IRON MIKE

Thirty-seven top-notch pieces about notorious heavyweight boxing sensation Tyson.

Moody, boyish, generous, monstrous, violent, misogynistic, Tyson has been a psychological riddle since adolescence, when veteran boxing trainer Cus D’Amato plucked him from an upstate New York reform school. Beginning his career in 1985, Tyson became, at age 20, the youngest person ever to win the Heavyweight Championship; he’s lost only 3 of his 53 professional fights. His life and career, however, have lurched consistently toward the worst kind of notoriety, especially after D’Amato died and Tyson’s management was taken over by flamboyant boxing impresario Don King. The fighter’s divorce from actress Robin Givens amid charges of domestic violence, his trial and conviction in Indiana for raping a beauty pageant contestant (he served three years of a six-year prison sentence), and his assault on boxer Evander Holyfield’s ear have all left Tyson with a reputation as a powerful brute who lacks control of his explosive and destructive impulses. But he remains a hero to many, especially black youth, and his box-office staying power speaks for itself. Friends give numerous examples of his sentimentality, generosity, and grace; journalists commend his obvious love for boxing and encyclopedic knowledge of its history, developed by watching old fight films. Among the first-class contributors here are Joyce Carol Oates, George Plimpton, David Remnick, Jack Newfield, Harry Crews, and Robert Lipstye, although one of the most revealing accounts comes from non-journalist Rudy Gonzales, Tyson’s erstwhile chauffeur and occasional confidante. Generally, the authors see Tyson as a gifted bad boy whose background as a mugger and street punk gave him little preparation for the immense fame and fortune he encountered as a young man. While there’s more than enough ammo to satisfy Tyson-haters, the collection tends to read as an appreciation of Iron Mike as a cultural icon and likely the greatest boxer of our age.

A welcome collective portrait of one of America’s best-known, if not much-loved, athletes.