Tyson ran his world on common sense

Mike Tyson, once the king of boxing, earned about $ 300 million in 20 years. But as of December 31, he had assets totalling $ 5,553 with a debt of $ 23 million. With creditors surrounding him, Tyson ended the year in bankruptcy court.

How could anyone — even a public figure as unpredictable as Tyson — stumble into such financial ruin?

“He’s not the first one who’s been in this position,” said New York-based boxing promoter Lou DiBella. There is a long history of fiscal mismanagement in boxing. A broke and retired Joe Louis was forced to work as a greeter at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Jake LaMotta and Sonny Liston scrounged for money long after their boxing lives ended.

And those were the well-known cases.

There have been enough hardship cases in boxing for retired heavyweight Gerry Cooney to start an organisation (The Fighters Initiative for Support and Training) that assists retired boxers. Since forming in 1998, the group has tried to act as a sort of union for boxers who have no support system.

“Football players, basketball players lose their money, too,” former boxer Marlon Starling said. “You just don’t hear about it as much. It’s more of a team sport. Boxing is so individual. It happens to everyone.”

Tyson’s problems, though, are beyond the average down-and-out boxing tales. Despite a declining career, he still earned almost $ 54 million from January 1, 2001 through August 1, 2003, according US Bankruptcy Court documents. But even after filing for bankruptcy protection in New York in August, he continued to spend. Documents show Tyson spent $ 22,000 in November.

Those who know Tyson well say his financial problems can be traced to his early years as a professional. As he began making immense amounts of money, there was little guidance, especially after trainer and mentor Cus D’Amato died in 1985.

By the time Tyson’s skills deteriorated, there was no one in his entourage to monitor his spending. “There was no one to say, ‘Mike, don’t you think that 30th car is a little too much?’” said promoter Dan Goossen, who worked with Tyson in the late 1990s.

Goossen said Tyson was not the problem. “I actually found Mike to be a good guy and I had a good relationship with him,” Goossen said. “But I told (Tyson) after the second right that I wasn’t interested in working with the same people that he had working with him. Not only from a business standpoint, just from an overall standpoint. I didn’t think the direction Mike was going during the years I promoted him, that it was in his best interest.”

Tyson’s excessive spending included the bizarre (Bengal tigers), elaborate (multiple mansions) and gaudy (reportedly four Bentleys). Tyson also owes alimony to former wife Monica and child support for two children. He owes the internal revenue service $ 13.4 million and the British tax authority $ 4 million.

“He’s had tremendous ups and downs, both in and outside of the ring,” DiBella said. “And he’s made a lot of decisions, both personally and professionally, that were bad decisions. But, remember, you’re looking at a kid who came from the worst part of (New York) with absolutely nothing. Then all of a sudden he had absolutely everything... He was so young. He had never been formally educated or even socialised.”

Starling, who made about $ 2 million in his career, said the spending is relative. The more any athlete earns, the more he will spend. “I never knew anyone that told me they had too much money,” Starling said. “It’s about how you invest it. Everybody can spend your money better than you can... Most boxers come from predominantly poor backgrounds, they start making money, they don’t have the education to hold on to it.”

Goossen said he found Tyson to be far more intelligent that the public may think. The problem, Goossen said, was Tyson’s character judgement. “I’ve met a lot of people with diplomas from some very highly esteemed colleges and universities that couldn’t hold a candle to Tyson’s day in and day out common sense,” Goossen said.

“That doesn’t mean he didn’t make mistakes throughout his career. But it’s a lot easier to make mistakes when you’ve got people fawning all over you, throwing millions and millions at you. It’s a lot easier to veer off the road. That’s no excuse, but it happened.”