One of the most successful and well-known boxing personalities is Mike Tyson. He is the undoubted heavyweight champion of the world back in the 1980s. He was one of the highest-paid boxing athletes and was known for making history by becoming the youngest boxing champion at the age of 20 years. Mike Tyson’s net worth was reportedly around $300 million during his peak, but he went bankrupt in 2003. Today, Mike Tyson is worth $10 million.

How Good Was Mike Tyson? 

Tyson started his career by winning 2 golds in the junior Olympics and then fought in the 1984 Olympics but lost the match to Henry Tillman. He got his first professional boxing match at 18 years of age. Tyson beat his opponent in the first round. After this match, his popularity started rising, as he would end most of his matches in the 1st round. 

Tyson soon came on the world stage after his first televised boxing match against Jesse Ferguson, where he won after Ferguson was disqualified for illegally clinching. Tyson then started getting more fights:

He defeated Marvis Frazier in only 30 seconds. Beat Trevor Berbick and became the youngest heavyweight champion. Defended the title against James Smith Fought 12-rounds to victory against Pinklon Thomas to win the IBF. Beat former champion, Larry Holmes and then Tony TubbsBeat Michael Spinks in 90 seconds.

After his fight against Thomas, he became the only boxer to hold three major championship belts together. However, after his back-to-back victories, his major career downfall came against Buster Douglas where he lost to a referee countdown in the 10th round. Though he continued to win in 1991 before he was arrested for legal issues. Let us see:

Tyson’s Downfall:

In the 1990s, Tyson was arrested for rape and was put behind bars for 6 years. Mike Tyson was required to register as a sex offender. After coming back, he managed to secure two titles but could not regain the WBA belt against Holyfield and lost again in a rematch.

He was again put behind bars for 9 months for assaulting 2 bikers. After returning, he won consecutive matches by knocking. His success came back after he knocked out Lou Savarese in just 38 seconds. Tyson won his last fight in 2003 against Clifford Etienne in about 50 seconds. After multiple tries to get back up, Tyson retired in 2005 due to back-to-back defeats and injuries.

How Much Did He Earn?

Mike’s first striking earnings came in 1987 when he signed a deal with HBO. He was offered $27 million for 8 fights. Later, he signed another contract of $120 million with Showtime that involved multiple matches. 

It is reported that Tyson earned about $430 million from boxing matches and endorsements. Although a major amount of his earnings was taken by Don King, a promoter. The contract between Tyson and King stated that Tyson needed to pay 30% of his earnings to King, above of that Don King would take an additional 50% off Tyson’s earnings. At other points of his career, his earnings would be stripped off by creditors such as IRS. 

Throughout his career, Tyson earned a lot. His highest-earning match was his match against Lennox Lewis, he earned a swooping $103 million.

Where Did The Money Go? 

In 2003, Tyson was reported to go bankrupt. Despite earning so much money, how did Tyson lose his wealth?

Tyson spent a huge amount of his earnings on mansions, vehicles, jewelry, and gifting random people and pets. After coming out of prison in 1993, he started with is spending spree. He spent money on:

Spent more than $4 million on cars and bikes. $400K on pets such as; birds and tigers. $300K lawn management.  Spent about $240K every month. $100K every month on jewelry and apparel. Owned several homes around the world worth more than a million.

Mike Tyson would also lend his cars and bikes to friends and family and then forget to take them back. One of his most popular incidents would be spending $1.5 million on a car dealership in a matter of minutes.

Another of his famous purchases would be a bathtub worth $2 million for his wife, Robin Givens. He would spend more than $70,000 on his appearance.

His constant spending on luxury items and having millions of unpaid taxes and unpaid pager bills were the major reasons for his bankruptcy. His current net worth in 2022 is reported to be $10 million.

Conclusion:

Now we have learnt “Mike Tyson Net Worth”, Mike Tyson is one of the biggest sports celebrities, with a successful career and a fortune of earning through boxing matches and endorsements. However, due to his habit of spending a lot of money, he went into bankruptcy in 2003. Today, his net worth is about $10 million.

Q) Who trained Mike Tyson?

Mike Tyson was trained by Cus D’Amatto, he learned the “peek-a-boo” style of boxing which involved guarding and having rapid head movements.