Tyson (2009): A review by Josh Haigh

This is not a title I would have chosen to watch myself, but I was recommended it by someone I met up in London recently.
I was too young to watch Tyson fight in his prime, but I remember the time in school when everyone was talking about the rape allegation – this was clearly big news, but I didn’t know who he was.
Ever since then, my feelings towards Tyson have been negative, or mixed at best.
So, when I put this DVD in the player, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

I was pleasantly surprised. The whole film is more of a documentary, but 95% of it is Tyson talking about his life – his voice, his words. Mixed in are various video and still clips of the events he is discussing. This gives a much closer connection to him than if it was an interview mixed with voice over, and you get the impression he is talking to you directly.

The DVD takes you chronologically through Tyson’s life, from his childhood to the present.

He mentions that of his childhood friends, nearly all of them are either dead, addicted to drugs or in jail for a very long time. That’s one tough childhood.

He had to prove to his first trainer, Bobby Stewart, that he was worth taking the time to train, that he was serious about it. Once Tyson had started to show improvement in other areas of his life, only then was he accepted to start training. Parallels with the traditional master/student relationship in kungfu training, anyone?

Then he talks about his next trainer, Cus D’amato. Cus just talked to me for two or three weeks, just talking about fighting, about the psychology of fighting. He’d say “If you don’t have the spiritual warrior within you, you’ll never be a good fighter. I don’t care how big and strong you are.”

Cus talked with Tyson every night about discipline and character.

When talking about his first amateur fight, Tyson says he was just so scared he wanted to get back on the train and get out of there. This is a welcome admission, for us all. It’s easy to forget, whenever we watch boxers or mma fighters that, as good as the end product is, they all had to get into the ring for the first time, and even the best are affected by nerves and doubt.

When Tyson talks about the death of Cus, you can see the emotion well up within him, you can see and hear the huge sense of loss and grief that affects him to this day.

The most rewarding part of the film, for me, is when he talks us through his mental preparation for a fight:

“I come (into the arena) and I have supreme confidence, but I’m scared to death. I’m afraid of everything. I’m afraid of losing, I’m afraid of being humiliated, but I am totally confident. The closer I get to the ring, the more confident I get. The closer I get the more confident I get. The closer I get the more confident I get.

All through my training, I’ve been afraid of this man. I thought he might be capable of beating me. I’ve dreamed of him beating me. I’ve stayed afraid of him, but the closer I get the more confident I get.

Once I’m in the ring, I’m a god. No-one can beat me.

I walk around the ring, but I never take my eyes off my opponent. I keep my eyes on him. Even if he’s ready and pumped up and he can’t wait to get his hands on me. I keep my eyes on him. I keep my eyes on him. I keep my eyes on him. Then once I see a chink in his armour, boom! One of his eyes may move, and then I know I have him.

Then he comes to the centre of the ring, he still looks at me with that piercing look to make out he’s not afraid, but he’s already made that mistake when he looked down for that tenth of a second and I know I had him.

He’ll fight hard for the first two or three rounds, but I know I’ve already broken his spirit.”

But of course Tyson does have his bad side, the rape conviction and biting Holyfield’s ear in the ring being the most publicised. He doesn’t shy away from these things, and acknowledges his flaws, repeating throughout the film “I can’t blame anyone but myself”.

In conclusion, this film has made me re-evaluate the way I view Tyson, and my opinion of him has improved. While he still can’t be liked, there are aspects of him worthy of respect. He is one of those complex characters, admired for one thing, despised for another.

I do recommend this film, but it’s not for everyone.