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TYSON: DEBT, DOPE & DESPAIR
Dec 3, 2004
December 3, 2004 -- MIKE Tyson — his career in shambles after a fourth-round knockout by British journeyman Danny Williams — is said to be depressed, abusing ******* and running up debts with shady associates while living in Phoenix, Ariz. with his girlfriend, Shelly, the mother of his two-year-old son.
The troubled former heavyweight champ — who has squandered an estimated $400 million over the course of his career — was $38 million in debt and owed money to at least 246 creditors before his loss to Williams last July.
The shocking KO snuffed out the 38-year-old Tyson's hopes of regaining the heavyweight crown, nixing a seven-fight deal that could have pulled him out of bankruptcy. Since then, he is said to have been sponging off less-than-savory figures to sustain his lavish lifestyle.
"Basically, he's become the modern-day Sonny Liston," a Tyson pal told PAGE SIX. "He's living off other's people's dimes. He's saying to these shady wannabe promoters, 'OK, I'll fight for you. But you have to pay for my hotel rooms, take my friends out on shopping sprees.' He's playing with the wrong people. Eventually, it's gonna come back to him."
The source added that Tyson, who has frequently talked about his prolific marijuana use, has moved onto harder drugs: "Mike's been abusing *******. He's been acting very erratically. He needs help." Tyson's manager, Shelly Finkel, did not return calls.
The comparison to Liston is ominous. Liston, another fearsome former heavyweight champ who had plenty of run-ins with the law, was found dead in 1971.
Officially, he died of heart failure and lung congestion, but needle marks in his arm suggest he may have died of a heroin overdose. Others believe mobsters murdered him, or that he was involved in a loan-sharking ring and was demanding a bigger stake.
Liston became heavyweight champ in 1962, but was upset in 1964 by brash young Cassius Clay. The two had a re-match in 1965 in which Clay — who had since changed his name to Muhammad Ali — floored Liston with his infamous "phantom punch."
Dec 3, 2004
December 3, 2004 -- MIKE Tyson — his career in shambles after a fourth-round knockout by British journeyman Danny Williams — is said to be depressed, abusing ******* and running up debts with shady associates while living in Phoenix, Ariz. with his girlfriend, Shelly, the mother of his two-year-old son.
The troubled former heavyweight champ — who has squandered an estimated $400 million over the course of his career — was $38 million in debt and owed money to at least 246 creditors before his loss to Williams last July.
The shocking KO snuffed out the 38-year-old Tyson's hopes of regaining the heavyweight crown, nixing a seven-fight deal that could have pulled him out of bankruptcy. Since then, he is said to have been sponging off less-than-savory figures to sustain his lavish lifestyle.
"Basically, he's become the modern-day Sonny Liston," a Tyson pal told PAGE SIX. "He's living off other's people's dimes. He's saying to these shady wannabe promoters, 'OK, I'll fight for you. But you have to pay for my hotel rooms, take my friends out on shopping sprees.' He's playing with the wrong people. Eventually, it's gonna come back to him."
The source added that Tyson, who has frequently talked about his prolific marijuana use, has moved onto harder drugs: "Mike's been abusing *******. He's been acting very erratically. He needs help." Tyson's manager, Shelly Finkel, did not return calls.
The comparison to Liston is ominous. Liston, another fearsome former heavyweight champ who had plenty of run-ins with the law, was found dead in 1971.
Officially, he died of heart failure and lung congestion, but needle marks in his arm suggest he may have died of a heroin overdose. Others believe mobsters murdered him, or that he was involved in a loan-sharking ring and was demanding a bigger stake.
Liston became heavyweight champ in 1962, but was upset in 1964 by brash young Cassius Clay. The two had a re-match in 1965 in which Clay — who had since changed his name to Muhammad Ali — floored Liston with his infamous "phantom punch."
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