Mike Tyson Turns 50 Today!
Looking back at his most notorious moments.
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Happy B-Day, Champ - Happy 50th birthday to Mike Tyson. The former boxing heavyweight champion of the world might have calmed down over the past few years, but there's no forgetting the notorious no-chill moments that he has given us. Whether it was becoming the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history, his infamous ear bite on Evander Holyfield (pictured here) or saying he wants to eat Lennox Lewis's children, every shocking moment that Iron Mike delivered had some oomph to it. Here, BET.com celebrates his 50th born day, looking back at some of his most infamous moments in and out of the ring.(Photo: Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
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Becoming the Youngest Heavyweight Champion Ever - At just 20 years old Mike Tyson scored a dominant, convincing TKO of Trevor Berbick back on November 22, 1986, to become the youngest heavyweight boxing champion in history of the "Sweet Science." It marked his 28th straight win. The "Baddest Man on the Planet." Straight like that. (Photo: The Ring Magazine/Getty Images)
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Confrontation With Teddy Atlas - During the early 1980s, Tyson was being trained by Cus D’Amato and Teddy Atlas. There was an incident in which Tyson groped Atlas’s 11-year-old niece, driving Teddy into an all-out rage, which included him putting a gun to Mike’s head and threatening to take his life. Tyson would make amends with Atlas in the summer of 2013.(Photos from left: Jason Merritt/Getty Images for iHeartMedia, Lily Lawrence/Getty Images for Tequila Herradura)
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Pet Tiger - At the height of his career, Iron Mike had accumulated more than enough dough to wild out on outrageous expenditures. Emphasis on "wild." One of those purchases was his very own pet tiger, which he used to box, wrestle and play with. Only Mike.(Photo: The Ring Magazine/Getty Images)
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Say What? - In a 2002 reporters’ round table, Tyson told a female reporter: “Are you talking out of turn? I normally don't do anything with women unless I fornicate with them first. So you shouldn't talk anymore. Unless you wanna, you know..." Shaking our heads. One of Tyson’s many run-ins with reporters over the years. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
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'I Want to Eat his Children!' - It was the sound bite heard around the world that followed the bite heard around the world. After defeating Lou Savarese in 38 seconds back in 2000, Tyson flew into an all-out rant against Lennox Lewis, in which he said: “I’m the best ever. I’m the most brutal and vicious and ruthless champion that’s ever been. There’s no one can stop me. Lennox is a conquerer? No, I’m Alexander. He’s no Alexander. I’m the best ever. There’s never been anybody as ruthless. I’m Sonny Liston. I’m Jack Dempsey. There’s no one like me, I’m from their cloth. There’s no one that can match me. My style is impetuous. My defense is impregnable, and I’m just ferocious. I want your heart, I want to eat his children.” Welp. (Photo: JOHN GURZINSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
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Bite Fight - Tyson’s June 1997 rematch with Evander Holyfield was supposed to be about redemption for his loss to “The Real Deal” more than eight months prior. Instead, it turned out to be a chaotic debacle, which ended with Mike being disqualified for biting both of Holyfield’s ears. Who could forget the sights of Tyson spitting out a chunk of Holyfield’s ears right in the ring as Evander jumped up and down in pain? Tyson would go on to lose his boxing license, being kept out of the ring for nearly two years. (Photo: JEFF HAYNES/AFP/Getty Images)
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Tyson and Tupac - Mike Tyson and Tupac Shakur were friends, as evidenced by the late rapper being in attendance for Tyson’s September 7, 1996, bout with Bruce Seldon in Las Vegas. After watching Mike destroy Seldon via a first-round knockout, Tupac left the MGM Grand and was shot hours after, dying six days later, forever intertwining Mike with his friend Pac.(Photo: Mike Tyson via Instagram)
Photo by @miketyson via Instagram
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'Turn Off Your Station' - While doing a promo for his January 1999 fight with Francois Botha, Iron Mike memorably ended a profanity laced interview with Russ Salzberg, telling him, “I’m talking to you the way I want to talk to you. You have a problem… turn off your station.” After Salzberg took Tyson up on the offer, Mike proceeded to tell him to “f*** off!” Zero chill!
Photo By Photo: UPN 9/CNN
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Press Conference Chaos - During a January 2002 press conference to hype his fight with Lennox Lewis, Tyson decided to not wait for the actual bout, charging at Lennox and yes, even biting him in the leg… years after he bit Evander Holyfield’s ears. The press conference ended with Tyson having a war of words with someone in the audience, telling him, "I’ll f*** you in you’re a** in front of everybody."(Photo: Arnaldo Magnani/Getty Images)
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