A new Mike Tyson documentary series is coming later this month. On Monday, ABC News announced it would debut a special four-hour documentary series on the boxing legend life. Mike Tyson: The Knockout “will put viewers ringside for the main event that will chronicle the former champion’s climb, crash, and comeback, from his difficult childhood to becoming undisputed world champion to his 1992 rape conviction and his personal struggles,” according to the press release. This comes a few months after Hulu announced it’s producing a biopic series on Tyson.
The docuseries will feature interviews with Rosie Perez, former President of HBO Sports Ross Greenburg, ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap, those in Tyson’s inner circle, and more. It will also include exclusive ABC News archival material and unaired interview footage with Tyson, who looks at what he has learned throughout his boxing career. Mike Tyson: The Knockout premieres on back-to-back Tuesdays, May 25 and June 1, (8 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET) on ABC.
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The first episode of Mike Tyson: The Knockout starts with Tyson’s youth and transition from being a bullied kid to becoming “The Baddest Man on the Planet.” Former trainers Bobby Stewart, Teddy Atlas, and Joe Colangelo, a longtime friend of legendary boxing trainer Cus D’Amato, talk about Tyson’s time in and out of juvenile detention as D’Amato trains him. Tyson rose to fame after D’Amato’s death but then had issues handling being on top of the boxing world. Michael Spinks and Buster Douglas, Tyson’s former opponents, sit down for interviews and discuss their fights against the former heavyweight champion.
The second episode will focus on Tyson’s conviction and prison sentence for raping 18-year-old Desiree Washington. Tyson’s defense attorney James Voyles and special prosecutor Greg Garrison took a look at the trail 20 years later. The episode also reflects on Tyson’s release from prison and his return to boxing, including his bouts with Evander Holyfield, where he bit his ear in the second fight.
“In addition to being an inspiring story of the perseverance and hard-won growth of one extraordinary person, Mike Tyson’s life and career are also relevant to the important collective self-reflection finally occurring in America,” executive producer Geoffrey Fletcher said in the release. Tyson finished his boxing record with a 50-6 record, with his last fight in 2005. However, the 54-year old recently took on Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition bout that ended in a draw.
