Mike Tyson is one of the most colourful s ports stars of all time. Born in Brooklyn, New York ‘Iron Mike’ had a meteoric rise, filled with anger about his past, that led to him becoming the youngest heavyweight champion of the world at the age of 20. He owned tigers in his sprawling mansions, spent time behind bars, admitted drug addiction, blew all his money, but somehow found Hollywood redemption through the Hangover movies. Raised in Brownsville, a neighbourhood rife with crime, Tyson, now 55, had a tough start to life – fit for the boxer he became. He didn’t know his biological father Purcell Tyson and his stepdad Jimmy Kirkpatrick walked out on him and his family soon after he was born. Tyson would later say about Kirkpatrick: “My father was just a regular street guy caught up in the street world.” As a teen, he fell into bad company, associating with local gangs and getting himself into trouble. He was taunted by other kids for his high-pitched voice and lisp, and got into plenty of fights. Remarkably, before he had turned 13, Tyson had been arrested around 38 times and was sent to a juvenile home called Tyson school for boys. Tyson became the youngest ever heavyweight champion at 20 years, four months, and 22 days old. Wins over James Smith and Tony Tucker in 1987 added both the WBA and IBF titles to the WBC belt he won off Berbick. But mentally Tyson was suffering. A year before lifted his first title, mentor D’Amato passed away.