5 reasons Mike Tyson used to discourage his children from boxing

• Mike Tyson never wanted any of his six children to become professional boxers
• The six children include Morocco, Mikey, Miguel, Rayna, Amir, and Milan
• Now 57, Tyson still stands by his earlier decision

Mike Tyson never wanted any of his six children to become professional boxers and always made it clear to them.

The six children include Morocco, Mikey, Miguel, Rayna, Amir, and Milan. Now 57, Tyson still stands by his earlier decision of having his children pursue other things in life other than boxing.

Why Mike Tyson Never Wanted His Children to Pursue Professional Boxing

‘Iron Mike’ built a multi-million empire from decades of professional boxing but he made a lot of sacrifices to become a star. While his wealth charms a lot of people, he would never want any of his children to go through what he went through in boxing.

He has in the past talked of hard conversations he had with his eldest son when he was 16. He had approached his father and informed him that he would want to be a career boxer. Tysson shut his dream very fast.

Mike Tyson with his children at a past event. Photo/The Sun

“I had my oldest son who was 16 telling me he wanted to become a professional boxer. But stop there, you’re stup!d, you went to a private school! he recalls. The American heavyweight boxing champion took his children to the best private schools in the US and paid for them numerous trips to Europe for exposure.

This was aimed at changing their perspective on life and teaching them that there are more opportunities to pursue beyond boxing. Known for his fierce nature in the ring, Tyson told his son that there was no way he would fight with ‘animals’.

“You can’t be a boxer, you’ve taken trips to Europe, you’ve been around the world. You can’t be a fighter with that. You want to fight guys like me? Animals? I don’t want my kids to go through that, it’s degrading.”

Why Did Mike Tyson Pursue Boxing?

A decade after retiring from the sport, Tyson enjoys the fact that he is the undisputed boxing champion. However, he notes that he had nothing else to do when young other than boxing.

Mike Tyson grew up in a violent neighbourhood in New York and fighting was a survival mechanism for him. He took this rage into professional boxing and built a stellar career for years. Boxing pundits describe him as a ferocious boxer, a trait he picked up in the streets of New York as a teenager.

In discouraging his son, Tyson told him that boxing is for men who have nothing else to do in life other than fight. Additionally, it comes with a lot of pain and sacrifices which he did for his children.  He still maintains that his sacrifices are enough for them to look the other way in pursuing a different line of profession.

“Boxing, you do it when you have nothing. It’s a lot of sacrifices, pain, suffering. I took the blows so that my children wouldn’t have to do it. When I look at them, I see middle-class children, who went to school, who do what they want. Boxing means wanting to be the best, to dominate everyone. I don’t want to put that kind of pressure on them.”

Mike Tyson. Photo/ Business Insider.

Mike Tyson Family

Beyond the ring which he dominated in every boxing category; Mike Tyson has an intriguing love life. Mikey Lorna Tyson born in 1990 is Tyson’s first child. He was in a relationship with Kimberly Scarborough but never married her. Interestingly, he was married to Robin Givens from 1988 to 1989 while still seeing Scarborough who gave birth a year after Tyson divorced Givens

Monica Turner, his second wife, birthed his second and third born, Rayna and Amir Tyson in 1996 and 1997. Their union looked serious with a wedding in 1997 soon after Amir’s birth but they divorced in 2003.

He later had a casual relationship with Sol Xochitl in 2003 who bore him two other children Miguel and Exodus Tyson. Surprisingly, Miguel was born in 2002 before Tyson divorced Turner a year later while Exodus was born in 2005 but passed on in 2009 aged four.

Ultimately, Milan and Morocco Tyson, his sixth and seventh children came after marrying his third and current wife Lakiha Spicer. Tyson married Spicer in 2009 a year after Milan was born in 2008 and Morocco came two years after the grand wedding.