For nearly two decades, a career characterised by ruthless destruction had a painfully meek, almost tragic final chapter.
Mike Tyson, who remains boxing’s youngest-ever world heavyweight champion, retired on his stool in 2005 against Kevin McBride, an Irish journeyman who went on to lose six of his next eight fights.
At the age of 38, an emotional Tyson appeared a broken man as he spoke after defeat, boxing now a marriage of necessity and yet one he knew from which he must walk away.
“I’ve got the ability to stay in shape, but I don’t got the fighting guts I don’t think anymore,” Tyson admitted. “I’m just fighting to take care of my bills basically.
“I know I didn’t have it in my stomach no more, but I was in dire needs to take care of my life. I don’t love this no more.”
Tyson had declared bankruptcy two years earlier, reportedly up to $27million in debt. A $300m fortune was long gone, so too the belts and the aura of the ‘Baddest Man on the Planet’.
A new chapter in the book that is Tyson’s professional career will be written on Friday night in Texas when he fights Jake Paul. Whether Tyson has rediscovered his love for boxing or the “fighting guts” is a question only he can answer, and potentially not until the first bell rings.
It does not require a particularly deep dive to find reasons to be uneasy with the event. Tyson is stepping between the ropes as a 58-year-old and, with it sanctioned as a professional bout, the two fighters will not wear headguards. The fight comes only four months after Tyson was left hospitalised by an ulcer flare-up and the original date was postponed.
If I don't get out of this financial quagmire there's a possibility I may have to be a punching bag for somebody
Tyson is, though, not a man who financially needs boxing. His life now rebuilt, he now boasts an estimated net worth of $10m. It has been a long road back to this point, via Las Vegas, Hollywood and Desert Hot Springs, and one that will be cemented at the AT&T Stadium.
This is the kind of lucrative night a desperate Tyson dreamed of in 2006. No longer fighting but still owing his creditors millions, the offer of cash and a free suite took him to the Aladdin hotel and casino in Vegas.
In return, the man who was once undisputed heavyweight world champion would serve as a lunchtime tourist attraction for two hours every day, hitting pads in a ring by the casino’s buffet restaurant. Some watched on from the bar, others were not even enthused enough to cast their gaze away from the slot machines.
Later that year, Mike Tyson’s World Tour was launched, a series - at least that was the plan - of exhibition bouts for which the motivation was fairly transparent.
"If I don't get out of this financial quagmire there's a possibility I may have to be a punching bag for somebody,” Tyson declared.
Former sparring partner Corey Sanders played that role on a bizarre opening night for which viewers were charged $30. Sanders wore a t-shirt and a headguard, sparking boos from the crowd, but, in not throwing a shot in anger, served his purpose for four rounds.
There was talk of shows in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, but the tour did not make it out of Ohio, that one poorly received event enough for promoters to pull the plug.
I was drinking and smoking back then, doing drugs so I didn’t know I was in the movie. I was a mess. I was overweight. I was a pig, high on cocaine
Tyson admitted he “became a full-on raging addict” in the years after retirement, so much so his cameo in the 2009 film The Hangover came as a surprise even to him.
“I was drinking and smoking back then, doing drugs so I didn’t know I was involved in the movie,” Tyson said. “I was a mess. I was overweight. I was a pig, high on cocaine.”
Attempts at therapy and rehab were unsuccessful, with Tyson relapsing following the tragic death of his four-year-old daughter Exodus.
He pinpoints the start of 2019 as a turning point. His Hotboxin’ podcast freshly launched, the opening words of the year’s first episode hinted at the 20-minute ceremony Tyson had undergone.
“I love the toad,” Tyson declared. “Hey man, that was pretty awesome, I want to experience that again.”
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Gerardo Sandoval - or ‘Dr Gerry the Toad Sharman’ as he was billed - had in a Californian backroom conducted the latest attempt to break Tyson free from his addictions.
Venom from the glands of the Sonoran Desert toad, dried into crystals, and smoked in a pipe was the process; “Mother Nature’s best brew” was Sandoval’s more abbreviated pitch.
Tyson said the psychedelic toxin left him scared and threatening to kill Sandoval. The ceremony was completed, though, and Tyson has since smoked the toad venom more than 50 times, on occasion three times a day. He holds it responsible for losing 100 pounds in the three months that followed and for a full character transformation.
He said in 2021: "The toughest opponent I ever faced was myself. I had low self-esteem. People with big egos often have low self-esteem. We use our ego to subsidise that. The toad strips the ego."
The toughest opponent I ever faced was myself. I had low self-esteem ... We use our ego to subsidise that. The toad strips the ego
"It has made me more creative and helps me focus,” Tyson added.
"I'm more present as a businessman and entrepreneur. People see the difference [in me]. It speaks for itself. The toad's whole purpose is to reach your highest potential. I look at the world differently.”
Cannabis brand Tyson 2.0 was launched that year, an empire that claims to have exceeded £100m-a-year in revenue. There is a coffee shop in Amsterdam followed by an expansion into Asia earlier this year.
Products include ear-shaped marijuana gummies, a nod to Tyson biting a chunk out of Evander Holyfield in 1997. There have long been plans for a 420-acre marijuana resort in Desert Hot Springs, complete with a music festival, luxury hotel and even Tyson University, teaching cannabis cultivation.
“I could be waiting on a cheque every day from cannabis," Tyson recently declared, emphasising his return to boxing is a choice, not a curse.
He will wrap his hands on Friday night and step into the ring as a professional for the first time in 19 years. Many will be uncomfortable, even sad, but this time Tyson will not be among them.
