[match bell clangs]
- Sorry, Mike. - You gotta fight back, baby.
Fight back! CUT MAN: Settle down.
I know, he's a bum, champ.
MIKE: No fighter in the history of boxing
ever got back on top after three years away.
What made everyone think that I'd be the one?
"He must be an animal. Mike the fucking cannibal."
I know this is what you're here for, right?
The ear bite heard 'round the world.
So why'd I do it?
What was going through my fucking head?
My first press conference after prison,
I was fucking terrified to face you.
Good afternoon.
I'd like to make a st--um.
Uh, excuse me.
I'd like to make a statement about my future.
There's been a lot of speculation about my plans.
Here they are.
I will fight again.
I look forward to seeing you all very soon.
May Allah bless you all.
[rising chatter]
REPORTER: How does it feel to be a free man, Mike?
REPORTER: Mike! Over here, Mike.
REPORTER: How does it feel to be out of prison?
REPORTER: Mike! Mike!
Listen, Mike.
If you want to delay this,
take some time for yourself, you can.
You are in charge.
Not Don. Not the press. Not me.
You are.
MIKE: Monica Turner.
She was a beautiful woman inside and out.
You didn't wanna fuck with her.
She was a tough cookie. Always was.
From the first time I met her.
Mm. The data is clear.
You have to acknowledge this is a legitimate crisis.
Urban kids are severely undereducated,
which perpetuates the cycle.
You know?
Well, in my experience...
the education system would rather incarcerate
than educate young Black kids.
At least you got out.
Not everyone can become world champion at 22.
[Elmore James' "No Love in My Heart"]
20.
The youngest ever.
You know, I, um...
I like the way you think.
We should get outta here.
Talk in private.
As flattering as that sounds,
I'm not the type to throw themselves at boxers.
Then what type are you?
ELMORE: ♪ I'm gonna get me another woman ♪
I'm the type that only cares about becoming a doctor.
ELMORE: ♪ Oh, no love ♪
Nothing else.
MIKE: Oh, she saw right through all my bullshit.
I liked her already.
Took a little longer to get her to like me, though.
[phone rings] We kept in touch.
Mike?
What are you doing?
Got your letter.
Nice photo.
I wasn't sure if--
I didn't hear back, so I thought--
I'm calling now.
Well, so how are you doing with everything?
You know, I've been reading up about the upcoming trial.
I don't know how you keep that smile on your face.
It's all I got.
They don't care whether I did it or not.
They just want to lock me up and throw away the key.
Yeah, the system has a way of doing that to Black men.
Is there anything I can do?
You can open up and let me inside so we can hang out.
[chuckles]
Mike, no. I am studying.
Can I have a kiss at least?
♪ ♪
ELMORE: ♪ Oh, bye ♪
♪ Bye, bye ♪
Just one.
No tongue.
ELMORE: ♪ Oh, bye ♪
MIKE: It was just one kiss.
But I shit you not, after that, she visited me,
like, every two weeks while I was in jail.
So yeah, we fell in love. She was my tigress.
You think tigers get depressed?
I do.
Especially ones that are locked up in a cage.
[chuckles]
I feel like a tiger.
I know.
And we both know who's making you feel that way.
But what do you want, Mike?
Hmm?
I just wanna have the peace I had when I was inside.
You said you wanted to fire Don.
Yeah.
He doesn't give a damn about you.
The only way he stays up is by keeping you down.
He's using you, Mike.
And he's always gonna use you.
[percussive music]
MIKE: In prison, I became a new man.
But Don was still the slimy fuck
he'd always been.
Iron Mike, the man.
We got over 200 journalists coming in tomorrow
from all over the world.
I'm not doing the fucking press conference, Don.
Okay, no problem. We can reschedule.
No, I'm done with you.
We're fucking done.
Mike, you can't just come in here
and drop something like that without talking about it.
We got contracts.
Don't do to me what these white devils do to me
all the time, Mike.
We on the same side.
You're on your own fucking side, Don.
[growls] DON: Okay.
You the boss, you can fire me now.
- Yeah. - Or...
You can take these two briefcases with you,
and we'll just call it a day.
You could just say it's an advance
on the McNeeley fight.
MIKE: Don knew I thought I was a piece of shit.
