Tyson

For an hour and a half, I sat watching the documentary Tyson thinking what could have been.  When he first hit the boxing scene, Mike Tyson had the potential to be the greatest fighter of all time.  He was so powerful and won fights so convincingly, it was scary.  I was a big fight fan when I was younger, and I watched a lot of the old fighters, including most of the big heavy-weight fights from the 70s and 80s.  I have never seen anyone as ferocious and focused as Tyson.  I don't think the film really captured how great he was, but that is probably not the point.  It seems to me they were trying to get inside Tyson's head, to try to find out out why things turned out as they did.

On that level the film is successful.  Tyson is raw and laid open.  You can clearly see this was a young man who was overtaken by the fame and fortune that came his way.  I used to think that if Cus D'Amato had lived a little longer things would have been different for Tyson, and this movie confirmed that thinking.  Cus was the only person Tyson trusted.  Once he died, the downward spiral began.  Tyson was ripped off and played by everyone he interacted with.  He became bitter and he acted out, he had no impulse control.  You can see he is clearly embarrassed by some parts of his life, and feels greatly wronged by others.  If you have ever seen him fight, or at all interested in what makes a person go off the deep end, this movie is a must see. Oh, what could have been.