Mike Tyson: Fighting Kids and Their Fathers in Street Brawls at Age Nine

Mike Tyson used to fight the fathers of his street-fighting victims during his tumultuous upbringing in 1970s New York.

The former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world famously grew up in Brownsville, Brooklyn, and developed a fearsome reputation in his local neighborhood. At a speaking event hosted by Valuetainment in 2021, Tyson spoke in-depth about his time street fighting as he revealed his life before finding boxing.

“All the time [I was street fighting], for money, yes,” Tyson began.

“I must’ve had like three or four fights a day. For money or I was robbing somebody.”

When asked if he had a reputation in the streets at this time, Tyson replied: “Yes, yes, yes.” He was next asked if he was a knockout artist even back then and again answered: “Yes, yes, yes.”

Tyson continued: “I’m talking about from like age nine, ten. This stuff just came natural, that’s what I was made to do.

“All of the tough guys and the criminal guys wanted to hang out with me. They put me in their gang.”

Tyson astonishingly added: “I was this size at 12 years old, I was 200lbs [14 stone] at 12 years old. Tyson was born in 1966 and spent his childhood in rough neighborhoods.

“Listen, I was fighting the kid, then I was fighting their fathers. I’m serious.

“I might’ve hit them too hard, they were crying, went home and got their father. Then I would fight the father. My right hand to God, I’m telling the truth.”

Street fighting was far from Tyson’s only law-breaking activity as a youngster.

He grew up in areas with a high crime rate and had been arrested 38 times by age 13 for various petty offenses.

As a result, he was sent to a juvenile detention center and, from there, began to find success in life. It was at the Tryon School for Boys where Tyson met Bobby Stewart – a former boxer turned counselor who uncovered his boxing talent and started training him.

After a few months, Stewart sent Tyson to live with his future boxing coach Cus D’Amato and the rest is history.