AT the peak of his boxing career, Mike Tyson was collecting pay cheques in the tens of millions.
Ruthless ‘Iron Mike’, who destroyed all in front of him in the 1980s and early 90s, was said to have amassed a fortune of £200million from the sport – before blowing it and declaring bankruptcy in early 2003.
But before he was deep in debt, and wasn’t buying incredible homes and ruling with a cannabis empire, he was adding to an extensive car collection.
Tyson, who will fight Roy Jones Jr in November, spent money on some of the world’s most exclusive motors throughout the years.
He enjoyed brands like Rolls-Royce, Ferrari and McLaren – as luxurious cars became his go-to, before he had to auction them off to raise cash and pay off the tax man.
AMERICA’S FAVOURITE LIMOUSINE
Tyson began his assault on the heavyweight division in 1985, gaining notoriety in the ring as an 18-year-old.
With 19 wins (all by knockout) to his name at that point, he bought a stylish Cadillac Eldorado.
More money flowed, and soon after longtime trainer Cus D’Amato passed away he rewarded himself with a Cadillac Seville.
If Tyson had kept them, these vintage motors would still be worth a few bob.
Some, in good condition, can get up £20,000 on the market today.
ROLLS-ROYCE LOVE IN
Nothing screams luxury more than a Rolls-Royce.
So, when Mike won the WBA title – defeating James Smith in 1986 – he walked straight into a Manhattan garage and asked a salesman for the keys to one.
However, his manager Jim Jacobs had other ideas – whispering in his ear to wait till he was 21.
Tyson did just that – returning the day of his seminal birthday to buy a blue Rolls-Royce Silver Spur for around £110,000.
Then, after destroying Tony Tucker and adding the IBF belt to his midriff in 1987, he went for a Rolls-Royce Corniche worth £150,000.
DON KING
Knowing he had the ‘Golden Child’ of boxing in his roster, promoter Don King was desperate to keep him sweet.
To thank his client for his hard graft in becoming the most feared fighter on the planet, he gifted Tyson TWO cars in 1988.
King added a black Rolls-Royce stretch limousine that would’ve set him back around £165,000.
He also gave Tyson another Corniche.
Aged 22, Tyson had four Rolls-Royces sitting in his garage – worth over half a million.
MERCEDES-BENZ AND TUPAC
As the 80s became the 90s, Tyson began making friends in the showbiz world, attending glitzy Hollywood parties and enjoying his new-found fame as the ‘baddest man on the planet’.
One of those pals, Tupac Shakur inspired his next impulse buy.
Thanks to the rapper, who reportedly owned one, Tyson threw cash at a white 1989 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class 560SL.
A few months later Tyson’s world came crashing down – when a shock loss to James ‘Buster’ Douglas in Japan stunned the world in 1990.
That summer though, he cheered himself up with a 1990 Mercedes Benz 500 SL that had a must-have accessory of its time fitted within its interiors… a mobile phone.
FERRARI, HERE I COME
After he was sent to jail for a rape charge, serving three years behind bars, Tyson fought Frank Bruno and regained his WBC title in 1995.
With his purse, he took himself to a Ferrari dealership and bought TWO of their supercars – a Ferrari F50 and a 456 GT Spyder.
His GT Spyder was only one of two convertibles made by the Pininfarina factory – the other was ordered by the Sultan of Brunei.
Famously, Tyson did crash one of these Ferraris into a convenience store, which led to his “favourite arrest.”
“My favourite arrest I would have to say is when I bought a Ferrari,” he recalled.
“I didn’t know how to drive the Ferrari and my car went through the glass window.”
He added, “I had to get arrested for property damage.”
LAMBORGHINI AND BENTLEY
In 1996, Tyson bought his first ever Lamborghini – a yellow Super Diablo Twin Turbo with the prize money earned from defeating Bruce Seldon in Las Vegas.
Again, it softened the blow of losing a friend – Tupac – who was shot dead in a drive-by shooting after attending that fight.
In-between his epic bouts with Evander Holyfield, he went back to luxury motors – buying a Bentley Continental T.
But with his bank account swelled by a £23m purse he eventually received for the Holyfield disqualification defeat he recklessly blew his wad.
A 2000 Lamborghini Diablo VT Roadster and the Jaguar XJ220 were added to his car collection.
He also splashed around £380,000 on a Bentley Continental SC – one of only 73 of its kind.
IT WASN’T GOING TO LAST
Shortly after being floored by Lennox Lewis, and with his boxing career in decline, Tyson declared himself bankrupt in 2003.
Saddled with a reported £15m-worth of debt, including millions owed to the tax man, something had to give.
Sadly for him, it was his motors – with many sold on auction, while others can be found in celebrity museums today.
Still, it was great while it lasted.
