Mike Tyson
Calling Mike Tyson a champion is merely a matter of opinion. "I'm a dreamer. I have to dream and reach for the stars, and if I miss a star then I grab a handful of clouds" (Mike Tyson). After successfully pursuing his boxing career and making everyone proud, Mike was able to show his dark side and give up with almost no fight (Notable Sports Figures). Mike Tyson impacted society by becoming one the greatest boxers of all time, knocking out stereotypes, and giving a realization to athletes that actions will have consequences.
Ding! And the crowd goes wild as Mike Tyson’s hand is lifted and he is declared the youngest ever heavyweight champion! In November of 1986 Mike makes his biggest mark in his athletic career at only age 22 beating Trevor Berbick for the World Boxing Commission Championship Title (Byrne, John). Tyson Finished his first year in his boxing career on a winning streak of 15 to nothing (Notable Sports Figures). Two years later, after earning $21 million for winning a fight against Michael Spinks in June of 1988 Tyson became the “biggest moneymaker in the history of boxing” (Byrne, John).
Although Mike seemed to strive for greatness he wasn’t just born a champion.
By the time Mike was eight years old he was beating up anyone in the neighborhood who bothered him or his family. Breaking the law became normal to him. When he was eleven he began smoking, drinking, mugging people, and was involved in shootings on the Brooklyn streets. Before Mike was twelve he had been arrested over forty times (Byrne, John). His father was long gone leaving Mike to watch his mother constantly being abused by her boyfriend (Gale). When Mike was taken off the streets and put into a juvenile detention center he con...
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... not mean you can get by with whatever you want. Actions do have consequences no matter your rank. This hit Tyson hard. In an interview with Mike a reporter addressed: “They determined that you were suffering from depression, low self-esteem, and that you had problems with anger management. How have you tried to address those problems?” And Tyson replied, “That’s all they said was wrong with me?”
Although Mike Tyson did have a tough time living with his consequences he will go down in history for destroying stereotypes for the ‘ghetto youth’ and for making his mark in being one of the greatest boxers of all time. Mike had his fair share of trouble as a kid, who knew it would help him to live his dream. He had his time in the spotlight with his hand raised high and the crowd calling his name. But the good times will eventually end and reality will be his KO.
“It was the best, worst thing to happen to me.” claims Ian Keith Tyson of his military career. Mr. Tyson is a veteran Marine who served in both Operation Iraqi Freedom (later renamed Operation New Dawn) and the war in Afghanistan from the years 2009-2011. Born in Boston, Massachusetts on July 31st,1985, he eventually enlisted in the Marine Corps at the age of 24. After interviewing with each individual branch, he decided that the Marines simply fit. This was a decision that would permanently alter his life, for the better.
Yes they might get paid handsomely but the lifelong damages it causes to the boxers are overwhelming. Life expectancy goes down even more when it comes to boxing because boxers have no head protection so if they get hit in the head it will cause severe
Hoffer confirmes this when he said “The money counted and the tents folded, the circus finally left town” (Hoffer 1). Hoffer used this to show that the fight was like a circus. The fight was like a circus because they had packed up after they counted their money that they made off of their “animals”, which were Tyson and Holyfield. Another example of circus diction that Hoffer used is “if so, he neglectedto consider that, win or lose, he would be branded an animal, with people recoiling from him in horror” (Hoffer 2-3). This means that Tyson seemed to overlook the fact of how people would look at him for now on. People would look him as an animal and would be hit with horror when they saw him because of the fight. Circus diction was overall used to show how the fight was circus like and how the fighters, Tyson and Holyfield, were like animals at a circus on
Mike was also a paranoid person. For example, he gave the wrong address and phone number to the school so if something happened they could not contact him.
This makes comments by the chairperson of the woman’s group to be obsolete. She made many negative comments about Tyson and his personalty. However, she had no first hand experience with Tyson compared with Fenech and she was not entitled to establish obstacles for him just to do his job based on crimes committed long ago [be specific].
The first reason Muhammad Ali isn't a hero is because he is violent. For almost all of his life he fought in boxing matches that all started when he was a boy because he wanted to beat up the kid who stole his bike. For 14 years, on-and-off, he was heavyweight champion and before that a lightweight champion. To do this, you had to have the rage to hurt your opponent. Muhammad Ali even said, “I believe in the eye-for- an-eye business, I got no respect for a man who won’t hit back. You kill my dog, you better hide your cat” (Myers 36). Now, in his 60’s,...
...rican American to hold the World Heavy Weight Championship. The American Dream is now accessible to anyone who has the drive to achieve it through hard work and motivation to jump obstacles in the path of the set goals. Jack Johnson achieved his dream despite of all the opposition, criticism, all the stereotypes, racism and all the other tough fights life threw at him and hence, paved a way for equality amongst the races in the future.
