagine my dad with gold teeth.
I hated them.
I thought he would never take them out.
I grew up in Harlem.
The first few years of my life,
my dad was incarcerated.
I think I met him in prison.
[Tyson] I met her mother
before I came to prison.
She told me she was pregnant.
I guess I was kind of happy.
When I was a young kid,
I guess I wanted to…
I was looking for sex.
I don't know what I was looking for.
[Miki] Even though I always felt
like my father loved me,
the enormity of Mike Tyson in the '90s
was just so massive.
It was actually kind of intimidating.
There was no real security.
People were just really… inconsiderate
of your privacy.
[Tyson] I didn't have much
of a relationship back then with my kids.
I was too self-centered.
If I'm around a million people,
I can handle that.
My wife and my kids,
they freak the fuck out.
I'm like, "What is wrong with you?"
I used to love that. I bathed in that.
He was not a person
that could be a family person.
It was always about the next fight.
[Tyson] I wanted
to so-called "conquer the world."
How can you do that with a family?
[Holloway] I remember Don coming to us,
putting the Frank Bruno fight
on the table.
[announcer] New WBC
heavyweight champion of the world…
[commentator] Bruno is the champion!
[announcer] …Frank Bruno!
[Holloway] That was huge, 'cause he got
the heavyweight championship belt.
You know, so this is a chance
for Mike to get all his hardware back.
You know when Mike is coming.
Like, you can see the focus.
[Tyson] Only thing I wanted to do
was be the greatest fighter of all time.
I wanted that title,
"the greatest fighter of all time."
[reporter] The former champ
will take on Frank Bruno
for the WBC heavyweight title
on March 16th.
[reporter 2] 247 pounds.
Mike was very, very hungry
when he come out of prison.
So I knew he would be getting
a chance at the world championship.
I didn't know it was gonna be against me.
[King] I give you Mike Tyson!
[reporter] So much attention
around superstar Mike Tyson
that it sometimes seems
as if the champion,
Frank Bruno, is the challenger.
I'm going to win.
I'm going to knock him out,
right into Don King.
Hey, lads, only in America. [laughs]
Only in America, boy. [laughs]
[imitates Don King laughing]
That's Don King for you.
I was a little nervous
because he had beat Oliver McCall,
and McCall was tough.
[bell ringing]
[Tyson] But I had to come back.
It was my revenge, to be champion again.
[dramatic music playing]
It was war when you went in there.
[bell rings]
Came out like a bull in a china shop.
Very vicious.
[Tyson] Boom, boom, boom, boom.
[laughs]
Tyson had a lot of combinations.
Left hook and right hook,
and all different styles he was doing.
It was tough
because he was holding me a lot.
[Bruno] If someone's hurting you,
to stop him from hurting you,
you hold him as much as you can.
Hey, listen, I don't get frustrated.
[commentator] A left hook
flush on the face of Frank Bruno.
I knew that Frank
couldn't go the distance with Mike.
Mike was ferocious.
[commentator] You're gonna have
to work very hard on that to stop that.
When I want something, I get it.
-That's just who I am.
-[bell rings]
[commentator] Three,
4, 5-punch combination.
[Tyson] This was a great moment.
I was really bitter after prison.
[commentator] Down goes Bruno
into the ropes.
It is all over here in round three.
Mike Tyson is champion again.
[commentator 2] Mike Tyson is back.
The Tyson era has begun.
This is somewhat like revenge.
[Floyd Russ] Redemption?
No, revenge.
[Bruno] It was a good fight,
but he was dangerous.
The better man won.
That fight said to me
can't nobody beat Mike.
Yeah, Team Tyson's back.
[crowd cheering]
Full circle. We're right back
to where we left.
[Tyson] When you think about
the difference between '86 and '96,
guess I'm two different people.
Even though I won the title,
I was lighter the first time.
I mean, how does it feel
to be wearing this belt?
It's the moment I waited for all my life.
Everything was pure,
and everything was youthful.
You know, this was the dark side of me.
After the fight,
Mike kind of just went right back
into the way he was living
before he came to prison.
[hip-hop music playing]
[Barnes] Driving nice cars.
Walking around in his Versace underwear,
trying on clothes.
I just wanted to do what I wanted to do.
This was Mike Tyson's town at one time.
Listen, I could do
whatever I wanted here, yeah.
I was making money for everybody.
I was spending money.
I was a big commodity here in the '90s.
The euphoric feeling of shopping
is what he was looking for.
You know, spending money hand over fist.
[Tyson] It's really a glutton mentality.
That's what you feel.
You're the champion.
You can have whatever you want.
[news anchor] Tyson did take time out
to purchase an exotic white tiger.
I had four of them.
[Barnes] Kenya was his favorite.
She was the number one.
Also, like, she slept with me.
There were times I'd see her go at Mike,
and I'm like, "She's gonna hurt Mike."
[Tyson] That cat should've killed me.
There goes 100 million
if this tiger hits him. Know what I mean?
A human being and a cat
shouldn't have a relationship like that.
[Floyd Russ] Do you feel
like you were fulfilled?
No.
Revenge wasn't what I thought it would be.
I thought it'd be like saying, "Ha-ha.
You isn't it." And it wasn't! [laughs]
[Milhouse] Mike being
rough around the edges
worked well in the narrative
that Don King created.
The circus, if you will.
He was the ringmaster,
and this was part of the show.
[Holloway] Don really wanted Mike
to get back in the ring.
That's the money. But Mike,
in his mind, "I just want to rest."
But once you take the money,
you have to fight.
You have to perform.
And by that time,
we were getting pressure from the MGM.
"We need a name. We need a big name."
"You're gonna fight Holyfield."
Finally, the two greatest fighters
in the world are meeting each other.
[Matthews] It's 1996, and Tyson
is gonna finally fight Holyfield,
five years past its expiration date.
Whatever it takes, I have it,
and I will be victorious.
Tickets were selling and reselling
at astronomical prices.
My objective is to make
my opponent feel my punches.
You had these two gladiators
in their prime.
Evander had really established
his credentials now as a heavyweight.
He did a number on Qawi.
He also did a number on Michael Dokes.
But even though Holyfield
was a great fighter,
Mike was a big favorite in this fight.
Everybody was looking at Holyfield
like Holyfield was in over his head.
Mike is going to hurt Holyfield.
The champion of the world,
the people's champion, Mike Tyson.
[Tyson] I was on top of my game,
but after I won the title again,
I just didn't give a fuck.
I didn't care.
I wanted to catch back up with old Mike.
[tense music playing]
[Fagan] We're in Vegas.
Mike is hanging out.
Me and him was riding around,
meeting girls.
I'm with Mike, and I'm like,
"Aren't you fighting Evander in 33 days?"
He goes, "Tommy, come on. Don't sweat me."
"I'm talking to this waitress.
She's really cool. She likes me."
The week before the fight,
I go to an open workout.
-[trainer] That's good.
-And I see Holyfield was ripped.
Like…
-So I go tell Mike.
-That's it, baby.
I said, "Yo, Mike, the dude is ripped."
You can go back and you see the weigh-in,
and you see how Mike is looking at him,
you see his eyes,
he's sizing him up.