Money said I was worth something.
Fuck it. It's $2 million.
It's stupendously staggering.
Three billion people--
India, Indonesia, the Soviet Union,
Ireland, all the little leprechauns
dancing in the field--
are all here to witness Mike Tyson
and his return after three years
against Hurricane Peter McNeeley.
There he is, our future, our future.
Iron Mike Tyson.
The true champion, after three years,
ready to take on the world.
He ain't playing no games.
MIKE: The problem was, I was ready to take the money,
but I sure as shit wasn't ready for the first fight.
My timing was shit.
I was off-balance and paranoid as fuck.
Stop. Come on, champ.
You're better than this. Let's go. Reset.
Mike look like he's still on that fucking Lithium.
CROCODILE: Here we go, champ!
MIKE: I needed help, and I needed it fast.
[screaming] What is this?
A funeral?
Wake the fuck...
MIKE: Steven "Crocodile" Finch.
He was my spark. - Up!
You don't fall asleep
when the Crocodile around, baby,
because I'ma bite all day long!
Mike, you an icon...
MIKE: See, now, that's a fucking hype man.
I needed someone from the street
to remind me who I am-- who I was.
CROCODILE: Let me see it!
Icon and a phenom!
[grunting]
[both scream]
Loved by few, hated by many,
but respected by all!
Time to put on a show!
MIKE: It was my first fight out of prison,
and my heart was beating out of my chest.
I used to knock these fucks out
in ten seconds.
I was invincible.
I was a monster.
But now, I just didn't know...
until I saw his face.
He couldn't even look at me.
I knew I had him.
ANNOUNCER: They threw in the towel!
CROCODILE: You're back, baby! You're back!
ANNOUNCER: It's all over in the first round!
But I wasn't back. Not yet.
[upbeat hip-hop music]
Y'all wasn't gonna let me feel like me
till I got that title back.
REPORTER: Mike, Mike, after paying top dollar,
people were disappointed when the McNeely fight
didn't last past the opening bell.
[both grunting]
[crowd cheering, match bell clangs]
I let you hit the third round this time.
You happy?
I was winning, making money.
I was trying to let Monica love me,
and I was trying to let myself love her.
AUDIENCE: Aww. [applause]
Monica and I had this beautiful baby girl,
Rayna Tyson.
I already had my firstborn,
Mikey Lorna, with a woman from New York.
They used to visit me in prison.
But now I had a chance to be a more present father for Rayna.
I wanted to be a hero for both of my girls.
I told myself I had to keep winning no matter what.
[match bell rings]
[both grunting]
[triumphant music]
[cheers and applause]
♪ ♪
I got the WBC belt back.
Check.
[both grunting]
[crowd cheers and jeers]
I won the WBA Heavyweight title.
Check.
I won two belts and earned $80 million.
I was world champion again
in a house with a moat next to Wayne Newton
and a fucking tiger.
But all those goodies didn't do shit.
'Cause I hated Mike Tyson, and I kept telling myself
I didn't give a fuck.
But I do.
Jesus, the fuck is wrong with me?
[Pop Smoke's "Got It on Me"]
I had a future, but I didn't think I deserved it.
I didn't deserve a mansion.
I should've been getting ready for my first Holyfield fight,
getting ready to destroy him.
Instead, I wanted to blow all this shit up.
Give me the bag.
SINGER: ♪ Have mercy on my soul ♪
♪ Don't let my heart turn cold ♪
♪ Have mercy on me, have mercy on my soul ♪
♪ Don't let my heart turn cold ♪
♪ Have mercy on, many men ♪
♪ Many, many, many, many men ♪
♪ Wish death 'pon me ♪
♪ Yeah, I don't cry no more ♪
♪ I don't look to the sky no more ♪
[radio crackles] MONICA: Mike.
[indistinct chatter on TV]
Mike, I need you to come down.
You promised you'd keep yourself in check.
SINGER: ♪ Have mercy on my soul ♪
Hey-- MONICA: Mike.
SINGER: ♪ Have mercy on me, have mercy on my soul ♪
[Mike muttering obscenities]
Fucking fuck!
[muttering, sobbing]
Mike, get your ass down here, now.
Shut the fuck up!
