‘It Was Just Very Violent, Life Wasn’t Worth Sh*t’: Mike Tyson Feels Social Media’s Existence During ‘Murder Row in the 80s’ Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference

Published 11/26/2022, 5:00 PM EST

Mike Tyson was born in 1966 in Fort Greene, a neighborhood of Brooklyn. The place takes its name after the revolutionary General Nathaniel Greene. The experiences that he went through in those mean streets during the early 80s turned him into the man we all know today.

The decade following the Vietnam War saw the locality’s worst phase. Abject poverty and crime made it among the no-go areas of New York. Streets were awash with illicit drugs. As a result, the region went through what urban planners call gentrified exodus.

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An atmosphere where infraction of the law was the norm rather than an exception hardened young Mike into a mean and hungry fighting machine. In a place where life carried little value, resorting to natural fighting skills lent a considerable advantage when cornered, which was frequent.

‘Terribly Sad’ Mike Tyson News Stuns Boxing Community

British journalist and author Graham Hancock was the latest guest at Hotboxin with Mike Tyson. Footballer Sebastian Day Joseph joined Mike as the co-host. Hancock has made a name for himself in parallel or pseudo-academic discourses on history and archaeology. He is the proponent of advanced Ice Age civilization theory.

The gloomy 80s

Roughly an hour and a half later, when the show headed towards its end, Graham Hancock touched upon his anathema to social media platforms. A self-described old-schooler, he rates himself technologically challenged. Curious to know where the former boxing champion stood, he asked, “But in your, in your boxing career social media was not was not a thing. No it came it came afterwards yeah what’s your feeling about that would it have been better if there was social media?”

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Responding nonchalantly, Mike said that he wasn’t sure whether social media’s presence would have made much of a difference in people’s lives during the early 80s. The never-ending mayhem would have rolled on without respite.

Curious, Graham checked if life was better than it used to be during his teenage years.

Mike was forthcoming in his admission, “Absolutely in the 80s everybody was dying, everybody died of drugs, diseases, guns, and knives it was just murder Row in the 80s drugs all of traffic oh you destroyed a whole generation of family.”

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Mike Tyson: The Baddest Man on the Planet

At the Tryon School for Boys, Mike’s innate boxing talent didn’t escape the notice of a retired boxer Bobby Stewart. The latter took Tyson to the legendary coach Cus D’Amato who eventually became his guardian. The meeting was to change Mike‘s life. And the boxing world left forlorn after Muhammad Ali’s exit rejoiced when he debuted.

Life changed for Mike after his professional debut. No other boxer has had such a forceful impact on the Heavyweight division as Mike Tyson did. He became the world champion at the age of twenty.

There was no looking back, and his winning streak continued till it was put to a stop by Buster Douglas in 1990.

Watch Out for More: How two greats weigh up against each other

From that time on, his personal and professional life echoed the downsides of his teenage years. Yet, today, Mike is a happy family man and a successful entrepreneur. He is, instead, a fine example of putting social media to good advantage. Do you agree?

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After completing 18 years in the corporate sector, Jaideep decided to make a move out of the comfort zone and follow his heart's calling to becoming a writer. His understanding of Boxing began with Iron Mike's debut as an 18 year old in 1985. Like anyone and everyone else, he holds Muhammad Ali as the greatest, though his personal favorite remains the 'PacMan' Manny Pacquiao for his speed and sheer toughness.