Living in the hard-edged neighborhood of Brooklyn, a young Mike Tyson, directionless, needed an anchor. Brawling and crime became habits hard to erase. So life in and out of jails, in the fast lane, halted at the Tryon School for boys. There he met a retired boxer, Bobby Stewart. Immediately recognizing the teenager’s dormant boxing talent, Stewart took him to the legendary coach Cus D’Amato.

The father of the Peek-a-Boo style recognized the rough diamond, a cut above the rest, that needed raison d’être. Eventually, he became Mike’s legal guardian as well.

For Mike, Cus filled in the place of a father figure he never had. The latter taught the young bull to control his anger and channel it to vanquish any opponent who challenges him. The mantra clicked from the word go.

He debuted in 1985 when he was barely nineteen. And it just took slightly more than a year to win his first world title by thrashing Jamaican Trevor Berbick at Las Vegas Hilton. 

Read More: ‘They’ll Get Mad’: Mike Tyson Admits to Stalking His Opponents’ Wives

Episodes of rage flashed up throughout his professional as well as personal life. 

The rage within Mike Tyson

Mike was talking to New York-based popular radio host Angela Martinez. Her show, “IRL,” focuses on discussing life, meaning, and ambiguities with celebrity guests. 

Some twenty minutes on, Angie touched upon the sensitive issue of Mike being able to control his anger. The former champion conceded that, at times, he gives way to emotions to feel better; it becomes a necessity as well. But, trying to connect the dots between the feelings he goes through at those moments with life as a fighter, she said, “you still got that you stop fighting forever in you forever for your whole life.”

Mike deliberated, “Is it the fight experience or it’s just my anger or my rage? How do you distinguish the two? I don’t know people don’t distinguish the two when they see me yes he’s great no f**k him up but it’s I have rage I have anger sometimes.” 

When a doctor revealed the monster inside Mike Tyson

Then Iron Mike narrated about undergoing a brain scan some time ago. The doctor reviewing the report commended him for being mentally healthy. Several boxers weren’t so lucky, unfortunately. But then suddenly, the doctor also mentioned readings that showed rage inside Tyson. It shocked the Baddest Man on the Planet! 

Upon hearing this, a bewildered Angie mentioned how rage could sometimes be so lethal that it may cost people their lives. Then, completely concurring, Mike said, “and people died from that, and people yeah yeah we forgot to say that…..people survive it, but most a lot of people die from Rage.”

She asked how he dealt with when rage takes over, and Mike shared his wife Lakiha Spicer’s advice. Be friendly with everyone. 

Some afterthoughts sparked by Mike’s anger

Psychologists have found that all humans are capable of experiencing and expressing anger. Anger-related expressions are common when one feels threatened in some way. Schools of thought differ on ways to deal with rage. Some opine on letting the fits of rage out rather than keeping in suppressed. At the same time, several others advise channelizing that energy to something constructive.

The Japanese were the first to come up with the concept of a rage room. Fatigued and hard-pressed workers, for a fee, will get a chance to smash gadgets and household items. The activity helped them in venting out all their pent-up rage. The concept has now caught on to other countries as well.

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