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Bad Intentions: The Mike Tyson Story
"Heller goes for the knockout. His book is both a biography and a history of contemporary boxing, a fascinating tale of greed, violence, sex, and dollars."-- San Francisco Chronicle
Mike Tyson is boxing's most beloved bad boy. With a history of street-gang violence, juvenile prison, sexual scandal, marital strife, courtroom battles, and imprisonment for rape, he has become one of the most publicized athletes in history. At age 23 he was already considered among the greatest prizefighters of all time, and, his career is far from over.
Relying on in-depth research and interviews with those who have known Tyson at every stage of his life, Bad Intentions portrays the shy child who became a vicious street thug, discovered boxing in juvenile prison, and was brought to the attention of the legendary Cus D'Amato to be shaped to be one thing only--heavyweight champion of the world. Here is Tyson's fight-by-fight path to that goal, the millions of dollars made and fought over, the sex and violence of his personal life, and his eventual defeats both in the ring and in court. Bad Intentions is an essential read for all who would understand the ins and outs of the most controversial sport in America.
Mike Tyson is boxing's most beloved bad boy. With a history of street-gang violence, juvenile prison, sexual scandal, marital strife, courtroom battles, and imprisonment for rape, he has become one of the most publicized athletes in history. At age 23 he was already considered among the greatest prizefighters of all time, and, his career is far from over.
Relying on in-depth research and interviews with those who have known Tyson at every stage of his life, Bad Intentions portrays the shy child who became a vicious street thug, discovered boxing in juvenile prison, and was brought to the attention of the legendary Cus D'Amato to be shaped to be one thing only--heavyweight champion of the world. Here is Tyson's fight-by-fight path to that goal, the millions of dollars made and fought over, the sex and violence of his personal life, and his eventual defeats both in the ring and in court. Bad Intentions is an essential read for all who would understand the ins and outs of the most controversial sport in America.
476 pages, Paperback
First published September 28, 1989
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234 people want to read
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Peter Heller
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 7, 2013
Big, black and bad.
Disclaimer: any relationship of this review to Alphonso’s penis is purely coincidental and neither the writer nor Mike Tyson’s mother accept any responsibility.
Note: The star system in this case has been used purely as a measure of appreciation of Alphoso's penis.
Note to self: do not transfer this to my review blog.
Disclaimer: any relationship of this review to Alphonso’s penis is purely coincidental and neither the writer nor Mike Tyson’s mother accept any responsibility.
As for Alphonso’s mother: it is told that once she realised the enormity (I use this word advisedly) of what she had brought into the world, she has spent the rest of her life cloistered in this convent, having taken a vow of silence. Historians and biographers are not, however, altogether agreed on this. Some claim that Alphonso’s mother had 28 more children, in the vain hope that 28 normal human beings could neutralise the impact of one Alphonso.quoted from wiki. Note that this entry has been challenged on grounds of bias. Why the word ‘vain’, it has been argued.
Note: The star system in this case has been used purely as a measure of appreciation of Alphoso's penis.
Note to self: do not transfer this to my review blog.
April 24, 2013
I am very interested in hearing the ins and outs of different athletes careers. Mike Tyson is one of the most controversial athletes and boxer who ever entered the ring. He was known to be one of the quickest and hardest hitter in the ring and he is just a huge icon in the sport. He may be known for biting off Evander Hollyfield's ear but in reality he accomplished so much that he deserves to be recognized. I recommend this book to anyone whose a fan of boxing or sports in general.