This was a time when blacks were being discriminated against, the military was segregated, blacks were not allowed to play Major League Baseball. When he started boxing early in the 1930's hero worship was not achievable in any professional sports, there were none that were able to command the attention away from whites, however that would all change. Joe Louis began his boxing career at the Brewster Recreation Center. In his first amateur bout, Louis was knocked down 7 times, but he rapidly improved over the years, he captured the 1934 National AAU Lightweight Crown and turned to the professional level later in that same year. Louis won his first 27 fights, 23 of them by knockout, beating people of fame like Primo Carnera and Max Baer. His first defeat was against Max Scheming at Yankee Stadium, he was knocked out in the 12th round. This was Louis greatest defeat, and the start of his greatest challenge.
...ring that summer Olympics, Michael was limited to the amount of time he played because of the blowouts of teams they played. Once again Michael Jordan wins but, this time it was for his country not just his team. (McCormick 39)
Shortly after winning the Gold Medal, Ali started looking for better opportunities by saying, “that was my last amateur fight, I’m turning pro, but I don’t know exactly how. I want a good contract with a good manager.” Ali felt that he was on top of the world after winning in the Olympics and felt confident that people of the U.S. would be proud of his accomplishment as he brought home the “Gold”. What Ali would return to find wasn’t anything like he had expected.
Boxer Muhammad Ali, was born as Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., on January 17, 1942, he was the son of Marcellus Clay Sr. and Odessa Grady Clay. He lived in Louisville, Kentucky where he experienced discrimination and racial prejudice towards himself and his family, which led him to his fascination towards boxing. Later in his life, he would win the Olympic gold medal for boxing in 1960 and became the world heavyweight boxing champion in 1964, and was the first fighter to recapture heavyweight champion three times. But Clay was not only a boxer, he was also a philanthropist and social activist with astonishing effrontery, he spoke out against problems such as race, religion, and politics that cause him to become such a controversial figure.
He was fearless. He was powerful. His footwork was more beautiful than a ballet dancer. He is an Olympic Gold Medalist. He is the G.O.A.T of boxing. He is… Muhammad Ali. I will inform you about the biography of Muhammad Ali of how people saw him in real life, the Movie Ali how it portrayed Muhammad Ali based on his life through screen write, and the Vietnam War. Muhammad Ali is considered one of the greatest athletes in boxing history, but before there was the Greatest of All Time or the acronym G.O.A.T World Heavy Champion Muhammad Ali, he was just a little kid that went by the name Cassius Clay.
Cassius Marcellus Clay was born in Louisville, Kentucky on January 17, 1942, during a time when Louisville was severely segregated. African-Americans were often considered the ‘servant’ class. The highest goal that many parents could realistically set for their children was clergymen or public school teacher. Cassius Clay’s father was a billboard painter and his mother worked cleaning houses. Being an African-American in poverty wasn’t easy; in fact, Clay was mistreated from birth. His mother recalls a specific incident in a convenience store when he was very young. “…He wanted a drink of water and they wouldn’t give him one because of his color. That really affected him.” Clay was eventually led into boxing as a way to deal with stress after having his bike stolen at the age of twelve. It was in the ring he would leave his legacy as an athlete, but out in the real world was where his fighting legacy would really leave a lasting impact. As an advocate for all people, Muhammad Ali was able to challeng...
After his bike was stolen when he was 12, he reported it to a police officer. This mans name was Joe Martin. He saw Clay's ferociousness and his competitiveness and took him in and trained him to be a boxer. He then gave him over to his main trainer, Fred Stoner. He would train 6 days a week with him and Clay was very committed to being a boxer. Stoner knew Clay was something special so he worked very hard with him. Clay then started to fight in amateur leagues and he did phenomenal. Over the next six years from when he was 12 Clay won six Kentucky Golden Gloves Championships, two National Golden Glove Titles, and 2 AAU crowns.
Muhammad Ali started off as Cassius Clay of Louisville who goes to a local store in search of merchandise and leaves his bike sitting unchained outside of the store. When he comes back the bike is gone and Clay is furious. He hunts for the nearest police officer in hopes of getting his bike back somehow, but the police officer could not help him and Clays vow to beat up the culprit (Ezra 7). Clay ironically took up boxing several months after the ruling of the Brown v. Board of Education court case. The story of Clay meeting Joe Martin is one of the defining moments in the man that would become Ali’s boxing career (Ezra 7). Without that moment in history you can validly argue that Muhammad Ali might have never became the legend that we know today.