Where Is Mike Tyson Now? Inside the Controversial Boxing Champ’s Life Over 20 Years After Retiring

NEED TO KNOW

• Mike Tyson is one of the greatest boxers of all time

• His life and career are the subject of Netflix’s docuseries TYSON, which premiered on Oct. 13

• Tyson was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011 and is a father of seven

Mike Tyson is one of the greatest boxers of all time, but his life outside the ring has not been without controversy or hardship.

Born in 1966 in New York, the athlete grew up in poverty and eventually became one of boxing’s most legendary heavyweight champions. His life and career are the subject of Netflix‘s TYSON, a four-part docuseries which premiered on Oct. 13.

TYSON also examines the personal tragedies and controversies that have shaped Tyson’s story, including the deaths of his mother, Lorna, his longtime trainer, Cus D’Amato, and his 4-year-old daughter, Exodus. Tyson’s experience with drug addiction, his turbulent marriage to Robin Givens and his infamous 1997 rematch with Evander Holyfield are also covered.

“Everything that was quote-unquote ‘negative,’ turned out to be a positive for me,” Tyson told PEOPLE in October 2026. “I’m very grateful for it all because it made me a better person. Everything bad that happened to me, I’m grateful for.”

Here’s everything to know about Mike Tyson’s life now, over 40 years after his rise to fame as a professional boxer.

He had a difficult childhood

Tyson was born in Brooklyn in 1966 to Percell and Lorna Tyson. He grew up with his older brother, Rodney, and older sister, Denise. His father left the family when Tyson was only 2 years old. After his mother lost her job, the family moved to the neighborhood of Brownsville, where Tyson was bullied.

“I wouldn’t go to school because people would pick on me,” the boxing champ told BBC in December 2013. “I was really fat and had a lisp. I so desperately wanted to be like the so-called tough guys.”

Tyson had frequent run-ins with the law as a child. By age 13, he had been arrested 38 times, according to Rolling Stone. In 1980, he was introduced by D’Amato by Bobby Stewart, a former amateur boxing champion. Tyson’s mother died two years later after being diagnosed with cancer.

D’Amato eventually became Tyson’s legal guardian and mentor. The veteran trainer, who had worked with champions like Rocky Marciano and Floyd Patterson, helped Tyson develop the skills and discipline that would eventually take him to the top of the boxing world.

He became one of the greatest boxers of all time

Tyson rose quickly through the boxing ranks and won gold at the Junior Olympics in 1981 and 1982. He also captured the National Golden Gloves heavyweight title in 1984 before turning professional at age 18.

He made his professional debut on March 6, 1985, in Albany, N.Y., stopping Hector Merced in the first round. He won all 15 fights that year by knockout. By the time he challenged Trevor Berbick for the WBC heavyweight title in November 1986, Tyson was 27-0. He knocked out Berbick in the second round at just 20 years old, making him the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history.

But Tyson’s victory against Berbick was bittersweet. He achieved the milestone without D’Amato, who died of pneumonia on Nov. 4, 1985.

“I promised him I’d be the greatest fighter ever,” Tyson recalled in TYSON of his final conversation with D’Amato.

After D’Amato’s death, Kevin Rooney took over training duties, and Tyson continued his rapid ascent. In March 1987, he defeated James “Bonecrusher” Smith and earned the WBA heavyweight title. Five months later, he beat Tony Tucker by unanimous decision to claim the IBF belt, becoming the first heavyweight to hold all three major titles.

Tyson’s reign continued in 1988. He beat former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes in January, and defeated Michael Spinks in just 91 seconds that June. The victory preserved Tyson’s unbeaten record and reinforced his status as the undisputed heavyweight champion. He eventually reached 37-0 before suffering his first career loss to James “Buster” Douglas in a stunning 10th-round knockout in February 1990.

Tyson finished his career with a 50-7 record and 44 knockouts, along with two no-contests. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011.