December 6, 2024
A FRANK AND REVEALING BIOGRAPHY (BUT ONLY UP THROUGH 1989)
Author Peter Heller wrote in this 1989 book, “Barely twelve years old, [Tyson] already had a rap sheet that could have belonged to a much older offender… He was sentenced to be incarcerated at the Tryon School for Boys… nearly 200 miles from the hollow tenement skeletons and cracked pavements of his beloved Brooklyn streets.” (Pg. 11-12)
He continues, “During his first weeks at Tryon, he began to lash out… he [may have] wanted to be sent to the disciplinary cottage. He had heard that one of the head counselors … had been a fighter, and pretty good one at that. His name was Bobby Stewart… Maybe a guy like Bobby Stewart … could show him, teach him. He wanted to meet Stewart, he told one of his counselors… but Stewart decided to let him cool down for a while… [After two days] he went up to Tyson’s window … shouting, ‘I’m Stewart. What the f__k do you want?’ Tyson responded, ‘I want to talk to you. I want to be a fighter.’ ‘So do the rest of these a_____s around here,’ Stewart screamed back, ‘but they can’t even clean up their own act. You keep your act straight, and maybe in a week or two we’ll see what happens.’ From that day on, Tyson was a model inmate.” Stewart trained him. (Pg. 14-15)
A year later, “Stewart phoned [Cus] D’Amato… ‘Cus, I’ve got a kid up here I’d like you to take a look at. He’s pretty good.’ … Stewart knew that the boy was good… but Tyson would have to make an impression on D’Amato that first night they went to Catskill. There were a … few smart maneuvers in the ring that a veteran fighters would know, moves that D’Amato was sure to notice in a thirteen-year old kid… He spent the evening showing them to Mike, and making him repeat them over and over.” (Pg. 17-19) After watching Tyson spar with Stewart, D’Amato commented, “That’s the heavyweight champion of the world. If he wants it, and can avoid outside distractions, Bobby, you’re looking at the future heavyweight champion of the world.” (Pg. 20) He adds, Bobby Stewart had discovered the fighter the world would come to know… And yet, the discoverer would become a footnote, the first of several people who would be swept away and forgotten when they had outlived their usefulness to Team Tyson.” (Pg. 20)
By 1983, “there was still much of the streets, much of the uncontrolled wildness in Mike, and often he would lapse from the lofty principles that Cus strove to inculcate in him. He continued to have difficulty in showing respect for those in authority, including Cus… there were many times Cus got so angry he wanted to toss Mike out and be done with him.” (Pg. 94-95)
After decisively winning a 1986 televised fight with Jesse Ferguson, he told reporters, “‘I tried to punch him and drive the bone of his nose back into his brain.’ The admission of such murderous intent provoked reactions ranging from raised eyebrows to out-and-out incredulity… Long after the Ferguson fight, the ‘nose bone into the brain’ statement would continually resurface in stories written about Tyson.” (Pg. 121)
He recounts, “Joe Frazier was a brave warrior who feared no man during his days in the ring. He still feared no man in 1986, long after his career was over. Unfortunately for his son Marvis, whose boxing career he was now managing, this fearless attitude led him to accept the offer of a chance for Marvis to fight Tyson… Just thirty seconds had elapsed from the opening bell to the end of the fight… Mike moved across the ring to Joe Frazier and, concerned about Marvis, asked him to check his son. ‘I’m sorry it had to end like this,’ he said to the former great heavyweight champion.” (Pg. 131-133)
He points out, “Much taken with the history of his sport, Tyson enjoyed reading about and viewing films of the old-time champions. He felt a direct connection to them. He often wore his hair cropped closely around the sides and back, because that was the way Dempsey wore his… Often he helped lift his fallen opponents to their feet once a fight had ended, because he had seen Dempsey and others do it… he had seen an old photograph that … showed the great lightweight champion, Battling Nelson in 1910, standing over a knockout victim, legs spread, gloved fists resting on his hips. Tyson loved it… and he made a conscious decision to strike the same pose.” (Pg. 199-200)
After Tyson’s marriage to Robin Givens, they were visiting the Bahamas, and “Givens left… to go out for the day, and Mike heard that her old flame, Eddie Murphy, was also vacationing somewhere on the island… [Tyson] confronted her in the lobby when she returned late in the afternoon, accusing her of sneaking off to visit Murphy. Givens denied she even know where Murphy was staying. That night, a sulking Tyson drank heavily at the hotel bar while Givens sat with him. From his early days in boxing when he wouldn’t touch alcohol, Tyson had become a heavy drinker. Shortly before 11:00 P.M. hotel security said a woman staying with the Tysons reported a disturbance in their suite. When two security guards arrived and entered, they … saw Tyson hitting Givens, while she screamed for him to stop… The guards retreated, and while Tyson’s temper was momentarily defused, Given reportedly packed a bag and left for the night… It was painfully obvious there were serious problems in the Tyson-Givens marriage, a union of two people who were quite ill-suited for one another.” (Pg. 305-306)
He notes “Tyson often chooses questionable company. His recent pal has been Lloyd Daniels, a hotshot high school basketball star who was tossed out of five schools, then blew his chance to play college basketball when he was caught… in a drug raid on a Las Vegas crack house. On May 11, 1989, Daniels was critically wounded in a drug-related street shooting in New York.”
