Mike Tyson Openly Talks About His Trials and Tribulations
In 2012, former boxer Mike Tyson had a one-man show about his life in Las Vegas entitled the Undisputed Truth. By 2013, director Spike Lee had taken the show to Broadway and eventually it would air on HBO. Many critics at the time lauded the effort while also pointing out that the performance had some dark moments while glossing over other significant events in Tyson’s life.
Yesterday, an updated version of Tyson’s show, aptly named Undisputed Truth: Round 2, made its way to the Center Stage at MGM Northfield.
This time, Tyson’s material is largely rooted in humor with sporadic bits and pieces of life lessons learned by the man who was the youngest undisputed heavyweight champion in the history of boxing (which he jokingly calls his only goal in life).
Tyson was aided by occasional visuals displaying video clips, photos and charts to accompany his punchlines and stories. In one clip, he showed a cringeworthy fall off a motorized hoverboard. In another moment, he talked about all the cocaine he did which is followed by a photo of him with powder all over his nose to which he playfully quipped, “Who the fuck took this picture?”
He proudly shares fond memories of his trainer and mentor Cus D’Amato and also his idol Muhammad Ali. In a touching story, Tyson says he spoke to Ali after he lost to Larry Holmes, vowing revenge. Eight years later, he would make good on his word, knocking him out in the fourth round with Ali in attendance.