He was convicted of rape

In July 1991, Tyson met 18-year-old Desiree Washington, a contestant in the Miss Black America pageant, during a rehearsal in Indianapolis. Later that night, Washington accompanied Tyson to his hotel room at the Canterbury Hotel. She later accused him of rape, and two counts of criminal deviate conduct. Tyson was arrested that September.

Later that same month, he was indicted by a grand jury on four counts, per The New York Times: one count of rape, two counts of criminal deviate conduct and one count of confinement. He pleaded not guilty, and in February 1992, he was convicted of rape and two counts of criminal deviate conduct. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with four years suspended, and was released in March 1995 after serving three years.

“This is a really, really down point in my life,” he recalled in TYSON of the trial and its aftermath.

He experienced drug addiction

Tyson has been open about his past experience with drug addiction and says he is now “California sober,” meaning he smokes marijuana.

“It feels incredible when it’s working, when you first start using,” he explained in TYSON of his experience with addiction. “You can’t do no wrong. And then it starts to get ugly. You never know that you’re addicted to drugs until it’s too late.”

In December 2006, Tyson was arrested in Arizona on suspicion of driving under the influence and possession of cocaine when police stopped him shortly after he left a nightclub. The following September, he pleaded guilty to a single felony count of cocaine possession and a misdemeanor DUI count. He was sentenced to three years probation for the cocaine charge and one day in jail for the DUI, per ESPN.

Years later, he admitted to using fentanyl for pain management during his boxing career.

“It was a painkiller, and I used to use it to patch up my toe,” Tyson said on an episode of the Katie Miller Podcast in September 2025. “It was like heroin — once it wears off and you take the Band-Aid off, you start withdrawing, throwing up, just like if you were on heroin.”

He was involved in one of the most shocking moments in boxing history

One of the most infamous incidents in Tyson’s career came during his 1997 rematch against Holyfield for the WBA world heavyweight championship. The fight was a sequel to their November 1996 meeting, when Holyfield upset Tyson with an 11th-round stoppage to reclaim the title. Despite that loss, Tyson entered the rematch as the favorite.

Holyfield controlled much of the early action, and Tyson grew increasingly frustrated as the bout progressed. During the third round at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Tyson bit Holyfield’s right ear, prompting referee Mills Lane to deduct two points from his score. Tyson then bit Holyfield’s other ear moments later. Lane stopped the fight and disqualified Tyson at the end of the round.

“I thought my ear had fallen off,” Holyfield recalled to ESPN in June 2017. “Look at the bite. I’m missing part of my ear. I just couldn’t believe it — they have rules and regulations for this.”

Tyson later explained his motivation behind the shocking move during a November 2020 appearance on the Fox News special Talking to GOATs with Jim Gray.

“I bit him because I wanted to kill him. I was really mad about my head being bumped and everything,” he said. “I really lost consciousness of the whole fight. It took me out of my fight plan and everything.”

He is a father of seven

Tyson has been married three times and has seven children.

In 1988, he married his first wife, Givens, however the former couple divorced the following year after a turbulent relationship riddled with allegations of domestic abuse.

“I have socked her before, and she socked me before, as well,” the boxer admitted on The Oprah Winfrey Show in October 2009. “It was just that kind of relationship.”

His second marriage was to Monica Turner, a pediatrician whom he met at a party hosted by Eddie Murphy in 1990. Turner remained supportive during Tyson’s imprisonment for Washington’s rape and often brought his oldest daughter, Michael “Miki” Lorna, to visit him. They married in 1997 and had two children, Ramsey and Amir, before divorcing in 2003.

Following his split from Turner, Tyson was in a relationship with Sol Xochitl. The former couple welcomed two children, son Miguel and daughter Exodus. In 2009, Exodus died at age 4 after a treadmill accident.

Tyson met his third wife, Lakiha “Kiki” Spicer, at a boxing match. They married on June 6, 2009, according to The New York Times, and reportedly renewed their vows two years later, in June 2011. Their kids, daughter Milan and son Morocco, were born in 2008 and 2011, respectively.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

Read the original article on People