The deeds of those who went before us remind us of their accomplishments. More significantly, their mistakes on the journey to reach the top. Mike Tyson grew up during the era when boxing brought forth one legend after the other, including the greatest of all time-Muhammad Ali. However sadly, not all the icons he looked up to met an ending that was either positive or happy. The tragedy wasn’t lost when he visited the gym where he crawled as a novice and came out as ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet.’

Mike Tyson has come a long way since he started as a young amateur boxer. Cus D’Amato and Kevin Rooney chipped the rough ends of the uncut diamond. So when the floodlights finally fell on him, fans and viewers could make out a new champion. ‘Iron’ Mike became the youngest Heavyweight champion at the age of twenty.

Mike Tyson walks down the memory lane at his old gym

‘Kid Dynamite’ hasn’t forgotten his roots. Rapper Joe Budden and Tyson chatted at the place that gave birth to the enigma, Mike Tyson. Photos of known and unknown boxers adorned the old, worn-down walls of the gym. So obviously curious, Budden asked when Tyson could make those whom Tyson has beaten in the past.

Replying in the affirmative, ‘Iron’ Mike said that the wall also had the pics of those who had beaten him. So Budden asked how many times he went down on the canvas, and the former champion mentioned four to five times. ‘That’s not a lot,” Budden said, and pat came Tyson’s reply that it boils down to individual benchmarks. The former appeared visibly impressed by the nostalgic ambience.

Mike Tyson said, “These are the guys that I looked up to and they inspired me to be who I am today…..this guy inspired me look like much you know like I say f**k there’s a guy I looked up to to get away become who I am!” Then he added further that irrespective of the money one makes in a lifetime, the people in those pictures remained the idols that he admired, though sadly, most of them passed away in a state of penury, “Okay, how big and um no matter how much money you got but they’re still my heroes and most of those guys really died broke...”

What Tyson mentioned remains one of boxing’s bitter truths. Many fans might remember the sad finales of some of the greatest such as ‘Sugar’ Ray Robinson and Joe Louis. In 1981, when ‘The Brown Bomber’ finally left the world, his former foe Max Schmelling bore his funeral expenses.

Read More: Suffering From a Nerve Condition, Mike Tyson Emphasizes Importance of Physical Health While Talking About J Balvin’s Weight

What could be the most significant cause of so many boxers going bankrupt? Do share your thoughts and views with us in the comments below.

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