Mike Tyson has revealed how he lost his entire fortune ahead of going bankrupt back in 2003.
Tyson is now preparing for a boxing return, facing Jake Paul in Arlington, Texas this summer. The legend of the sport is reportedly set to earn $20 million from the fight, which will be broadcast live on Netflix.
At his peak, Tyson earned as much as $35 million for a fight, and he earned that career-high purse against Lennox Lewis back in 2002. Just one year later, he declared himself bankrupt after losing his life’s fortune.
Tyson has now opened up on his difficulties while speaking to tennis star Nick Kyrgios. He said: “At the beginning, I didn’t handle fame too well. You know because at first you want the fame of being a champion, but you have no control then.
“And that’s when I first started getting in trouble because sometimes I might be walking the streets, they don’t know my mother died or something about my family. I’m hurt and they just jumping in, ‘Hey man, give me a picture. Hey man this. Hey man. I love you. Give me this’.
“I might not be in the mood, so I used to be violent about it. And then, I started getting quite a few lawsuits and I stopped. I’m a glutton for pain, but I stopped. I couldn’t sign anymore checks so. I was always being sued.
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“Constantly blew my money away from being sued and going to court and just associating with the wrong people and making bad business decisions. And it was just the whole caboot, pretty much. That was just me getting caught up in a vortex of destroying myself.”
A career of big purses
As one of the best ever, it’s no surprise that Tyson has regularly earned huge amounts. He once earned $6 5million between two fights alone, and was once said to be worth as much as $300 million.
He is now estimated to be worth just $10 million, but that still represents a strong recovery having lost it all. And this summer, he is in line to earn another $20 million as he prepares to fight the youthful Jake Paul.