Yesterday I got the chance to check out the Tyson documentary that I’ve written about here numerous times in the past. I’ll get into a review shortly, but first check out this short segment in which Mike talks about getting into his opponents head, and his relationship with Robin Givens.

Mike’s stance on his marriage to Ms. Givens is one of the few things in this documentary that really shocked me. The public perception has always been that she was a gold digger, and she and her mother used Mike for money and exposure. Whether or not thats true is up for debate (not really), but Mike Tyson doesn’t harbor any bad feelings about her whatsoever. He admits to cheating, but says he never emotionally or physically abused her and doesn’t know why she did what she did. In the end he chalks the entire experience up to “being two stupid kids who were too young to be married”.

If you’re a hardcore sports/boxing fan, then you’ll probably rate this documentary in the 9 out of 10 range. On the flip side, if you’re a casual observer and just like to watch how crazy Mike Tyson is then I don’t think you’ll find this as enjoyable (6.5 out of 10).

One of the best parts of the film is getting into his head and finding out why he behaves the way he does, and what caused him flip out at times. In a very general sense you’ll learn all about how Mike Tyson’s thought process works (flipping out in public, being overly aggressive, biting Evander Holyfield). But one of the drawbacks is the lack of detail he goes into as far as individual fights, which is something hardcore fight fans would love to see. His commentary on the fights with Trevor Berbick, Evander Holyfield, and Buster Douglas was damned good… but this entire documentary was only an hour and twenty six minutes long which leaves ample time for more analysis.

I don’t want to write much more because i’ll probably end up giving away details you want to see for yourself, but I definitely recommend the flick.