Dude was… He just shocked Mike.
[Tyson] I underestimated him.
[announcer] Tyson versus Holyfield…
But I knew I had to pull up my game.
There is nothing like a big prize fight.
Oh, man, it was a… It was like…
It was indescribable, man.
I just had ferocious intentions.
I just couldn't wait.
-[bell rings]
-[crowd cheering]
[commentator] As expected,
Mike Tyson comes out fast.
Right hand, left hook. Just the basics.
[referee] Guys, wait, hold it!
Yeah, he took some good shots.
[bell rings]
I didn't think it would go three rounds.
[bell rings]
It was very close.
[commentator] Accidental headbutt.
That's when we started
noticing the headbutts.
[commentator] Tyson is cut.
I felt dizzy without him hitting me.
Evander headbutted Mike
probably one to two dozen times.
And in the sport of boxing,
if you headbutt somebody
one time intentionally,
you're subject
to immediate disqualification.
[commentator] Here comes the doctor.
Are they deliberate headbutts?
You've got two guys,
one guy's smaller than the other.
It happens all the time.
[Holloway] The headbutt's
something you deal with.
Mike's biggest problem was
he didn't train hardly at all.
He got overconfident,
thinking, "I got this guy."
[commentator] Round 11.
The headbutts, um, kept me groggy.
I could hear it.
[high-pitched ringing]
I could hear the punches.
But I didn't feel anything.
I just blacked out.
[commentator] Mitch Halpern
stopped the fight! And Holyfield has won.
[commentator 2]
I can't believe what I'm seeing.
[commentator 1]
Holyfield pulls off the colossal upset.
[commentator 2] Mike's in trouble here,
and he's just getting teed off on.
If Mike won't go down,
the referee has to stop it.
Holyfield beat him. He lost the belt.
I was unprepared, you know.
I just didn't have enough training.
I was tired.
He just kept fighting, and, um…
I got caught in some exchanges,
and he fought a hell of a fight.
He kicked my ass. He was…
Yeah, he fought great that night.
He headbutted me,
but still, he fought great.
This was an aberration.
I don't think that anybody thought
that this was the end of Tyson
or that Tyson couldn't come back and win.
At the time, I missed the drive.
I missed the hunger.
I missed that desire.
I didn't have the same love because
I didn't have the same people with me.
Bang! With a left hook here or here.
And so, immediately,
Don says, "Let's have a rematch."
[Tyson] With Don, it was always
about making the most money.
And he did it better than anyone else.
[news anchor] Don King has named
the Holyfield-Tyson rematch now official.
I'm a product. Remember?
I'm a product. I'm not a human.
Now I'm doing the biggest sporting event
in history!
[Tyson] I'm gonna be a good product
or a bad product.
I'm a product,
regardless if I wanna be one or not.
[commentator] This is the most
unbelievable spectacle I have ever seen.
[dramatic music playing]
[music fades out]
[commentator]
And we are live in Tokyo, Japan.
[Tyson] At my worst,
I can beat anyone in the world.
Regardless of the performance,
at my worst,
no one in the world can beat me.
[commentator] Twelve rounds of boxing
for the heavyweight championship
of the world.
-[Floyd Russ] Were you intimidated?
-Never. It's go time.
-[bell rings]
-[commentator] We're set to go.
You see Mike Tyson in the black trunks
and Buster Douglas.
That right hand got through.
He's surprised.
I was ripping shots, getting off first.
Wasn't looking around, waiting to get hit.
You know, I was taking it to him.
[commentator] Oh, that right hand
actually caught Mike.
I had some friends over.
I'm watching the first round
out of the corner of my eye,
and I notice Tyson's getting beat.
[commentator] There's the bell,
ending round one.
I got to tell you, folks,
this is exciting.
So I said to my boys,
"I'm done. I have to go over here.
I probably have to write."
I said, "He just lost the first round.
That's his best round."
"So it's only going to get worse."
-[bell rings]
-[crowd cheering]
[commentator] An uppercut got through
that time by Buster.
This fight is supposed to be a walkover.
[video rewinding]
[Fagan] I got to Tokyo
three days before the fight.
And when I go to Mike's room,
Mike is sitting there
with a big bowl of fruit.
But he's slow, man.
"Hey, Ouskie. What's up, Ouskie?"
[trainer] Right there.
Keep hitting. Keep hitting.
[Tyson] I'll be better next time.
[trainer] There you go. Get up.
You all right, Mike?
Mike was dropped in training.
Nobody had done that for a long time.
So I'm concerned.
[commentator] Let's see how it goes.
Round 3.
Mike looks like he's got
the adrenaline going a bit better here.
I wasn't in the greatest shape,
but I thought
I'd be able to beat him still.
I beat better fighters than him
being in less shape.
[commentator] Look at this!
Buster landing some shots.
He got hit with more punches
than he ever got.
[bell dings]
I never thought
it was going to go this way.
[bell dinging]
In the eighth round,
I felt, you know,
like it was going my way.
[commentator] Buster drops
that big right hand,
but Mike takes it on the gloves.
And he backs off Mike again with a left.
I started looking and mugging
instead of letting my hands go
like I did the previous rounds.
[commentator]
Oh, that's a nice uppercut that time!
Then I got caught.
[commentator] It drops Buster Douglas!
It's over. It's over.
"Oh, maybe he pulled it out here."
[commentator]
The count's up to two, and three.
[Douglas] I had a lot of doubters,
you know.
But in that brief moment,
you know, the motivation became even more
because of things that were going on
in my life and leading up to the fight.
Four!
She meant a great deal to me,
and I'm going to miss her…
tremendously.
But, um… you know, it's got to go on.
My mother had passed.
So I had to stay focused
and get my eye on the prize.
[commentator] Up to seven.
-And eight… and here it is at nine.
-Eight. Nine.
[commentator] Is he gonna get up?
Yes, he does! All right.
-[bell ringing]
-And the bell ends the eighth round.
[Tyson] He was so lucky that night.
You figure Mike gonna finish him.
Mike gonna definitely finish him.
[commentator] And now the big question is,
can Buster get it together?
All it takes is one punch.
[commentator] Well, here we go
with round number nine.
Come on, Buster's throwing shots back!
He was being Mike.
You know, fighting his fight.
It was just that
I was being Buster Douglas.
[commentator] Buster fights back strongly,
landing some big shots.
I'm sitting there watching this, like,
"This is not… This is not Mike Tyson."
"It's not what Mike's capable of."
You are watching
the dismantling of a legend.
[commentator]
Tonight, Buster's got the heart back.
[bell dings]
I went to Japan to do a concert
at Tokyo Dome.
[rapping indistinctly]
[Brown] The night before the fight,
Mike showed up to the concert
and we partied after the concert.
That night was full of drugs
and full of women.
[electronic music playing]
We just got out of hand.
His fight was the next day.
I believe we were up all night.
He didn't feel
like he could be harmed at the time.
[bell dings]
[commentator] Oh, a right hand landed
as the referee was breaking them.
Oh, nice uppercut!
Oh, the uppercut. What an uppercut!
