Mike Tyson fighting & acting in film Tyson

April 26, 1:58 PMActing ExaminerDeborah Smith Ford

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Without discipline, no matter how good you are, you are nothing! One day, and I might not be around, you're going to meet a tough guy who takes your best shot. He'll keep coming because he's tough. Don't get discouraged. That's when the discipline comes in.” - Mike Tyson

Tyson is a 2008 documentary film about boxer Mike Tyson. It was directed by American filmmaker James Toback, and produced by Nicholas Jarecki. It was publicly screened for the first time at the 2008 Cannes film festival.Tyson released April 24, 2009, distributed by Sony Classics.

Fear is your best friend or your worst enemy. It's like fire. If you can control it, it can cook for you; it can heat your house. If you can't control it, it will burn everything around you and destroy you. If you can control your fear, it makes you more alert, like a deer coming across the lawn.” - Mike Tyson

Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson, also known as Malik Abdul Aziz, (born June 30, 1966) is a retired American boxer. He was the undisputed heavyweight champion and remains the youngest man ever to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles. He won the WBC title at just 20 years old. Throughout his career, Tyson became well-known for his controversial behavior both inside and outside the ring.

Tyson made his professional debut on March 6, 1985, in Albany, New York. He defeated Hector Mercedes via a first round knockout. Fighting frequently in his first two years as a professional, Tyson won 26 of his first 28 fights by knockout - 16 in the first round. The quality of his opponents gradually increased to journeyman fighters and borderline contenders, and his win streak attracted media attention, leading to his being billed as the next great heavyweight champion. D'Amato died in November 1985, relatively early into Tyson's professional career; some speculate that his death was the genesis of many of the troubles Tyson was to experience later as his life and career progressed.

British Boxer Ricky Hatton & Tyson (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Tyson has had many ups and downs in his career, too many to mention here - go to his links for more on his life and career.  When it is all said and done, at the height of his fame and career in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, Tyson was one of the most recognized sports personalities in the world.

Apart from his many sporting accomplishments, his outrageous and controversial behavior in the ring and in his private life has kept him in the public eye. As such, Tyson has appeared in myriad popular media in either cameo appearances (such as the films, Black and White and Rocky Balboa) or as a subject of parody or satire.  He also made a cameo appearance in the 2009 film The Hangover (film).

Published in 2007, author Joe Layden's book The Last Great Fight: The Extraordinary Tale of Two Men and How One Fight Changed Their Lives Forever, chronicled the lives of Tyson and Douglas before and after their heavyweight championship fight. The book received positive reviews and claimed the fight was essentially the beginning of the end of boxing's popularity in mainstream sports.

Everybody's got plans...until they get hit.  I'm scared every time I go into the ring, but it's how you handle it. What you have to do is plant your feet, bite down on your mouthpiece and say, 'Let's go.'” - Mike Tyson

In 2008, the documentary Tyson premiered at the annual Cannes Film Festival in France. The film was directed by James Toback and has interviews with Tyson and clips of his fights.