|
Raphaella CRUZ |
 |
|
MIKE TYSON |
 the youngest heavyweight champ |
Society helped make him,
but now it's rejecting him
By RAPHAELLA CRUZ
Special to TheColumnists.com
My good friend Desmond Tyler, a Boston cop, preacher,
and boxing coach, recently announced that he knew the secret
of becoming a great fighter.
"You have to come from a broken home," he said. "If
you had two parents, you'll probably get crushed by the boxer
who has the real anger."
This discussion began while we were reflecting on Mike Tyson as a former champion, and his recent loss to Lennox Lewis's relentless jab, in which Tyson left the ring with a swollen nose and two bleeding eyes. Tyson fans were shocked and disappointed to see such a great former champion seemingly lose his will to fight and succumb to the other champion's fight. So many expected Tyson to win, because of his size, his power, and his professional record (49-4).
In a later continuation of that discussion, my friend Leah Cohen and I further agreed that it doesn't matter in what form the boxer was traumatized, there are many forms of trauma that may lead a person into the ring to fight. This discussion was based on true knowledge.
I am a former amateur boxing
champion and currently a boxing coach who has trained hundreds
of inner-city youth in the sweet science; and Leah is a
professional writer whose latest project involves reporting on
amateur boxing, which she has been studying in depth for quite
some time. Of all the boxers we've known, all three of us agreed
that the champions usually possess a deep-rooted, severely powerful
anger. Through boxing, their anger manifests itself in the pursuit
of a goal, such as becoming a champion. With no goal, or nothing
to prove, the reason to win disappears.
There are exceptions to the rule, of course. I am sure some great fighters were different than the average. But for Tyson, rage ruled the ring. Anyone with a conscience knows for sure that Tyson does not belong in the ring; rather, he belongs in a treatment center or even jail. I am the first to support the incarceration of sex offenders, and Tyson is obviously a terrible role-model as a star athlete. And yet as I watched him lose this fight I felt overwhelmed with compassion for him.
What I saw was not a giant and powerful champion, but a child who was desperate and weak. He quit mentally and ran out of gas, because his reason to fight was gone. He's already been the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, and lived his life accordingly, if not recklessly.
What I saw in him that night was the same face I have seen in so many children who have passed through the boxing gym. They are usually fit to begin with and become stronger as they train and grow to physical maturity. Yet there is visible vulnerability, sadness and anger in so many of their faces, and especially in those who come from broken homes.
There are so many definitions
of the so-called broken home. In Tyson's case it was a home without
a father in a very poor and frightening New York City ghetto.
He was one of many children and was neglected from birth. One
of our most basic human needs is security, and his was violated
from the start.
 |
after serving time for rape |
Tyson was blessed with a gift and an unusually strong physique, and luck led him into a boxing gym where he was suddenly noticed and nurtured, something he must have been craving his entire life. His coach became like a father, offering him security and encouragement, and eventually leading him to become a great champion.
But all adults are basically children inside, and Tyson is no exception. He was lucky to have found a home in the boxing gym as a teenager. At the beginning of his professional career, when Tyson was knocking everyone out, Americans loved him and were in awe of his formidable strength. His crass demeanor was accepted as a persona fit for a professional boxer. America was proud of this great champion.
But even after becoming so successful, not to mention rich, it was more and more apparent that his roots were catching up with him. The broken child inside was coming out again. This is the same broken child I see in many children and adults at my gym.
So for me, it was sad to watch him lose this fight, knowing his resilience has run short and that he may no longer be the great champion he once was. Society raised him to become a delinquent and a criminal, then glorified and adored him and paid top dollar to watch him. Now it's both feeding him financially and failing him emotionally. He has become another professional boxer who is being rejected by the very people who once crowned him.
© 2002 by Raphaella Cruz. The young Tyson photo is courtesy of HBO, the older Tyson photo courtesy of Showtime.
|
Raphaella Cruz is the former Raphaela Johnson, ldaughter of London-based columnist Michael Johnson of TheColumnists.com. He wrote about her boxing career in a column that first appeared here Feb. 17, 2002. She has recently married. She agreed to write this column at our request. |
You can comment on this column online. Please address your message to either "The Editors" or Raphaella Cruz. To send an email, click here: talkback@thecolumnists.com
| Home | About Us | Archives | Talkback | Shopping Mall |