This book will be of keen interest to those studying the first phases of Tyson’s life and career.
Author Peter Heller wrote in this 1989 book, “Barely twelve years old, [Tyson] already had a rap sheet that could have belonged to a much older offender… He was sentenced to be incarcerated at the Tryon School for Boys… nearly 200 miles from the hollow tenement skeletons and cracked pavements of his beloved Brooklyn streets.” (Pg. 11-12)
He continues, “During his first weeks at Tryon, he began to lash out… he [may have] wanted to be sent to the disciplinary cottage. He had heard that one of the head counselors … had been a fighter, and pretty good one at that. His name was Bobby Stewart… Maybe a guy like Bobby Stewart … could show him, teach him. He wanted to meet Stewart, he told one of his counselors… but Stewart decided to let him cool down for a while… [After two days] he went up to Tyson’s window … shouting, ‘I’m Stewart. What the f__k do you want?’ Tyson responded, ‘I want to talk to you. I want to be a fighter.’ ‘So do the rest of these a_____s around here,’ Stewart screamed back, ‘but they can’t even clean up their own act. You keep your act straight, and maybe in a week or two we’ll see what happens.’ From that day on, Tyson was a model inmate.” Stewart trained him. (Pg. 14-15)
A year later, “Stewart phoned [Cus] D’Amato… ‘Cus, I’ve got a kid up here I’d like you to take a look at. He’s pretty good.’ … Stewart knew that the boy was good… but Tyson would have to make an impression on D’Amato that first night they went to Catskill. There were a … few smart maneuvers in the ring that a veteran fighters would know, moves that D’Amato was sure to notice in a thirteen-year old kid… He spent the evening showing them to Mike, and making him repeat them over and over.” (Pg. 17-19) After watching Tyson spar with Stewart, D’Amato commented, “That’s the heavyweight champion of the world. If he wants it, and can avoid outside distractions, Bobby, you’re looking at the future heavyweight champion of the world.” (Pg. 20) He adds, Bobby Stewart had discovered the fighter the world would come to know… And yet, the discoverer would become a footnote, the first of several people who would be swept away and forgotten when they had outlived their usefulness to Team Tyson.” (Pg. 20)
By 1983, “there was still much of the streets, much of the uncontrolled wildness in Mike, and often he would lapse from the lofty principles that Cus strove to inculcate in him. He continued to have difficulty in showing respect for those in authority, including Cus… there were many times Cus got so angry he wanted to toss Mike out and be done with him.” (Pg. 94-95)
After decisively winning a 1986 televised fight with Jesse Ferguson, he told reporters, “‘I tried to punch him and drive the bone of his nose back into his brain.’ The admission of such murderous intent provoked reactions ranging from raised eyebrows to out-and-out incredulity… Long after the Ferguson fight, the ‘nose bone into the brain’ statement would continually resurface in stories written about Tyson.” (Pg. 121)
He recounts, “Joe Frazier was a brave warrior who feared no man during his days in the ring. He still feared no man in 1986, long after his career was over. Unfortunately for his son Marvis, whose boxing career he was now managing, this fearless attitude led him to accept the offer of a chance for Marvis to fight Tyson… Just thirty seconds had elapsed from the opening bell to the end of the fight… Mike moved across the ring to Joe Frazier and, concerned about Marvis, asked him to check his son. ‘I’m sorry it had to end like this,’ he said to the former great heavyweight champion.” (Pg. 131-133)
He points out, “Much taken with the history of his sport, Tyson enjoyed reading about and viewing films of the old-time champions. He felt a direct connection to them. He often wore his hair cropped closely around the sides and back, because that was the way Dempsey wore his… Often he helped lift his fallen opponents to their feet once a fight had ended, because he had seen Dempsey and others do it… he had seen an old photograph that … showed the great lightweight champion, Battling Nelson in 1910, standing over a knockout victim, legs spread, gloved fists resting on his hips. Tyson loved it… and he made a conscious decision to strike the same pose.” (Pg. 199-200)