Look at this!
[crowd cheering]
[commentator] He's got Mike Tyson down
for the first time in his career!
[somber music playing]
[Tyson] I'm Mike Tyson.
Everybody likes me.
Four!
Five!
[King] Long live the heavyweight champion.
I can't be beat. I refuse to lose.
Six!
[Givens] Pure hell. Worse than anything
I could possibly imagine.
[referee] Six! Seven!
-Eight! Nine!
-[commentator] He's… It's over.
-It's over!
-[man] Mike Tyson has been knocked out.
-[bell dinging]
-[commentator] Unbelievable.
[commentator 2] Buster Douglas is the new
heavyweight champion of the world.
That was heartbreaking.
You know, it's insane.
He whooped the shit
out of somebody who was unbeatable.
The biggest upset
in the history of fighting.
[commentator] One of the biggest upsets
in the history of boxing.
[dramatic music playing]
[announcer] Winner by way of knockout,
and new heavyweight champion of the world,
James "Buster" Douglas!
[Douglas] You know,
truly a dream come true.
And it was, like,
people literally telling you…
it's impossible.
Talk to me, baby.
How do you like me now?
As you seen over there,
he was flat on his ass.
[commentator] What a scene here in Tokyo.
Who would have believed this?
[Fagan] You can't tell him,
"I told you so."
But I felt like
he shouldn't have had this fight.
-[Floyd Russ] Why did you lose that fight?
-Because he kicked my ass, that's why.
After many years of being conditioned
and conditioned and conditioned,
you'd think you are invincible.
And what life will teach you
is you're absolutely not.
That was a bad performance,
but I'm not gonna make excuses.
I'm just gonna continue to go on
and make better results.
The world made it
like it was a catastrophe.
Turns out Mike Tyson
had a turmoil in Tokyo.
Mike Tyson knocked flat
as a pancake last night.
I think we're both just speechless.
But what are you gonna do after you lose?
That's the difference between a champion
and an ordinary fighter.
[operatic music building]
[music fades]
-[woman] Still the champ, Mike!
-[man 1] All right, Mike!
[man 2] Michael!
[man 3] Really proud!
[Fagan] After Mike lost the fight,
he went straight back to the Catskills
and just shut himself in.
He might've only came out for the pigeons.
He didn't go out that house
for nothing else.
It was good for me
to start back at square one.
I just needed to, um, regroup
and get back to discipline and training.
[somber music playing]
[Tyson] This is what I learned
from Cus D'Amato.
Human beings are not made to be humble.
They're made to be humbled.
They're born to be humbled.
That's what he told me.
[Holloway] During that time,
Mike was really motivated
to get all his hardware back.
And Buster Douglas has
a fight against Holyfield.
In one punch, he gets knocked out.
[commentator] What a shot
by Evander Holyfield!
So now Holyfield became
the new man on the block,
the new target.
[audience clapping]
Tyson is a fighter's fighter.
He's truly a tried and tested gladiator.
The best fighter I've ever seen.
And Tyson will knock out
Evander Holyfield.
It was building up to be the biggest fight
in the history of the sport.
[reporter] Tyson-Holyfield,
a $100-million event,
a pay-per-view bonanza.
And mentally,
Mike is right where you want him.
[tense music building]
And then the accusation
caught Mike out of nowhere.
[Tyson] I remember like it was yesterday
when I heard it.
We were in the car
driving around New York City,
and somebody called Ouie.
[line ringing]
Don King calls me, and he's like,
"Yo, Ouie, um, where Mike at?"
I said, "He's with me, right here."
He said, "They said
he raped somebody in Indiana."
So I say, "He raped somebody?
Mike ain't rape no-fuckin'-body."
[tense music playing]
[line ringing]
It's six o'clock in the morning,
I hear my phone ring.
I answer the phone. It's Mike.
He's like,
"I made this girl pissed off at me."
[Tyson] I met this young lady.
She came over. We had sex. I came.
She wanted me to walk her downstairs.
I didn't want to walk her downstairs.
So she was mad.
I'm like, "Mike, this is the one rule
we always talk about."
"Always walk 'em out."
"Make sure somebody sees you
kiss 'em on the cheek."
"Because if there ever comes a problem,
you have somebody
who can cast some type of suspicion."
It didn't happen.
I usually was with him 24-7.
I tried to keep him out of any situation
where they can say, "Mike did this to me,"
or "Mike did that to me." No.
If he had a suite,
I would be in the living room,
they'd be in the bedroom.
I would not leave.
But this time, I couldn't go
because it was the week of my wedding.
And lo and behold, what happened?
[reporter]
Mike Tyson stands indicted tonight
on charges of raping
a beauty pageant contestant
early this summer in Indianapolis.
You know, I trust Mike. It's nothing.
And then you realize this thing
is more serious than we first thought.
Do you think Tyson fully realizes
the seriousness of this,
that he could well be behind bars?
Possible knockout punch,
a 63-year jail sentence.
You know, it was like a punch
in the gut to everybody.
[reporter] Mr. King,
any comment you can make to us?
-Yeah, the man's innocent.
-[reporter] How do you know that?
He's innocent. He said he was.
It's the best evidence in the world.
And then this happens.
The heavyweight championship of the world
between Mike Tyson
and reigning champion Evander Holyfield
has been postponed.
Man, I was sickly worried.
Well, this is something
that needs our attention.
[James Voyles]
I was selected to be local counsel
by Vince Fuller
from the Williams & Connolly group,
who were the lawyers
primarily involved in the case.
Vince Fuller was a corporate attorney
who had represented Don King
in some civil lawsuits.
We see Fuller. I'm like,
"Mike, this dude is a fucking tax lawyer."
"What's he going to do for you?"
[Tyson] Don handled
a lot of the situation.
And at that time,
I trusted him with everything.
Vince came from a firm
that had a great reputation.
But as local counsel,
I know the court system,
I know the people in the system.
And so I may get
a different vibe than Vince does.
The actual charges, he had four.
Confinement,
sexual deviate conduct, two charges there,
and then you got a charge of rape.
I mean, those are difficult charges.
I'm confident that I'm innocent.
I'll prove that I'm innocent.
But when you have a person
who believes in their innocence
and feels it deep down
as part of their soul
that they didn't do anything wrong,
yeah, we're in for a fight.
[Matthews]
I covered every minute of that trial.
Tyson's accuser was
an 18-year-old pageant entrant
named Desiree Washington.
Hello, I'm Desiree Washington,
and I'm contestant number eight.
The strategy was like any other strategy
in a rape case.
This was consensual sex.
Desiree and Mike, they had met
casually at the Black Expo.
[announcer]
Welcome to the Indiana Black Expo
in Indianapolis, Indiana.
This is Fresh Prince,
recording live from the Black Expo.
[announcer] We the people!
Mike going to the Black Expo
was Mike being spontaneous.
It was like a Black excellence event.
They asked me to come, and we had fun.
There was a women's pageant,
and he wanted to go.
[upbeat dance music playing]
Oh, I'm in a dream day after day.
That's when I met Desiree Washington.
I thought she was a score.
I thought she was a score, yeah.
-[man] Now play with 'em a little.
-Yeah, definitely, that sounds better.
But I did not cross the line.
That didn't happen.
[chanting] Free Mike Tyson!
Outside the courtroom,
there was always a mob of people.
[reporter]
A circus atmosphere surrounds the trial,
with scalpers getting
as much as $100 a ticket
for courtroom seats.
We're surrounded by not only the press,
but spectators.
You can't compare this
to any kind of normal case
that I've been involved in.
[reporter 2] The main players
in this courtroom drama
arrived under varying circumstances.
The defendant, Mike Tyson,
under a barrage of cheers.
The alleged victim
under a cloak of secrecy.
Can you give us a preview
of what you'll tell the jury this morning?
The truth, and it's going to be enough.
Always is.
[Voyles] In many rape cases,
you have a situation,
it's he said, she said.
And between her testimony
and his testimony,
somebody had to make a decision
whether he was consensual or not.
It was a polarizing issue. It really was.
Desiree did not speak to the media at all,
except for one exclusive interview
with Barbara Walters.
He came up to me and hugged me,
and said, "Would you like
to go out on a date with me?"
I couldn't believe it.
I spoke with her earlier that day.
I asked her to come visit me.
Called her late at night,
two, three o'clock in the morning.
[Desiree Washington]
He said, "Can you come out?"
And I was shocked.
I said, "At this time? And do what?"
And so I went down to the limo
and, um, got in,
and the next thing I knew,
I was at the Canterbury Hotel.
We came in together. She came to my room.
[Washington] I had no intention
of doing anything with him,
and I didn't think that he had
any intention of doing anything with me.
It's just bullshit.
Why did she come at 3:00 in the morning?
You know, it's just…
[Washington] And then
he completely changed.
I had no control of anything.
All I could do was beg and cry.
[tense music building]
[Tyson] No. No, that's not true.
I believe it was consensual.
I hit him. It was like hitting a wall.
When he was raping me,
I did everything that I could,
and nothing worked.
How do you know what's real there?
You have to make a judgment.
This young lady was a very,
very powerful person in front of the jury.
She commanded the courtroom better
than any victim of a violent crime
that I think I've ever seen.
During the trial, I was in Indiana
every day, by Mike's side.
Mike had a nervous energy.
I mean, they're making Mike
seem like this monster.
I didn't think it was a good idea
for Mike to testify.
He's a guy who came from the streets,
who's pretty direct.
But Vince disagreed.
They called his defense lawyer's tactic
"the creep defense,"
which basically meant, "You know
what you're getting into with Mike Tyson."
It's like,
"You know my client's a murderer,
so don't complain that you got murdered."
Which was kind of a curious defense.
[Tyson] At that time,
I was a bad guy in the press.
They gave me a name,
something they called me.
"Serial butt fondler" or some shit
they called me.
And I… "Fuck, yeah, okay."
I didn't attack nobody,
strip their clothes off,
or rape them or anything.
[reporter] Miss Black America contestant
Tonya Traylor testified
Tyson was openly groping
and propositioning contestants.
[Tonya Traylor] I attended the Black Expo
as part of the Miss Black America pageant,
and I was representing Florida.
The Expo was exciting
because we didn't know
what celebrities were showing up.
And we definitely were not told
Mike Tyson would be attending.
I remember we were dancing,
and when he came in, he was very blunt.
You could hear him.
You know, like, "Yo, you want to go out?
Sex or a kiss? Work? No? Okay."
"Yo, you want to go out?"
-[Floyd Russ] He'd just go down the line?
-Yes, just going through people.
He's a straightforward kind of guy,
so if he had an interest in sex,
sometimes he would say
what was on his mind.
You and I might be a little more subtle
than that, but he wasn't that way.
The lines were direct and rude.
It was just, "Okay, you know what he's on.
Stay your distance."
But Desiree, she was young and naive.
[reporter] …you went to a guy's room
at two o'clock in the morning?
I wouldn't go to a guy's room
at two o'clock in the morning.
[woman] Especially Mike Tyson.
-[Floyd Russ] Did she ever say no?
-No, she never said no.
[Floyd Russ] You know
when you cross the line and you don't?
-Do you?
-Well, I didn't cross the line.
Mike had a lot going on internally,
but expected…
The guys to hit the punches were us.
So now you've got to cross-examine her
with inconsistencies.
And so we questioned.
"Desiree, what were you doing up there
at two in the morning?"
-Do you think it was bad judgment?
-I just wasn't thinking.
When you're in the room,
do you agree to get on top?
Do you ask about protection?
These are things that are inconsistent
with you being taken advantage of.
The other interesting thing was
that when she got there,
she had a pad on.
She went to the bathroom,
she removed her pad, and we had sex.
She either wanted a relationship
with him or wanted money,
and he said no, and he left.
Honestly, she knew what she was doing.
It's only the public, buddy.
All they want is the publicity.
[Voyles] When women say,
"I did this at two in the morning,"
people say,
"What were you doing up there?"
She raped herself!
-She went in a room--
-[man] Shame on you!
…he wanted sex.
[man] Shame on you for blaming the victim.
Is she a victim?
He's a victim too. Look at that.
You're victimizing him
just like she was a victim.
He's being raped right now.
[chanting] Lawyers and King,
do the right thing.
We don't want the victim
to become the defendant.
She was a victim.
Do you wanna tell people why
you wanted to do this interview?
Believe me or not,
but if you don't believe me,
this is gonna happen to someone else.
[man] I was emergency physician
at Methodist Emergency Medicine
and Trauma Center.
Desiree Washington came in the ER.
Uh, she presented to triage,
stating that she had been
a victim of sexual assault.
She had some evidence
of almost what looked
like an abrasion on her labia,
making the likelihood of it being
nonconsensual sex much higher.
Well, in that case,
let's look for any kind of bruising
that would be consistent with somebody,
the strongest, fastest man in the world,
holding her down
or taking advantage of her.
I don't recall seeing
any other bruises or injury on Desiree.
There weren't any.
Ultimately, the only two people that know
are the two people in the room.
[crowd chattering]
[Holloway] It was hard for me
to see him in that position,
but Don was doing everything he could,
possibly humanly possible, to help Mike.
He was trying to win the public's appeal
because of the environment that we was in.
[crowd chanting] No means no!
Ain't nothing but white men
out there talking about… Y'all got nerve.
[Matthews] We're in Indianapolis,
which apparently was
one of the birthplaces of the KKK.
So it's not a place
known for a lot of racial tolerance.
-I think he's guilty.
-[reporter] Why?
He looks the type to be guilty to me.
I didn't ever think he had a chance
because of the racism in Indiana.
Racism perpetuates itself.
It don't need a co-signer.
It don't need nobody
to give it any support.
Don King trotted out the usual,
"Miscarriage of justice."
"What do you expect in America?"
These things are not untrue
that he's saying,
but you could've written the script.
You could write out exactly
what he's going to say.
[King] Let's fight through demonstration.
[Holloway] Don gonna do anything
for his fighters.
Let's fight by removing the evil forces
that continue to subdue us.
Don even met with the Ku Klux Klan,
trying to help Mike's situation.
