Boxing legend Mike Tyson makes shocking revelation about ‘prostitute’ mother

Boxing legend Mike Tyson has opened up about the traumatic experiences that shaped his childhood, revealing disturbing details about his mother’s past and the violence he witnessed at home. 

The former heavyweight champion revisits these painful memories in a new four-part Netflix documentary, offering a deeply personal account of the experiences that preceded his rise to boxing superstardom.

In the documentary, directed by Floyd Russ, Tyson speaks candidly about his mother, Lorna, and the difficult environment in which he grew up in Brownsville, Brooklyn.

“My mother was a sex worker, a prostitute, whatever you call it,” Tyson says in the series, according to The Mirror. “I seen that. I saw it first-hand. I was in the bed with her.”

The former heavyweight champion also describes a household marked by violence, recalling incidents involving his mother's partners and the physical punishment he suffered himself.

“I've seen a lot of vicious fighting... I remember my mother fighting with her boyfriend. I saw him beat her. He knocked her teeth out, then I saw him scald her with some boiling hot water,” he said.

Tyson added that his mother could also be violent towards him, recalling how she struck him with objects including an extension cord and a liquor bottle.

The documentary combines new interviews with archival footage to examine the experiences that shaped Tyson's life, from his troubled upbringing to his eventual emergence as one of boxing's most recognisable figures.

Tyson's early years were marked by poverty and repeated encounters with the law. He was first arrested at 12 and had accumulated more than 30 arrests by the age of 13, eventually entering juvenile detention before moving to the Tryon School for Boys.

It was there that a guard, Bobby Stewart, introduced him to boxing after promising to connect him with a trainer if he improved his grades. That trainer was Cus D'Amato, who quickly recognised the teenager's potential and invited him to train in Catskill, New York. D'Amato later became Tyson's legal guardian, helping guide his development into a future heavyweight champion.

However, Tyson's mother never lived to see his professional success. Lorna died of cancer in 1982, when Tyson was 16 and beginning to establish himself in amateur boxing.

“My mother never got to see me fight,” Tyson said. “It was just hard, because I was talking to her and the next thing you know, boom, she's dead.”

Despite the painful memories, Tyson says he has come to view his experiences as part of his personal growth.

“Everything that was quote-unquote 'negative,' turned out to be a positive for me,” he told People. “I'm very grateful for it all because it made me a better person.” The documentary, titled TYSON, is scheduled to premiere globally on Netflix on 13 October, revisiting the difficult beginnings behind the boxing icon's rise to fame.