Yo, let me break this down in style. Or Mike Tyson style.
We have been talking a lot about Mike Tyson. We continue to be confused, mystified and intrigued about our goat. We wanted him to knock out Jake Paul! The streets keep buzzing about this thumb-biting thing Mike Tyson pulled.
Teddy Atlas – one of Tyson’s legendary trainers – came through with the insight like, “Yo, this ain’t new.” Apparently, Iron Mike’s been chomping on his gloves since way back and, at 58, continues to do it.
Atlas said:
“There’s a lot of questions out there about the thumb biting. Mike Tyson biting his thumb through the glove. First of all, that’s something that he did in his amateur days, he did in his pro days, and now, of course, he did it again.
“For people that follow Mike Tyson, his career, they’ve seen it before. People were saying, ‘Tyson’s smart, he’s witty. He knows what to say and the importance of having that image.’
“That’s why he got all the money. It wasn’t about what he had left at 58. It was about what he maybe might have and the image. The scary guy. The guy who’s gonna eat your children, the guy who’s the baddest man on the planet.
“When people asked Tyson about the biting, he knew what to say. Again, keep that image, keep that myth. It’s important in these kinds of realms that they believe that he’s still the bogeyman.
“’Why did you bite, Mike?’ ‘I’ve got a biting ‘fixation’. In other words, so I didn’t bite his ear. Just saying that is brilliant promotion for his brand for people to stay with that image. ‘Oh my God, he bit his thumb so he wouldn’t bite his ear off’.
“But it’s not that. He’s done it before. It’s more like a pacifier. Look, everyone gets nervous, doubtful, scared. Even Mike Tyson. It was more of a thing like a pacifier when a kid’s unsure. You bite down on something. Why? To suppress those feelings, suppress the doubt, the nervousness, the uneasiness, the insecurities. That’s what it is.”
I don’t know if I am in complete agreement! It almost sounds like he’s saying Mike was scared or trying to minimize our dude! Mike was a killer in the ring! I think he knew he needed that big bag and he got it, by any means! He is still the “baddest man on the planet” to me. Tyson just knows how to keep the world watching.
Salute, Mike Tyson.
By the way, Teddy Atlas is a legend too. Salute him as well.
