Contributor
Mike Tyson has come a long way, from being the youngest heavyweight champion to living recklessly and to trying to make things right in his life.
Tyson, who says he's trying to recover from being a "vicious alcoholic", has made peace with his former boxing trainer Teddy Atlas.
"Life is short; I made amends with everybody," Tyson told ESPN's Todd Grisham. "I'm recovering and I'm gonna die. If I don't follow my steps, I'm useless."
Tyson was making his debut as a fight promoter.
Atlas and Tyson buried the hatchet after a long simmering feud. Atlas and Tyson had a falling out following an incident in which Atlas has said Tyson approached a young girl, who was a relative of Atlas' wife, in a crude manner.
In his biography, Atlas recalled borrowing a .38 from a friend, tracking down Tyson one night in 1982, telling him to smarten up and firing the gun, deliberately missing.
"Mike has always been looking for an escape, a trap door," Atlas said of Tyson in 2003. "He always lacked one essential ingredient in [situations of] building character: the ability to confront himself."
Tyson admitted to "being wrong" and said that Atlas was important to him back then. That was before he got involved with Don King and other shady characters.
"I have a lot of pain, and I just want to heal it, and that was part of it, right there," Tyson said.
"He behaved like a man, what can I say," Atlas recollected. "He came over, extended his hand and asked me if I'd shake it and said, 'You're not still mad at me, are you? I wish you wouldn't be.' ... I give him credit for showing a gentleman's side."
Tyson's no angel, but you have to give him some credit for calling himself out when he reflects on his life.