SINGER: ♪ 'Cause I got it on me ♪
♪ I got it on me ♪
MIKE: Wish I could go back and say I'm sorry.
I wish I could have treated her better.
I wish I knew how to love somebody.
SINGER: ♪ Have mercy on, many men ♪
♪ Many, many, many, many men ♪
♪ Wish death 'pon me ♪
♪ Yeah, I don't cry no more ♪
MIKE: Tennessee Williams wrote something like,
"We're all living in a house on fire,
"and we're looking out the window
"while the fire burns it all down
with us trapped in it."
Guess my house is burning.
[match bell clangs] SINGER: ♪ Have mercy on me ♪
♪ Have mercy on my soul ♪
♪ Don't let my heart turn cold ♪
MIKE: You know, people forget that there were
two Holyfield fights.
Everyone wanted to see murderous Iron Mike again.
Why did I bite him? [laughs]
Not yet.
[groggily] What round did I knock him out in?
CROCODILE: You don't remember what happened?
I think I started off good, but after the second round,
I kinda blacked out.
He caught you with his head, Mike.
They cheated us.
I lost the title?
Yeah, Mike.
[somber violin music]
MIKE: Holyfield didn't beat me.
I beat myself.
Yeah, I was fucked up back then.
Hella angry.
REPORTER: [over TV] You take into the ring
a lot of rage.
Does it work for you or against you?
Who cares. We're in a fight anyway.
What's it matter?
REPORTER: Well, for example,
it worked against you in the Holyfield fight.
Well, fuck it. It's a fight.
Whatever happens, happens.
REPORTER: Mike, why do you have to talk like that?
I'm talking the way I want to talk to you.
You got a problem, you can turn off your station.
REPORTER: You know what?
I think we'll end this discussion right now.
We could, asshole.
REPORTER: Yeah, real nice, Mike.
Fuck off.
Coke-fueled self-hatred
doesn't really work as well in the ring
or at home.
Get the fuck off me! Get the fuck outta here!
- Mike! Mike! - [screams]
- Mike, wake up! Wake up! - [whimpering]
What the fuck is wrong with you?
[incomprehensible muttering]
Calm down, Mike. There's nobody there.
Jesus!
You have got to stop with the drugs
and the partying, Mike. You're fucking losing it.
[crying]
Nobody is trying to stab you,
but I can't keep living like this, okay?
[baby cries in background]
Oh, shit.
Rayna's up.
You have got to get your shit together.
[baby crying in distance]
[panting]
[baby coos]
Are you okay?
Oh, I sincerely doubt it.
[baby cooing]
I'm pregnant.
Yeah?
It's hard enough having to navigate work
and try to be a good parent.
But now we're gonna have another one.
Let's get hitched.
- What? - Let's get hitched.
No. No. You're missing the point.
We're having two babies together--
I didn't tell you this so you'd marry me.
I'll make an honest woman out of you.
I don't need you to make me honest.
I need you to be more present in our lives.
C'mon, baby. I love you.
I love you.
If I say yes...
will you commit to us?
- Yeah. - To me?
Yeah.
Really commit.
Marry me.
Please.
SIDDIQ: Before Allah,
are you ready to pledge yourselves to one another?
BOTH: Inshallah.
In accordance with Islamic law and Allah's will,
I pronounce you husband and wife.
[applause]
MIKE: So she got to marry me.
[upbeat music]
And my demons.
♪ ♪
Speaking of demons,
he was the one vice I couldn't quit.
Congratulations on a soaring,
spectacular achievement of love.
[laughs]
I hope it goes the distance. - Me too.
[chuckling]
I just wanted to let you know
that the deal closed.
Holyfield verse Tyson II.
I thought you wanted to do this right away?
I thought we agreed to take some time off,
see how things shake out. - Mike, this isn't just a fight
for some belt.
This is a must-win for your legacy.
You never had a chance to meet a fighter
for the second time that beat you.
Douglas turned out to be a joke,
and Holyfield headbutted you till you blacked out.
You want history to remember you that way?
You're getting up in age.
And the spotlight at some point goes dark on everyone.
I want what's best for you.
[chuckles]
You got a new, beautiful wife and kids.
Beat Holyfield.
