Mike Tyson’s upbringing in Brooklyn was tumultuous, marked by violence and neglect, as he faced regular abuse in his neighborhood following the harsh realities of poverty and trauma.
Michael Gerard Tyson was born on June 30, 1966, in Brooklyn, and he began his boxing career very early.
Childhood was never easy for Mike, as his father abandoned the family just two years after Mike was born.
It left his mother alone, and she had to raise three kids alone in a challenging neighborhood during the 60s.
After the family began struggling financially, they moved to Brownsville, a neighborhood infamous for its high crime rates.
The absence of a father figure and growth in the ill surroundings led Mike to turbulence. Unfortunately, even his mother could do nothing about it due to her deteriorating health.
Mike Tyson’s Father Abandoned His Mother And The Family To Live Around Brothel When He Was Just Two!
Mike Tyson is one of the greatest figures in boxing history and he credits his mother in shaping what he is.
After his father abandoned the family, Lorna Mae Smith Tyson struggled and sacrificed to raise all her kids for good.
Reports suggest that Tyson’s mother was born in 1927 in Charlottesville, Virginia, in a mixed-race family.
She hailed from an African American community, but exact details on the origin remain missing from the internet.
However, life wasn’t easy for her as well, as her early life was fraught with difficulties related to unfortunate life struggles.
She married Purcell Tyson, a Jamaica-born cab driver, who provided a modest income but never enough.
Purcell was born on May 25, 1935, in New York, where he learned to earn despite societal struggles.
Lorna Mae Smith and Purcell Tyson’s marriage was brief. He estranged the family and left Mike’s mother alone for life.
In his podcast “Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson,” he opened up about how he was born and raised in a brothel.
According to his statements, his mother was violently abused, while people around him only spoke foul language.
Unfortunately, Lorna could do nothing to raise her kids well, and Tyson picked up all the bad things from the environment, which his siblings didn’t.
By the time the boxer was 13, police had already arrested him more than 38 times and lost count.
However, Mike Tyson’s mother later met Jimmy Kirkpatrick, who had left his family and moved to Brooklyn.
Police caught him frequently on the street, gambling and hanging out in the streets. It became regular, and Mike even named his father ‘a regular street guy.’
Life was going on, but the fighter lost his mother when he was just 16, which molded him into what he could never have been.
She passed in 1982 following the diagnosis of late-stage cancer. He always quotes his mother’s death as one of the best things that ever happened to him.
Moreover, he felt that her passing allowed him to grow and become the successful boxer he is today.
Mike Tyson’s First Coach, Cus D’Amato, and Ukrainian Foster Mother, Camille Ewald, Raised Him Past 16
After Tyson’s biological mother, two people who transformed his life were his coach, Cus D’Amato, and his foster mother, Camille Ewald.
At the early age of 12, he was in juvenile detention, where he first crossed paths with D’Amato, a legendary boxing trainer.
The coach almost immediately recognized his potential. He famously told his wife, Camille: ‘Camila, this is the one I’ve been waiting for all my life.‘
He took the young lad under his wing, providing him not only with boxing training but also with a family.
Originally from Ukraine, Camille Ewald became a motherly figure to many fighters, including Mike Tyson.
He recalled in his memoir Undisputed Truth that he began staying at his coach’s home every weekend.
His foster mother took on the caretaker role and ensured he was well-fed. She also listened to their problems, creating an environment conducive to growth.
Overall, Mike Tyson had two mothers: his biological mother, Lorna, who raised him until he was 16, and his foster mother, Camille Ewald, who raised him later.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- He was bullied at an early age, describing him as a “little fat kid with glasses.”
- Tyson had an unusual passion for exotic animals and spent around $200k annually on their care.
- Mike Tyson refrained from sexual activity for five years to enhance his boxing.