All we want is a level playing field
with due process,
uh, so that justice can prevail.
[reporter] Feel confident about the case?
Feel good about the case. Yeah.
[Voyles] Clients are always hopeful.
They always feel
that, with good representation,
they're gonna prevail.
[Tyson] I knew I was innocent.
[man] Mike!
And I was very confident I was gonna win.
He's innocent until proven guilty.
[chanting] Free Mike Tyson!
[news anchor 1] This just in.
Jurors in the Mike Tyson rape trial
have reached a verdict.
[news anchor 2] Eric Shawn
is standing by live in Indianapolis
with the verdict on Mike Tyson.
[news anchor 3]
After two weeks of testimony,
the jury in the rape trial
of Mike Tyson has spoken.
[reporter] Mike Tyson was found…
guilty of rape.
[reporter 2] Tyson was convicted of rape
and criminal deviate conduct.
[reporter 3] Jury found Tyson guilty.
-Tyson found guilty of rape.
-[reporter] Convicted rapist.
[Floyd Russ] How did the verdict hit you?
This is a really, really down point
in my life.
You know, I don't want
to fucking talk about it.
You're not talking fast enough
to make this over.
[menacing music playing]
[reporter] Judge Gifford sentenced Tyson
to six years in prison and a $30,000 fine.
It is believed to be
the most severe conviction ever
in the history of sport.
[Pitts] I was devastated.
"They gave this man six years?"
You know, your stomach dropped
when you got to leave Indiana
without your boy.
I just couldn't believe it.
I was like, "How?"
His life seemed like it was over.
It really did.
I didn't want to believe it,
but I saw it coming.
Vince put him in a position
where he was an untenable kind of guy
because he was a creepy guy.
And we're in a rural state,
and we have a rural community around us.
Mike didn't have the kind of background
that the jury could relate to.
I think Mike… shouldn't have testified.
I'm not sure
that he did a bad job in testifying.
But one thing with Mike,
he's very truthful.
And I think the truth hurt him…
in this case.
That ain't no fair trial.
They railroaded Mike Tyson.
[protestors shouting indistinctly]
[Floyd Russ] Why do you think
they convicted you?
[Tyson] Listen,
if they really believed I raped her,
they'd have gave me
close to 60, if not more.
I would still be in there.
[Floyd Russ] Do you think
they made a symbol of you?
Absolutely, that was a political move.
[Floyd Russ] Is there anything you think
could've changed the outcome?
Well, what we had
that we didn't get to put in evidence
was that two to three days
into the trial, we got a call.
These three women had seen Mike
in the limo with Desiree.
The car was parked about…
right here.
And they were hugging and kissing.
At 1:30 in the morning outside this hotel.
[interviewer] More importantly,
did you see her kiss him?
They were kissing each other.
But Judge Gifford thought that
that evidence should've been presented
in advance of the trial.
But it didn't come to our attention
until almost two to three days
into the trial.
It was devastating
not to be able to use that
in the courtroom at that time.
But as far as him committing the rape,
I can't say whether he did it or not.
You understand? Because I was not there.
[somber music playing]
[man] Mike Tyson!
Hey, Mike!
[woman] Mike, what would you like
the fans to know?
Is there anything you can tell
your supporters, Mike?
You gonna fight again?
[Tyson] I did nothing to deserve that.
I was just really angry back then.
I was pretty angry back then.
If you want to follow me and judge me,
do that from a distance.
[Milhouse] I was concerned.
Not "Will it ruin his career?"
About him, the human.
What will happen now?
[scoffs]
It hurt me, man.
[tuts, exhales]
Just to know his life had changed,
like, from that…
And now he's back
where he's not supposed to be,
where we never thought
he would go back to.
But I know prison life,
and anything can happen.
[Tyson] It's interesting.
It's really interesting to be
in a place where there's…
where nobody cares about you.
It's quiet.
You hear people screaming sometimes.
Everybody in there is capable
of killing you.
Even the weakest, the smallest guy.
They're all capable of killing you.
So you start
just from that perspective right there.
I just was afraid
because he was in the Midwest.
And in the Midwest, you had a lot
of the Aryan Nations and all of that.
So I was like, "Just be you.
Don't get crazy, man."
[David "Farid" Barnes]
I was already at IYC for two years
before Mike got there.
We ended up being roommates
and developed a bond as brothers.
[Tyson] Well, I met Farid in Indiana,
in the prison system.
Beautiful person.
And a moral compass, um,
big as this house.
Just a really beautiful person.
There were a few people
who probably wanted to challenge Mike.
But Mike, he was blessed
to have people around him, like myself,
who would remind him, "Bro, look,
if that guy says something to you,
just ignore him.
He's gonna be in here forever."
He kept me out of trouble, yeah.
Because I am attracted to trouble.
[Barnes] A person like Mike,
who's been living his life,
doing whatever he wants to do, you know,
living a five-star type of life,
and then to be dropped immediately
right into Indiana Youth Center
and being told when he can eat
and when he can sleep.
It was a big change for him.
Took me a minute. Took me a minute.
First six, seven months.
Because I was mad that I was in prison.
Sometime after Mike had been incarcerated,
a letter arrived at my house.
There was a paragraph on page three,
and it said, "Mr. Gray, I will never admit
to something I didn't do."
Next paragraph. "However…"
[Tyson] There's a lot of other things,
that I was crazy and doing,
I should have been in prison for
back then. But for that, please.
I've asked him
what those other things were,
and he just said,
"What I wrote you was true."
[Barnes] What we had to inform him is,
this is not a normal environment.
And once you start accepting
this environment as normal,
then you yourself become abnormal.
So understand that you have to create
your own system within this system.
And he took advantage
of his situation, basically.
[man] Salami, prosciutto, a lot of cheese.
Come on. What else?
[Barnes] Have you ever seen
that movie, um, The GoodFellas?
They were in prison,
and they were doing all this stuff.
That's kind of what--
We were living like that.
Eating lobster, eating Chinese fried rice,
or, you know, barbecue chicken.
These were things
that were being brought in to us.
I lived pretty good.
You wouldn't think I'm in prison, no.
[man] Officials admit they're
making it easier for the ex-champ
with his own visiting room.
Mike had visitors from Florence Henderson…
Mike!
[Barnes] …to Louis Farrakhan,
and everybody in between.
A lot of people came.
Maya Angelou, Jesse Jackson.
Tupac came to see me, yeah.
Came to see my sorry butt.
[TV host] Please welcome Tupac Shakur!
["I Get Around" playing]
All respect to those
who break their neck to keep… ♪
[Barnes] Tupac looked at Mike
like a big brother.
Mike Tyson was the only person
I can remember being a millionaire,
just being like a real brother.
And that was our hero,
and I want to be like that.
The only Black person I know
that made it to that millionaire status
and treated rappers
with some kind of dignity.
You don't think
God can make somebody like that.
Just some little Black kid
from the ghetto who don't give a fuck.
[Tupac] "Thug life," I mean that shit.
'Cause these white folks see us as thugs.
I don't care what y'all think.
[Tyson] So he came in the visiting room,
and people started losing it.
