Skullduggary

 

Like most folks in their 30's, I played a lot of Nintendo back in the day. Besides Super Mario Brothers, probably the famous game from that era would be Mike Tyson's Punch Out. Is that the reason I finally got around to watching James Toback's documentary, Tyson? Of course it is.

I'll admit, I probably know as much about boxing now as I did then. Actually, I probably knew more then, as I did beat Tyson himself in the game. As a sports fan in general, I'm definitely aware of the great boxers and have seen them in action at some point. Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Tyson, Sugar Ray, Apollo Creed, Mayweather, Da La Hoya, Clubber Lang, Holyfield. I've seen clips of them all, most notably Ali.

I've seen vintage clips of Tyson, but unfortunately those get lost behind things like public outbursts, threatening reporters, arrests, biting ears off in the ring, and that tattoo on the face. Clips of his loss to Buster Douglas in 1990 perhaps still overshadows the years before that, when an undefeated Tyson dominated opponents.

Before I say anything else about this documentary, let's talk about the boxing. Tyson wasn't just a power puncher, his speed and defensive skills were nothing less than unbelievable. When you go back and watch these old clips, the first thing you will notice is the blinding speed. It's incredible. While there have been amazing fighters throughout history, no other boxer has put so much fear into their opponents. When you watch the documentary, you'll see the looks on these fighters faces in the minutes leading up to the bouts. They're absolutely terrified. They've already resigned themselves to the fact that they'll lose, and now their legitimate fear is literally living to fight another day.

Understand though, this is not a documentary about boxing, it's about the mind of a madman. Tyson expresses regret, but never seeks absolution. Instead, you get a surprisingly moving insight into the anger, abuse, and sexual deviance. In fact, the words of Jedi Master Yodi never rang more true.

'Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering'

I recently listened to an interview with infamous NFL star Bill Romanowski. Much like Tyson, Romanowski owned up to his destructive behavior and was finally being honest in putting his life into perspective. Both athletes contributed their anger to fear. A very deep, dark fear. I have a very similar story involving snakes.

If you're interested, you can stream the documentary via Netflix.