CATSKILL — Students from Catskill High School happily poured into the gymnasium during eighth period Friday afternoon. They did not know exactly why they were gathering, but they soon found out from assistant girls’ basketball coach Kyle Lyles. He told the audience they would be meeting someone who walked the same hallways they did years earlier. Lyles said that person was known as “The Baddest Man on the Planet.”
That sparked a buzz throughout the crowd of teenagers as they speculated aloud about the identity of the visitor. When Lyles added that the person became the youngest heavyweight champion of the world at the age of 20, Catskill’s student body realized Mike Tyson would soon be joining them. At 12:57 p.m., Tyson arrived to speak to the crowd and then award a male and female athlete from the school a scholarship named after his beloved late trainer and mentor, Cus D’Amato.
Lyles, who is the director of the Cus D’Amato KO Boxing Club, introduced Tyson to the crowd. After briefly speaking, Tyson awarded baseball player Demetrio Morales and basketball player Ava Edmond the scholarships. Following a photo session with Tyson for each recipient, the students were told to return to class. They quickly stormed out of the stands and surrounded Tyson, with many kids taking pictures with him. Students then returned to the stands for a group photo with Tyson standing in front of them.
“I am just very grateful to be part of this town. I have always been grateful,” Tyson said. “I have never been in a family environment before until I came to Catskill, New York. I never understood family life until I came to Catskill, New York.”
Tyson arrived in Catskill as a troubled youth after first attending the Tryon School for Boys in Johnstown at the age of 13. A juvenile detention officer named Bobby Stewart, a former boxer, recognized that Tyson had skills in the sport of boxing and introduced him to D’Amato.
“I started here with nothing. I started here fresh,” Tyson said.
Before long, D’Amato became Tyson’s legal guardian after the death of his mother. After enjoying success as an amateur fighter, Tyson made a meteoric rise as a professional boxer. D’Amato died in 1985, and one year later his prized pupil captured the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight championship after knocking out Trevor Berbick on Nov. 22, 1986, in Las Vegas. At that time, Tyson was 20. He went on to add the World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Council (IBF) titles to his resume in 1987.
The ferocity of his knockouts and Tyson’s aura captivated boxing fans and made him one of the world’s most well-known athletes.
Tyson’s first title reign came to a crashing halt on Feb. 11, 1990, when Buster Douglas knocked him out in the 10th round in Tokyo, Japan. Douglas entered that fight as a 42-to-1 underdog, and it is considered one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.
In 1992, Tyson was convicted of rape and sentenced to six years in prison. He served three years before receiving probation. He made a comeback to boxing in 1995, and one year later joined Floyd Patterson (another fighter trained by D’Amato), Muhammad Ali, Tim Witherspoon, Evander Holyfield, and George Foreman as fighters who regained the heavyweight title.
He eventually stopped fighting in 2005 following a loss to Kevin McBride, but Tyson jumped back into the ring in November at age 58 and lost an eight-round decision to Jake Paul.
Tyson’s life has changed a great deal. He has been married for 16 years to his third wife, Lakiha ‘Kiki” Spicer, who was with him Friday. They live in Nevada.
It was evident on Friday that the adopted son of Catskill felt great joy presenting the scholarships to Morales and Edmond, and simply being in the school and community again. Tyson smiled constantly and soaked in the adulation from kids who had never seen him fight.
“I wanted to see my friends’ children and grandchildren,” Tyson said.
When reflecting on D’Amato, Tyson said, “Everything I do, I do in the name of Cus. … (He) gave me hope for a better life. I want to give my children a better life.”
Tyson added he has found peace, something he could not have imagined before arriving in Catskill.
“What I learned in life is to never give up. Life is constantly changing,” Tyson said. “Sometimes, the change is a benefit, so don’t ever give up. I have been down and up and down and up. I just never gave up, and now I am now living the best part of my life at 58 years old.”