-[Floyd Russ] Cheering him on?
-[laughs]
Yeah.
Tupac literally jumped on the table
in the visiting room
and was talking about,
"We gotta stay strong, Mike!
We can't let 'em bring us down."
He got souped up. We tell him to get down.
Like, "Yo, man, get off the table, man.
Get off the fucking table."
"We're in prison, man! You can't do that."
They were gonna kick him out.
I'm surprised they didn't bum-rush him.
Beautiful person.
We never really understood the loss
of Tupac until probably ten years later.
It was a big loss.
For some reason, God decided
to make this a great part of my life,
a big part of my life,
for me to be able to deal with.
Murder, dying friends.
I learned a lot about myself in prison.
I learned that I deserve being loved.
-[Floyd Russ] You learned that in prison?
-Yeah.
[Floyd Russ] That's an oxymoron, isn't it?
[scoffs wryly] That's what…
That's what I am.
[chuckles] That's what I am.
I'm a big believer everybody gets what
they deserve to make them who they are.
So I looked at my life
from that perspective.
[somber music playing]
[Barnes] After two years
of being in prison,
they came at Mike and said,
"If you plead guilty,
we'll reduce your sentence,
and you can come home early."
[woman] Mike Tyson!
[man] Mike,
did you rape Desiree Washington?
[dramatic music playing]
Mike's like, "Why would I agree
to something I didn't do?"
"Hey, I'm a fighter. I'm fighting this."
I'm not trying to be a hero from that.
By no means.
It just wasn't true.
It's as simple as that.
I'm not dead. As long as I'm breathing,
my brain is functioning,
my heart is functioning,
I'll prevail.
Sometimes, we have
to just relieve ourselves
of all our weight
and just observe and learn and listen.
[Barnes] He went through a growth.
I introduced him to Islam
for the most part in prison.
We need religion to function.
We have to look at ourselves
bigger than what we are,
and that's what religion does.
[Barnes] And we used to do
a lot of reading.
I read so many books,
I can't even read anymore.
I hurt my head reading so much.
I almost went blind.
You remember that movie,
The Count of Monte Cristo?
There's been a mistake.
[Tyson] He was in love with this woman,
I think she was a countess or something,
and the person
that he was competing with for her
did some skulduggery stuff,
set him up as a killer
or robber or something,
and had him put in jail.
And I believe that happened to me,
so I looked at my life
from that perspective.
What is my crime?
It's really about revenge too.
Being wrongly convicted about something,
then getting revenge.
No angel, no demon
could keep me from my revenge.
[gun fires]
[Floyd Russ]
How did you plot your revenge?
Well, to be the richest fighter
in the world once I get out.
To be champion again.
You want to get the best revenge?
The most success you can get,
that's what I believe is the best revenge.
[Barnes] One thing about Mike,
when he's focused, he is focused.
He'd wake me up, and he'd say,
"I need to do some sit-ups.
Hold my ankles."
So I would hold his ankles
while he's doing 500 sit-ups.
He would do so many sit-ups
that his butt would
actually start bleeding,
from… on that hard floor in your cell.
Sometimes, he'd wake me,
"I'm ready to run."
I said, "Okay, brother."
And I'd just go back to sleep.
Lot of time running in the cell,
running in place, doing exercise.
[Barnes] And then when I wake up,
the whole room was sweaty.
I went into it at 270-something
and came out 215.
I mean, I seen him go
from being this overweight guy
to chiseled down to, like, an Adonis.
How have you adjusted to losing power?
I've never lost my power.
My power was always in me.
My greatest asset is me.
When Mike Tyson was in prison,
boxing's heavyweight division had a void.
There weren't as many good fights.
-[crowd cheering]
-[commentator] Look at Holyfield!
[Tompkins] Here was Evander Holyfield,
and here was Lennox Lewis,
and they were starting to rise,
but still the cash cow
for both of those guys was Mike Tyson.
He was the guy everybody wanted a piece of
because you weren't really gonna be
the champion unless you got by him.
He was still the biggest name out there,
in and out of the ring.
And Don was setting things up.
He did it while Mike was still in prison.
Mike Tyson is getting paid millions
for his return to the ring.
[Holloway] Don came up with a structure
between Showtime and MGM together
that would guarantee Mike
like $73 million as a signing bonus,
and for like 15 fights.
Over 30, 35 million a fight.
It was for $395 million
all together, period.
Listen, no one had ever done that
in the history of mankind.
Not sports, in the history of mankind.
When you go to prison, on your way out,
take this 73 million
and we got 400 million waiting for you.
It's just never been done.
There was a huge expectation of,
"What would he be able to do
when he got out of prison?"
It just speaks to the celebrity culture
that everybody was wrapped around.
And that culture was
that they were willing
to overlook this conviction
because of the talent and the excitement
that he brought to the sport.
Like, people was waiting for him
to serve his time and get out.
[helicopter blades whirring]
[Barnes] Don and them are all there,
and they were trying to talk
about doing this big fanfare
when Mike come out.
And they's like,
"So Brother Farid, what do you think?"
And I said,
"What you guys are talking about,
Mike doesn't want all that."
[crowd cheering]
[Barnes] All he's wanting to do
is go home.
When I came outside, there was
just a mass of people and press.
The helicopters from the news reports.
I didn't want to leave.
I was scared.
For a moment there,
I was institutionalized.
For a moment, they got me.
[reporter] Tyson arrived
at his Ohio estate near Cleveland
not too long after his release
from an Indiana detention center.
[reporter 2] The frenzy
with Tyson's release
hasn't gone unnoticed in his hometown.
[horn honks]
We staked him out there for a few days.
I was there three or four days,
just waiting to see him come out.
Like waiting for the Pope
to come out on the balcony.
That's what it was like.
[Barnes] I could tell
he wasn't feeling none of this.
He just wanted to be left alone.
[man] We're ready to see
the champ come home, man.
He's back in Ohio,
the place where he belongs.
[Lathan] Right now,
people can still remember
somebody that was so dominant
and so captivating.
But after prison,
Mike was very protective of himself now.
[Tyson] Coming from a place,
I was comfortable
for three and a half to three years.
Now, I'm coming out
to this psycho madhouse again
where no one gives a damn about you.
You know, at least in prison,
you know somebody has your back.
Isn't that something?
Then you come out in the world,
no one has your back.
[chuckling] It's a trip, right?
Now you think about things.
Being incarcerated allowed him
to really evaluate his self and his life
and what he needs to do with his life,
and he wanted to slow down now.
Mike came home, and he figured
now he gotta change his ways,
and he got a good woman
and he gonna do it.
[Tyson] I met Monica Turner.
She was a doctor.
Yes, a children's doctor.
They end up getting married.
[Tyson] I wanted
to be married to somebody.
I wanted to really try
and make this stuff work.
I thought
I could really make this stuff work.
When Mike first got out,
I was really stalling.
I wanted him to just get
his self together, just mentally.
But Don had other plans.
We are launching the Tyson meteorite today
and announcing the fight
between Mike Tyson
and Hurricane Peter McNeeley.
[TV narrator] You've waited four years
for this.
The fighter of the decade.
The boxing event of the year.
On August 19th, guess who's back.
[Holloway] Mike, we understand
that he needs time.
We can't put him in there
with a real seasoned guy.
At the same time, somebody's paying you
tens of millions of dollars.
You know what I mean?
So now everything has to be right.
You got this white kid.
He talk a lot of crap.
You know, bravado.
I'm Hurricane Peter McNeeley
from Medfield, Mass.
On Saturday night,
watch me kick Tyson's ass.
It was a business decision.
Talk to 'em, Peter.
He gonna help you promote the fight.
I didn't take him seriously at all,
but it was a big fight.
[King] Question.
[reporter] If Desiree Washington
were here, would you have a message to her
who's now suffering through rape
and watching you earn millions?
[laughing wryly] Just enjoy the fight.
[crowd laughs]
[King] Enjoy the fight.
[Floyd Russ]
What would you say to Desiree now?
I don't know.
Whatever bad she tried to do, she lost.
You know, listen.
She didn't even get any money.
What did she get?
A million and a half bucks?
I came out of prison
with 400 million bucks.
So I don't know. You tell me.
I'm invincible.
Nothing can hurt me. Nothing can stop me.
That's what I believe.
He talked the shit he talked,
but it bothered him.
[woman] Mike Tyson is a convicted rapist,
and we don't think that lionizing a man
with his history of violence against women
is the way to end violence.
[Fagan] We'd have to walk
through these places,
and women is yelling,
"You rapist, you're this and that"
in front of the MGM.
I'm like, "Whoa!" Like, "Jeez."
The media was rough on Mike,
but it just made Mike harder.
They're rough on me, and I'm president.
Mike Tyson!
[Tyson] My mission was
like I had to be the preacher,
preaching to everybody
about their rights and their wrongs.
No, I don't take that responsibility.
[announcer] And the former
heavyweight champion of the world.
[Milhouse] I don't believe that
half the world wanted him to come out
and restore his self and his career.
I believe they thought that would be
the very end of the Mike Tyson era,
and it was really just the beginning.
[crowd cheering]
[Barnes] It was a big deal.
It was a big deal for me,
because I had never experienced
that before.
[announcer] You are now part
of the largest audience
to ever view a boxing event.
The turnout and the response was insane.
Okay, everybody was there.
[announcer] It's showtime!
[Milhouse] I think from the beginning
to the end, nobody sat down
because we were so excited
that he was back.
I started getting goosebumps
watching him come down to the ring.
[announcer] All right, gentlemen,
let's get it on!
I wanted to be champion of the world.
Nothing stopped me
from getting it back again.
[commentator] Here we go.
And McNeeley, as advertised,
comes right at Mike Tyson.
Down goes McNeeley!
[Tyson] I knew
it was gonna be an easy fight.
[commentator]
Mike Tyson going to the uppercut.
Tyson with a left hook, a right,
and down goes McNeeley again!
[commentator 2] He's very hurt.
He can barely stand up.
[commentator 1] That's it, he quit.
McNeeley has quit.
His corner threw in the towel.
[commentator 2] And that is it.
Just like that, it's over.
[triumphant music playing]
That shit was over so quick,
we wouldn't have to call that a fight.
He was back.
The train was back up and rolling.
It turned out to be one of the biggest
pay-per-view events in history.
[interviewer] Mike, your thoughts
on your return to the ring,
as short as it was?
I was just happy to be in there.
That was awesome,
having all that attention.
I missed that.
Mike's return to boxing…
was definitely a validation
that, A, he belonged…
[commentator] Another right uppercut,
and down goes Mathis!
…and B, redemption.
[bell rings]
[Patti] You can hit Mike,
you can knock him down,
you can say bad things about him,
you can take away his freedom,
but guess what?
"I'm still here."
And more than anything,
Mike wanted to be champion again.
I'm looking forward
to fighting for the title.
I'm willing to fight any man.
I'm not afraid of anyone.
I'm the best fighter in the world,
and I'd like to say "I love Mikey."
[interviewer] All right, Mike.
[Miki] You know, it's funny.
When you think of your parents,
do you ever still see them in your head
like how you did when you were younger?
Even now, when I think of them,
I always think of them
how they were when I was little.
I still imagine my dad with gold teeth.
I hated them.
I thought he would never take them out.
I grew up in Harlem.
The first few years of my life,
my dad was incarcerated.
I think I met him in prison.
[Tyson] I met her mother
before I came to prison.
She told me she was pregnant.
I guess I was kind of happy.
When I was a young kid,
I guess I wanted to…
I was looking for sex.
I don't know what I was looking for.
[Miki] Even though I always felt
like my father loved me,
the enormity of Mike Tyson in the '90s
was just so massive.
It was actually kind of intimidating.
There was no real security.
People were just really… inconsiderate
of your privacy.
[Tyson] I didn't have much
of a relationship back then with my kids.
I was too self-centered.
If I'm around a million people,
I can handle that.
My wife and my kids,
they freak the fuck out.
I'm like, "What is wrong with you?"
I used to love that. I bathed in that.
He was not a person
that could be a family person.
It was always about the next fight.
[Tyson] I wanted
to so-called "conquer the world."
How can you do that with a family?
[Holloway] I remember Don coming to us,
putting the Frank Bruno fight
on the table.
[announcer] New WBC
heavyweight champion of the world…
[commentator] Bruno is the champion!
[announcer] …Frank Bruno!
[Holloway] That was huge, 'cause he got
the heavyweight championship belt.
You know, so this is a chance
for Mike to get all his hardware back.
You know when Mike is coming.
Like, you can see the focus.
[Tyson] Only thing I wanted to do
was be the greatest fighter of all time.
I wanted that title,
"the greatest fighter of all time."
[reporter] The former champ
will take on Frank Bruno
for the WBC heavyweight title
on March 16th.
[reporter 2] 247 pounds.
Mike was very, very hungry
when he come out of prison.
So I knew he would be getting
a chance at the world championship.
I didn't know it was gonna be against me.
[King] I give you Mike Tyson!
[reporter] So much attention
around superstar Mike Tyson
that it sometimes seems
as if the champion,
Frank Bruno, is the challenger.
I'm going to win.
I'm going to knock him out,
right into Don King.
Hey, lads, only in America. [laughs]
Only in America, boy. [laughs]
[imitates Don King laughing]
That's Don King for you.
I was a little nervous
because he had beat Oliver McCall,
and McCall was tough.
[bell ringing]
[Tyson] But I had to come back.
It was my revenge, to be champion again.
[dramatic music playing]
It was war when you went in there.
[bell rings]
Came out like a bull in a china shop.
Very vicious.
[Tyson] Boom, boom, boom, boom.
[laughs]
Tyson had a lot of combinations.
Left hook and right hook,
and all different styles he was doing.
It was tough
because he was holding me a lot.
[Bruno] If someone's hurting you,
to stop him from hurting you,
you hold him as much as you can.
Hey, listen, I don't get frustrated.
[commentator] A left hook
flush on the face of Frank Bruno.
I knew that Frank
couldn't go the distance with Mike.
Mike was ferocious.
[commentator] You're gonna have
to work very hard on that to stop that.
When I want something, I get it.
-That's just who I am.
-[bell rings]
[commentator] Three,
4, 5-punch combination.
[Tyson] This was a great moment.
I was really bitter after prison.
[commentator] Down goes Bruno
into the ropes.
It is all over here in round three.
Mike Tyson is champion again.
[commentator 2] Mike Tyson is back.
The Tyson era has begun.
This is somewhat like revenge.
[Floyd Russ] Redemption?
No, revenge.
[Bruno] It was a good fight,
but he was dangerous.
The better man won.
That fight said to me
can't nobody beat Mike.
Yeah, Team Tyson's back.
[crowd cheering]
Full circle. We're right back
to where we left.
[Tyson] When you think about
the difference between '86 and '96,
guess I'm two different people.
Even though I won the title,
I was lighter the first time.
I mean, how does it feel
to be wearing this belt?
It's the moment I waited for all my life.
Everything was pure,
and everything was youthful.
You know, this was the dark side of me.
After the fight,
Mike kind of just went right back
into the way he was living
before he came to prison.
[hip-hop music playing]
[Barnes] Driving nice cars.
Walking around in his Versace underwear,
trying on clothes.
I just wanted to do what I wanted to do.
This was Mike Tyson's town at one time.
Listen, I could do
whatever I wanted here, yeah.
I was making money for everybody.
I was spending money.
I was a big commodity here in the '90s.
The euphoric feeling of shopping
is what he was looking for.
You know, spending money hand over fist.
[Tyson] It's really a glutton mentality.
That's what you feel.
You're the champion.
You can have whatever you want.
[news anchor] Tyson did take time out
to purchase an exotic white tiger.
I had four of them.
[Barnes] Kenya was his favorite.
She was the number one.
Also, like, she slept with me.
There were times I'd see her go at Mike,
and I'm like, "She's gonna hurt Mike."
[Tyson] That cat should've killed me.
There goes 100 million
if this tiger hits him. Know what I mean?
A human being and a cat
shouldn't have a relationship like that.
[Floyd Russ] Do you feel
like you were fulfilled?
No.
Revenge wasn't what I thought it would be.
I thought it'd be like saying, "Ha-ha.
You isn't it." And it wasn't! [laughs]
[Milhouse] Mike being
rough around the edges
worked well in the narrative
that Don King created.
The circus, if you will.
He was the ringmaster,
and this was part of the show.
[Holloway] Don really wanted Mike
to get back in the ring.
That's the money. But Mike,
in his mind, "I just want to rest."
But once you take the money,
you have to fight.
You have to perform.
And by that time,
we were getting pressure from the MGM.
"We need a name. We need a big name."
"You're gonna fight Holyfield."
Finally, the two greatest fighters
in the world are meeting each other.
[Matthews] It's 1996, and Tyson
is gonna finally fight Holyfield,
five years past its expiration date.
Whatever it takes, I have it,
and I will be victorious.
Tickets were selling and reselling
at astronomical prices.
My objective is to make
my opponent feel my punches.
You had these two gladiators
in their prime.
Evander had really established
his credentials now as a heavyweight.
He did a number on Qawi.
He also did a number on Michael Dokes.
But even though Holyfield
was a great fighter,
Mike was a big favorite in this fight.
Everybody was looking at Holyfield
like Holyfield was in over his head.
Mike is going to hurt Holyfield.
The champion of the world,
the people's champion, Mike Tyson.
[Tyson] I was on top of my game,
but after I won the title again,
I just didn't give a fuck.
I didn't care.
I wanted to catch back up with old Mike.
[tense music playing]
[Fagan] We're in Vegas.
Mike is hanging out.
Me and him was riding around,
meeting girls.
I'm with Mike, and I'm like,
"Aren't you fighting Evander in 33 days?"
He goes, "Tommy, come on. Don't sweat me."
"I'm talking to this waitress.
She's really cool. She likes me."
The week before the fight,
I go to an open workout.
-[trainer] That's good.
-And I see Holyfield was ripped.
Like…
-So I go tell Mike.
-That's it, baby.
I said, "Yo, Mike, the dude is ripped."
You can go back and you see the weigh-in,
and you see how Mike is looking at him,
you see his eyes,
he's sizing him up.
Dude was… He just shocked Mike.
[Tyson] I underestimated him.
[announcer] Tyson versus Holyfield…
But I knew I had to pull up my game.
There is nothing like a big prize fight.
Oh, man, it was a… It was like…
It was indescribable, man.
I just had ferocious intentions.
I just couldn't wait.
-[bell rings]
-[crowd cheering]
[commentator] As expected,
Mike Tyson comes out fast.
Right hand, left hook. Just the basics.
[referee] Guys, wait, hold it!
Yeah, he took some good shots.
[bell rings]
I didn't think it would go three rounds.
[bell rings]
It was very close.
[commentator] Accidental headbutt.
That's when we started
noticing the headbutts.
[commentator] Tyson is cut.
I felt dizzy without him hitting me.
Evander headbutted Mike
probably one to two dozen times.
And in the sport of boxing,
if you headbutt somebody
one time intentionally,
you're subject
to immediate disqualification.
[commentator] Here comes the doctor.
Are they deliberate headbutts?
You've got two guys,
one guy's smaller than the other.
It happens all the time.
[Holloway] The headbutt's
something you deal with.
Mike's biggest problem was
he didn't train hardly at all.
He got overconfident,
thinking, "I got this guy."
[commentator] Round 11.
The headbutts, um, kept me groggy.
I could hear it.
[high-pitched ringing]
I could hear the punches.
But I didn't feel anything.
I just blacked out.
[commentator] Mitch Halpern
stopped the fight! And Holyfield has won.
[commentator 2]
I can't believe what I'm seeing.
[commentator 1]
Holyfield pulls off the colossal upset.
[commentator 2] Mike's in trouble here,
and he's just getting teed off on.
If Mike won't go down,
the referee has to stop it.
Holyfield beat him. He lost the belt.
I was unprepared, you know.
I just didn't have enough training.
I was tired.
He just kept fighting, and, um…
I got caught in some exchanges,
and he fought a hell of a fight.
He kicked my ass. He was…
Yeah, he fought great that night.
He headbutted me,
but still, he fought great.
This was an aberration.
I don't think that anybody thought
that this was the end of Tyson
or that Tyson couldn't come back and win.
At the time, I missed the drive.
I missed the hunger.
I missed that desire.
I didn't have the same love because
I didn't have the same people with me.
Bang! With a left hook here or here.
And so, immediately,
Don says, "Let's have a rematch."
[Tyson] With Don, it was always
about making the most money.
And he did it better than anyone else.
[news anchor] Don King has named
the Holyfield-Tyson rematch now official.
I'm a product. Remember?
I'm a product. I'm not a human.
Now I'm doing the biggest sporting event
in history!
[Tyson] I'm gonna be a good product
or a bad product.
I'm a product,
regardless if I wanna be one or not.
[commentator] This is the most
unbelievable spectacle I have ever seen.
[dramatic music playing]
[music fades out]