Mike Tyson was born in 1966 in Brooklyn, New York. He was brought up mainly by his mother Lorna and was given her married name of Tyson rather than Kirkpatrick, the name of his birth father. His father Jimmy Kirkpatrick is said to have fathered 16 children and Mike was only two when Kirkpatrick moved on leaving Lorna to do most of the parenting. They were a poor family living in a poor district but he expressed his tender side in caring for pigeons, a hobby he continues today. By his early teens Tyson was often in trouble with the police and spent time in juvenile offender institutions. Before flexing his considerable muscle against his peers Tyson was reputedly bullied for having a soft sounding, high pitched voice. He became a tough street fighter but when his tough guy behaviour got him into increasing amounts of trouble his mum admitted she had lost control of Mike. He was still only 13 when Bobby Stewart, a former professional boxer, noticed Tyson's talent and took him under his wing. The rest, as they say, is history
