Inked Mag Staff
June 26th, 2020
Happy Birthday Tattooed Icon, Mike Tyson
Celebrate Mike Tyson's 54th birthday with tattoos that bite back
On June 30th 1966, Mike Tyson was born in Brooklyn, New York. At 16, Tyson’s mother passed away and boxing manager Cus D’Amato became his legal guardian. In his amateur career, Tyson won gold medals at the 1981 and 1982 Junior Olympic Games, going on to make his professional debut at age 18 in 1985. Early in his professional career, he put together a winning streak and quickly gained the attention of the mainstream media. In 1986, he became the youngest heavyweight champion in history at 20 years and four months, taking the title from Trevor Berbick. He was the undisputed world heavyweight champion from 1987 to 1990, simultaneously holding titles from WBA, WBC and IBF.
In 1992, Mike Tyson was convicted of rape and sentenced to six years in prison, however, he only served three. He made his comeback in 1995 and by 1996, had already earned back his WBA and WBC titles. Then in 1997, Tyson was stripped of his WBA title and lost his boxing license after the Bite Fight—in which he bit a piece of opponent Evander Holyfield’s ear off. Tyson later returned in 1999 and continued his boxing career until retiring in 2005.
In addition to making a tremendous impact on the world of boxing, Tyson also made an impression on tattooing. In 2003, Tyson got his now-infamous tribal face tattoo, which he got to represent his status as a warrior. In 2011, “The Hangover Part II” directly copied Tyson’s tattoo, which led his artist S. Victor Whitmill to file a copyright lawsuit against Warner Bros. Two months later, Warner Bros. settled the lawsuit, although the terms of the settlement were not disclosed to the public. This inspired other artists to file copyright lawsuits against media companies that replicated their tattoos, as seen most recently between tattooers and NBA video games.
Back to Tyson, he’s celebrating his 54th birthday on Tuesday and in honor of his incredible legacy, we’re celebrating by sharing some of our favorite portrait tattoos of the heavyweight. Take a look at these badass tattoos and let us know your favorite professional boxer in the comments section on social media.
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