By the time Tyson reached the hospital where his baby girl was put on life support, she had passed away.
Mike Tyson earned the nickname "Iron Mike" because he was one of the strongest heavyweight champions during his prime; after all, he had 22 first-round knockouts under his name. He was surrounded by controversies throughout when it came to his career, her personal life wasn't an exception.
Actress Robin Givens was married to Tyson but they parted ways in 1989, just a year after tying the knot. In a bombshell interview, she described her marriage with the boxing champion as “torture . . . pure hell . . . worse than anything I could possibly imagine,” reported The Mirror.
Three years later he was convicted of sexual assault of an 18-year-old woman and sentenced to six years behind bars. However, after serving less than three years, he was released in 1995. He went back to boxing and once again ruled the ring.
During this time, he shocked the world in 1997, after he bit off a section of the opponent, Evander Holyfield's ear during a fight in Las Vegas. In 2002, before his fight with British fighter Lennox Lewis, he said, "I want his heart. I want to eat his children." He received a lot of backlash for his statement but none of it affected the tough boxer.
But in 2009, Tyson saw himself shatter into pieces after the death of his 4-year-old daughter, Exodus. According to ABC News, the toddler was found with a cord around her neck that was attached to a treadmill. Exodus' 7-year-old brother found her after he was sent by their mother, who was cleaning in another room, to check up on her.
Even though she was taken to Phoenix hospital and put on life support, Tyson lost his baby girl. Dubbing the incident a "tragic accident," the officials said that Exodus either slipped or "put her head in the loop" that hangs from the treadmill while playing but couldn't get out.
The 54-year-old retired boxing champion was devastated by the loss because he couldn't even say goodbye to his girl. By the time Tyson reached the hospital, she had passed away. Tyson, in an emotional interview after the incident, said that his initial reaction was to "get my gun, automatic just like this and go crazy," reported Give Me Sports. He continued by saying that all of his thoughts changed when he went to the hospital and saw other parents whose children were dying too. He thought, "Who the hell am I, thinking of dying too."
The days after Exodus' passing, Tyson admitted to doing "some cocaine for a week," because he had to get high. "I couldn’t handle it at all," he said. Just a few weeks later he married Lakiha Spicer who helped him mourn the loss of his daughter the right way instead of his drug-fueled days, as per Cheat Sheet.
While talking to Oprah, the heavyweight champion said that he wasn't aware of the finer details of the tragic accident and wasn't keen on finding out as well. He said, "From all my experience in rehab, I took responsibility. She had to be buried, she had to be taken care of. There was no animosity. There was no anger towards anybody," reported The Daily Mail. He continued, "I don't know how she died and I don't want to know. If I know somebody's to blame for it, there will be a problem."
Acknowledging his initial reaction he said, "My first instinct was a lot of rage and I am so happy I had the tools in life not to go in that direction. I don't want to go there, I want to win now." Showing gratitude towards his family, he continued, "I'm just fortunate that I have children by different women and as a family we're close. That's my biggest asset. We all love each other."
Tyson has six surviving children - eldest daughter Mickey, 30; daughter Rayna, 24, and son Amir, 23, whom he shares with his second ex-wife Monica Turner; Miguel, 18, with Xochitl; and son Milan, 12, and Morocco, 9, with wife Spicer.
The interview with Oprah was also the one where he dismissed ex-wife Givens' accusations and said, "I truly wanted to sock her but I didn't. I was just shocked." Spicer who was also present during the interview took her husband's side and said, "I have known him since I was 15, I have never experienced anything but love from him."
Tyson officially retired from boxing in 2005 after he lost a match against Irish boxer Kevin McBride and now hosts a podcast called Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson.
References:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/boxing/mike-tyson-breaks-down-following-22298531
