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{{Infobox_Boxer
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===Rise to stardom===
Mike Tyson made his professional debut on [[March 6]], [[1985]], in [[Albany, New York]], a match he won by a first round [[knockout]] over Hector Mercedes. Fighting frequently in his first two years as a professional, Tyson won the first 19 of his 22 fights by knockout, 14 of which came in the first round. His quality of opposition gradually increased to journeyman fighters and borderline contenders, and his win streak attracted much media attention, leading to his being billed as the next great [[heavyweight]] champion.
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== Rape conviction, prison, and aftermath ==
However, the Holyfield fight was not to be. Tyson was arrested later in 1991 for the [[rape]] of [[Miss Black America|Miss Black Rhode Island]], [[Desiree Washington]], in an [[Indianapolis, Indiana|Indianapolis]] hotel room
He was given a sentence of six years and was released in May 1995 after serving three years. Under Indiana law, a defendant convicted of a [[felony]] must begin serving his [[prison]] sentence immediately after the sentence is imposed.
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==Tyson goes down again==
Tyson's next defense of his title came against Holyfield, who was in the fourth fight of his comeback to boxing after retiring in 1994 following the loss of his championship. It was said that Don King and others saw the former champion, who was 34 at the time of the fight and a huge underdog, as a washed up fighter.{{fact}}{{weal}}
On November 9 in Las Vegas, Tyson wasn't able to have any luck, including being knocked down and cut in the middle part of the fight and dealing with what were ruled to be incidental headbutts by Holyfield. By the 11th round, referee Mitch Halpern had seen enough, and during the round he stopped the fight, giving the championship to Holyfield and making him the second person to win a heavyweight championship belt three times.
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In 2000 Tyson had three fights. The first was staged at the [[MEN Arena]], [[Manchester]], [[England]] against [[Julius Francis]]. Following controversy as to whether Tyson should be allowed into the country, he knocked out Francis in the second round. He also fought [[Lou Savarese]] in June 2000 in [[Glasgow]], winning in the first round. The entire fight only lasted 38 seconds. Tyson continued punching after the referee had stopped the fight, knocking him to the floor as he tried to separate the boxers. In October Tyson fought the similarly controversial [[Andrew Golota]], winning in round three after Golota refused to carry on, the result was later changed to no contest after Tyson tested positive for [[marijuana]]. Tyson fought only once in 2001, beating [[Brian Nielsen]] in [[Copenhagen]] with a seventh round TKO.
Tyson sought to fight [[Lennox Lewis]] in 2002 in [[Nevada]], but the Nevada boxing commission refused him a license to box as he was facing possible [[sexual assault]] charges. Tyson made inflammatory remarks to Lewis prior to the eventual bout stating, "I want your heart, I wanna eat his children, praise be to Allah". A mass brawl on [[January 22]], [[2002]] at a [[News conference|press conference]] in New York to publicize the planned event finally removed any chance of a Nevada fight. The fight actually occurred on [[June 8]] in [[Memphis, Tennessee]]. Lewis dominated the fight and knocked out Tyson in the eighth round. Tyson stated that the loss was due to not being allowed enough warm up fights leading up to the fight, due to Lewis insisting on the date. Tyson
On [[February 22]], [[2003]], Tyson beat fringe contender [[Clifford Etienne]] 49 seconds into round one, once again in Memphis. The pre-fight was marred by rumors of Tyson's lack of fitness and that he took time out from training to party in [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]] and get a new facial [[tattoo]]. This would be Tyson's final professional victory in the ring.
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==After professional boxing==
Tyson has stayed in the limelight by promoting various [[website]]s and companies
On the front page of ''[[USA Today]]'' on [[June 3]], [[2005]], Tyson was quoted as saying: "My whole life has been a waste - I've been a failure." He continued: "I just want to escape. I'm really embarrassed with myself and my life. I want to be a [[missionary]]. I think I could do that while keeping my dignity without letting people know they chased me out of the country. I want to get this part of my life over as soon as possible. In this country nothing good is going to come of me. People put me so high; I wanted to tear that image down."
Tyson now spends much of his time tending to his coop of around 350 pigeons in Phoenix, Arizona.<ref>http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8305426/</ref> He shares his house with his pug, Meatball.
On [[September 28]], 2006 Tyson announced "The Mike Tyson World Tour" in which he would fight in a series of four round exhibition matches in the US, Europe and Asia. The first of these matches was held in Ohio on [[October 20]], [[2006]], against Corey Sanders in Youngstown, Ohio. The explicit purpose of the tour
▲On [[September 28]], 2006 Tyson announced "The Mike Tyson World Tour" in which he would fight in a series of four round exhibition matches in the US, Europe and Asia. The first of these matches was held in Ohio on [[October 20]], [[2006]], against Corey Sanders in Youngstown, Ohio. The explicit purpose of the tour is to help ease Mike Tyson's spiraling debts.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/boxing/5393536.stm</ref>
On [[December 29]], 2006, Tyson was arrested in [[Scottsdale, Arizona]] on suspicion of [[Driving under the influence|DUI]] and [[felony]] [[drug possession]] after he nearly crashed into a police [[Sport utility vehicle|SUV]] shortly after leaving a night club. In a police probable cause statement filed in [[Maricopa County]] Superior Court, "He (Tyson) admitted to using (drugs) today and stated he is an addict and has a problem". Tyson was released from jail without bond and was scheduled to appear before a preliminary hearing on [[January 16]], [[2007]].
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*In 2005, Tyson briefly dated UK [[Big Brother 7]] Housemate [[Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace]].
*[[ESPN.com]] Page 2 columnist [[Bill Simmons]] makes frequent references to [[Bill Simmons#The Tyson Zone|"The Tyson Zone"]] (named after Tyson), which is a status an athlete or celebrity reaches when their behavior becomes so outrageous that one would believe most any story or anecdote about the person, no matter how seemingly bizarre.<ref>http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/061011</ref>
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