After Tyson’s marriage to Robin Givens, they were visiting the Bahamas, and “Givens left… to go out for the day, and Mike heard that her old flame, Eddie Murphy, was also vacationing somewhere on the island… [Tyson] confronted her in the lobby when she returned late in the afternoon, accusing her of sneaking off to visit Murphy. Givens denied she even know where Murphy was staying. That night, a sulking Tyson drank heavily at the hotel bar while Givens sat with him. From his early days in boxing when he wouldn’t touch alcohol, Tyson had become a heavy drinker. Shortly before 11:00 P.M. hotel security said a woman staying with the Tysons reported a disturbance in their suite. When two security guards arrived and entered, they … saw Tyson hitting Givens, while she screamed for him to stop… The guards retreated, and while Tyson’s temper was momentarily defused, Given reportedly packed a bag and left for the night… It was painfully obvious there were serious problems in the Tyson-Givens marriage, a union of two people who were quite ill-suited for one another.” (Pg. 305-306)
He notes “Tyson often chooses questionable company. His recent pal has been Lloyd Daniels, a hotshot high school basketball star who was tossed out of five schools, then blew his chance to play college basketball when he was caught… in a drug raid on a Las Vegas crack house. On May 11, 1989, Daniels was critically wounded in a drug-related street shooting in New York.”
This book will be of keen interest to those studying the first phases of Tyson’s life and career.
February 8, 2024
A well researched and put together series of events and back story on Mike Tyson's life up to 1995. It perfectly describes the life of Mike as well as the motives of those around him while his celebrity grew during the late 80s and early 90s. A troubled individual with demons he was not able to overcome leading to self sabotage and destructive behavior. The author does a great job of exploring the motives of his trainers, managers who failed to provide the discipline needed and let Mike push the envelope of what behavior was tolerable because they saw a future heavweight champion and the dollar signs that come with that. From the Late Cus D'Amato who wanted one last heavyweight champion before he passed away, to his managers and promoters needing to build and establish Mike to capitalize for their own financial gain. His personal doctors clearing him of any mental health diagnosis while his ex wife calling him a maniac depressive on life TV and effective cycling his doses of lithium.
The author does a great job of reminding us how much we should idolize those in the public eye. But also if we take a macro perspective, even Larry Holmes warned of Mike's potential downfall years before it happened. A fantastic read given I've read other books on Mike that would not have touched on some of these events.
The author does a great job of reminding us how much we should idolize those in the public eye. But also if we take a macro perspective, even Larry Holmes warned of Mike's potential downfall years before it happened. A fantastic read given I've read other books on Mike that would not have touched on some of these events.
December 30, 2017
Great biography goes into very rare details, I almost prefer this to his new book "Tyson" written by Mike himself, this may be a bit more honest as it's from all good and bad people around him, so the truth can get halfway through, rather than just from his mouth only.
Great stories about Cus when he was young as well, from fights on the streets, to his rough family.
Great stories about Cus when he was young as well, from fights on the streets, to his rough family.
February 9, 2016
Solid account of the Tyson story but it stops half way through, of course, as it was published 12 years ago. I was looking for a different book though, an account of the Tyson phenomenon itself, and this account was a little too tightly focussed for me.
February 25, 2022
While this biography does not cover the tail-end of Mike Tyson’s boxing career, it covers his formative years; being salvaged from the streets, sheltered in the Catskills in promoter/manager, “Cuz” D’Amato’s training facility. We are exposed to both the naive side and the bad side of the future heavy weight champion prior to his incarceration for rape.
The story is told in a straightforward manner; pulling no punches (play on words intended). The narrative is enlightening as well as entertaining.
The story is told in a straightforward manner; pulling no punches (play on words intended). The narrative is enlightening as well as entertaining.
October 12, 2020
Good, but could have been half the length. An entire chapter on Don King and another on the logistics of the Tyson-Spinks telecast. Where's Mike?
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May 18, 2009this book is about a famous boxer mike tyson. this book tells you about where everything started in bushwick brooklyn and then where he ended up as a pro boxer.it really is an awesome story because it tells you about all his insane fights and knockouts. he was my favorite boxer so i was really int this book. it really is a must read
February 28, 2013
ahahahah
May 12, 2013
sad the mike tyson bad intentions is sad of what he could have done
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews