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of what you say, but I do think it is important to point out that Mike actually is pretty bright. He is not formally educated, and he often uses the wrong words when trying to say something. But he is actually a bright person.
I've mentioned on other posts that a family friend signed a young teen-aged Mike Tyson over to Cus D'Amato. His early life, along with the violent crimes he was sent to "reform school," are fairly well known. The abuse the short kid with the high-pitched voice was subjected to is a subject that fewer people are familiar with.
Tyson reminds me, in many ways, of Charles "Sonny" Liston. There were a lot of sports writers who thought Sonny was a dull-witted thug, including Howard Cosell. And I think Cosell was a bright, decent man. But he couldn't see past Sonny's bad side -- which was real. Just as Mike's is real. Still, I recall Jose Torres, the former middle- and light heavyweight champion who become close friends with RFK in the mid-'60s, and who is a very talented writer, saying that Liston was "so smart it wasn't funny." Hurricane Carter has told me that Liston was very bright, as well.
Mikes intelligence does not translate well on tv. He doesn't do well on ESPN interviews. But he is not stupid.
His crimes are something I do find offensive. He should be held responsible for them. But the addiction part is something that is part of, as you point out, untreated issues too long overlooked.
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