This is a $30 million guaranteed payday.
I don't know how many of those you got left.
Go out Heavyweight Champion of the World, son.
Otherwise, what are you?
[chuckles]
MIKE: I had two fucking months.
I had just gotten clean.
I had the shakes.
I was out of shape.
But fuck...
it was $30 million.
[exciting electronic music]
MIKE: So here it is. What you paid your money for.
97 countries tuned in to watch the fight.
I didn't even know there were 97 countries.
18,000 people in the stands. Millions paid to watch it.
ANNOUNCER: The waiting is over.
The talking is done. The rematch is here.
Look at the look on Tyson's face
as he goes eye to eye with Holyfield.
The sense of anticipation as before the first fight
is almost palpable.
MIKE: Don said this is my legacy,
and I was not about to let this fucker take it from me.
It's now or never.
[match bell clangs] ANNOUNCER: Here we go!
Fight two, round one.
A ferocious Mike Tyson bobbing and weaving.
[impact thumps] [muffled cheering]
MIKE: That motherfucker headbutted me.
ANNOUNCER: What a first round.
MIKE: And he fucking did it again.
ANNOUNCER: Looks over to the referee.
That's a cut around the right eye of Mike Tyson
from a clash of hands, I believe.
That's a time out. That's a butt.
- What the fuck? - It's a butt.
MIKE: There was no way I was gonna let this motherfucker
take me out like that again.
I wasn't gonna lose. He wants to fight dirty?
Then we're gonna fight fucking dirty.
[match bell clangs]
There it is again. Motherfucker.
[crowd exclaiming]
ANNOUNCER: Tyson is biting Holyfield in the ear!
Oh, my goodness! He's got a bloody right ear.
Holyfield, look out!
He's pushed right here above us.
Mike Tyson. [crowd chanting "Tyson!"]
Listen. They're yelling, "Tyson."
REFEREE: You bit his ear. - He butted!
Bullshit. I'm taking two points.
ANNOUNCER: Listen.
Holyfield bit by a dirty Mike Tyson.
[muffled, distorted audio]
MIKE: In that moment, I believed he was
headbutting me on purpose.
In the first fight, the refs called headbutting accidental.
Bull-fucking-shit.
Can you walk us through your mindset?
Listen, he butted me in the first round,
and he butted me in the second round.
No one warned him. No one took any points away.
This is my career. What am I supposed to do?
I got kids to raise.
He butted me, I had to retaliate.
When you bit him, was that a retaliation for the eye?
Regardless of what I did,
he was butting me for two fights.
But you gotta address it, Mike.
I did address it! I addressed it in the ring.
Why'd you do that, though, Mike?
Look at me. I got one eye.
He got two ears. Look at me. How am I--
REPORTER: What are you gonna do now
in terms of your career, Mike?
The thing I was worried about most
was that my kids were gonna be scared of me.
[somber music]
♪ ♪
I don't know why I did that.
You probably think I'm a monster.
No.
Do you want to tell me what happened?
I'm a mess, baby.
I don't know why I do the things I do.
Even with you.
I hurt you, and I know I'm doing it,
and I still do it.
I know.
[somber blues music]
I love you,
but I know.
♪ ♪
MIKE: Monica really did love me,
but I felt like I didn't deserve her love,
so I pushed her away.
All this time, I convinced myself
that everyone was out to hurt me.
But that's not what I should've been worried about.
I didn't know how to change it. So why did I do it?
Maybe that's who I really am.
I was just showing the worst side of me.
Maybe I was reacting to what Holyfield was doing to me.
Maybe I was just putting on a show.
Or maybe I was just trying to kill that demon
once and for all.
Maybe I was just trying to fix it
so Mike Tyson would disappear.
'Cause the truth is, by 2003, I hated Mike Tyson so much...
I didn't want to see his fucking face no more.
[buzzing]
SINGER: ♪ On mountains and rivers ♪
♪ Of crimson black ♪
♪ And brown ♪
♪ ♪
♪ White satin dresses ♪
♪ White golden pearls ♪
♪ Bright shiny diamonds ♪
♪ On debutante girls ♪
♪ Meanwhile, in the cities ♪
♪ The blues are crushing down ♪
♪ On bruised, broken bodies ♪