Could have Mike Tyson been better if he grew up different?

[K-DOGG]

I was wondering if Tyson could've been a better boxer if he was growing up better as in a better environment, better parents etc.

I don't think he would've been successful because if he grew up rich in the suburbs or something with nice loving parents, he could've been a boxer but not as good as he was.

IMO, the rage from his childhood made him a better boxer. It made him a bad PERSON but a great BOXER.

Thoughts?

Agreed. Sure, anything's possible; but most of the time it's difficulty and poverty that give a young man the fire to box and make a better living for himself. Perhaps if he grew up slightly different he wouldn't have imploded; but I would attribute that more to who he was inside which reacted to the environment he was in. Remember, who we are is defined by how we react to our environment and outside pressures. Mike reacted to being a fatherless kid growing up in Brownsville; but that reaction came essentially from within. If Mike had grown up in suburbia with two loving parents, he might not have been involved in sports at all...he might have been an "A" student in the Chess club....or, he could have been the bad seed and killed somebody. Jeffrey Dahmer suppossedly had a normal upbringing.

You never really know. Boxing probably saved Mike from prison time in his youth; and then the reality of being a kid (20 years old is "a kid" comparitively) with millions of dollars, millions of adoring fans, and snakes taking advantage of you every time you turn around after the two people you trusted most died left you alone to fend for yourself...and your street survival instincts kick in. Who knows?

The fact is everybody has a hand of poker to play in life; bad hands and good hands. But, only you can determine how you play it. You can win with a bad hand, if you know what your doing...or, at the very least, you can walk away with your head held high. Ulimately, it's all up to you.

The tangents of life are two diverse to be predicted.

[rocco1252]

I was wondering if Tyson could've been a better boxer if he was growing up better as in a better environment, better parents etc.

I don't think he would've been successful because if he grew up rich in the suburbs or something with nice loving parents, he could've been a boxer but not as good as he was.

IMO, the rage from his childhood made him a better boxer. It made him a bad PERSON but a great BOXER.

Thoughts?

the rage he brought into the ring with him definately made him a better fighter not so much a better boxer, had he grown up in a better neighborhood with more opportunity chances are he wouldnt even had boxed.

[butterfly1964]

If he was taught discipline and how to handle adversity, then yes.

[six85]

Cus had told Tyson, "You're the type of person who needs to be beaten up in order to learn something". I still think he would have been a great boxer had he been developing with the right trainers(Cus, Atlas, Rooney). Tyson was born with natural athletic abilities, not to mention his strength and size. If not boxing, Tyson could have exceled in many other sports. His size and quickness could have made him the most decorated jock in his high school.

As a sidenote: I believe the first time Tyson knocked someone out was when a neighborhood bully took one of his pigeons and snapped the bird's neck in front of Tyson. Tyson retaliated with a right hook that put the boy to sleep.

[catskills23]

Cus had told Tyson, "You're the type of person who needs to be beaten up in order to learn something". I still think he would have been a great boxer had he been developing with the right trainers(Cus, Atlas, Rooney). Tyson was born with natural athletic abilities, not to mention his strength and size. If not boxing, Tyson could have exceled in many other sports. His size and quickness could have made him the most decorated jock in his high school.

As a sidenote: I believe the first time Tyson knocked someone out was when a neighborhood bully took one of his pigeons and snapped the bird's neck in front of Tyson. Tyson retaliated with a right hook that put the boy to sleep.

tyson could of excelled at other sports eh. How do you think tyson would of done at soccer?.

[six85]

Tyson did have good footwork and really strong legs...I don't know how high he would be able to jump though...

[Southpaw Stinger]

tyson could of excelled at other sports eh. How do you think tyson would of done at soccer?.

Too naturally bulky to be a soccer player.

And to the original question I thinks it's impossible to answer. Tysons childhood made him what he was. If he lead a different life would he ever have come into contact with Cus? Would he have ever used the peek a boo style? I think Tysons early years made him into a tough viscious man, it was the 90's where things started going wrong for him.

[six85]

the rage he brought into the ring with him definately made him a better fighter not so much a better boxer, had he grown up in a better neighborhood with more opportunity chances are he wouldnt even had boxed.

I don't think it was his "rage" that made him a great boxer. He had great physical strength and speed. In his early years, I don't think he even fought with rage in the ring. He was a very scientific boxer applying the peak a boo style extremely well. He would utilize that jab frequently to get inside. Rooney even mentioned that his jab was his secret weapon.

[the traveler]

I agree with the poster of the thread. If you listen to some of Mike's interviews, he says that he fought because he wanted to be rich and needed money (When he got that money, he claimed that's when he stopped caring) Also, if you look at some of his fights, it seems like his will was broken easily. Combine those attributes with a rich, privileged kid, and I don't thik the world would ever have witnessed an "Iron" Mike Tyon.

But, if, and that's a big if, IF he did make it into the boxing ring, hmmm, I think that he would have been maybe more successful. I don't think his rage would have not been there, though. I think that all our natural emotions, whether they're present or not, are always latent in us. All it takes is something to bring it out. Tyson's natural rage may not have come out as a teen, but if he was exposed to a boxing ring as a rich kid with good parents, I think that it would have easily come out. He would have learned it and groomed it well. I also think that he would have been more discipline without the exposure to the bad side of life. The increased discipline may have stopped him from taking parts of his career off as he did when he became champ. It's the things that he experienced early in his life when he lived with he lived with his mother: the lack of stable parenting, and the exposure to a world that didn't give a **** and had no concept of right or wrong, that made him into the person that didn't care.

Naturally, it may have been in him to be a bad ass, but the ommision of the early life that he had would have pushed it back, and a solid household through out his life would have groomed his disciplined and pushed it into the fore front of things.

It's hard to say, though, because adversatiy also helps you learn how to bounce back. But, did Mike ever really bounce back when down in his career? I don't think so. So, I don't think that the lack of adversatiy would have hurt him very much.

[Hard Boiled HK]

well i live in the suburbs with parents that make alot of money.hell i dont have to work if i wanted to. but i still go to boxing and work at the gym like i have nothing. it makes be alot better

We all go to college or work because we do not want to lead a worthless life, regardless of how much money our parents may have.