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Jimmy ‘Curlee’ Kitpatrick Jr. or Percel Tyson: Who Is Mike Tyson’s Real Father?

Published 02/09/2021, 9:48 AM EST

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Former World Heavyweight Champion, Mike Tyson, was always surrounded by controversies in the course of his illustrious career. It trailed back to his childhood when Tyson had to rob and embrace crime to earn a livelihood.

Although he found boxing as a way out, ‘Iron’ Mike couldn’t get over the dark phases of his life.

For instance, Mike Tyson never knew his father well and always had doubts regarding his biological parent. In his memoir, ‘The Undisputed Truth’, ‘Iron; Mike revealed everything he knew about his father.

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According to Tyson, his father was named Percel Tyson in his birth certificate. Surprisingly, Tyson never knew or heard of the man.

He didn’t even see any picture of him. As per reports, Percel Tyson was Jamaican and was married to Tyson’s mother Lorna Mae Smith, following their meet up in New York. Apart from that, not much is known.

Meanwhile, Tyson was told that Jimmy ‘Curlee’ Kitpatrick Jr. was his biological father. Tyson spent some time with Curlee in his childhood but never got close to him. Tyson also found some uncanny facts about him that distanced him further from his father.

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In an episode of Hotboxin podcast, the heavyweight legend opened up on the incident and revealed the mystery behind his real father.

 “I knew the man who they said my father was,” said Tyson.

He further expressed some anger and revealed of having different thoughts.

“Hey, I wanted to be mean to him and stuff, you know. But I wasn’t angry at him,” added Tyson.

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Mike Tyson- A father himself

Tyson himself is a father to seven kids now. One of his daughters, Exodus Tyson, died in a tragic incident. While he was deprived of all the luxury in childhood, his kids live a lavish life.

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Meanwhile, Mike Tyson is again finding relevance in the boxing community.

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At this stage, he doesn’t hesitate to talk about his life openly. Starting from his controversial stints to boxing glory, Tyson appears an open book to the fans. That said, the disturbing story of his childhood only disseminates how great he has become on his road to success.

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Written by:

Raj Sarkar

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A senior boxing writer at EssentiallySports, Raj Sarkar is a mass media graduate who is currently pursuing his master’s degree in broadcast journalism. In addition to his current role, he has worked with the MMA team at EssentiallySports and has interviewed prominent fighters such as Ritu Phogat and 'The Red King' Rory MacDonald. He combined his bachelor's degree with his adoration for combat sports and has a combined 2000 plus bylines in MMA and boxing over the last two years.
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