Iron Mike is Back

by Ron Futrell @RonFutrell

What Mike Tyson did throughout much of his boxing career, he is now doing on stage.

Punch, jab, and throw a devastating upper cut.

“I’m still afraid of him, and he’s dead,” Tyson on his mentor Cus D’Amato.

I went into Mike Tyson: The Undisputed Truth at the MGM Grand without expectations. I covered Mike’s career in Las Vegas from start to finish and found him both endearing and difficult. The “bipolar” news from years ago was no shock to me. I could interview Mike one day and he would invite my boys to watch his workouts at Johnny Tocco’s Ringside Gym (which he did,) and the next time he would lash out at my questions and call me a “smart ass” (which he did-and I was.)

Unlike others, I was not really surprised at Tyson’s ability to pull this off. I had seen a preview of this performance years earlier. In the late 80’s before a fight at the Las Vegas Hilton, Tyson invited the media to his hotel room for interviews. It was a different environment than a news conference and Tyson was much more comfortable. He sat there for an hour or so and talked boxing history. Before that, I was not aware of how much Mike had made himself a student of the sport, and I certainly had no idea how he could entertain a handful of crotchety writers and cynical TV guys. A sign of things to come.

“When I fought in this town it was shut down, it was a hoe-asis,” Tyson on fighting in Las Vegas.

Tyson speaks openly and honestly about his career, his many successes and his many mistakes. I guess the mistakes are always the most entertaining.

The shocking loss to Buster Douglas in Japan (Tyson was a 36-1 favorite) was due to Mike having sex early and often with Japanese maids that stopped by to “clean” his hotel room, so he says. On this one, I would’ve advised Tyson to look at the career of Marvin Hagler, who said he swore off sex for 6 weeks before a fight because it made his legs weak and he wanted to hate his opponent for keeping him away from his wife. Even if Mike knew the Hagler stories, it doesn’t seem he would’ve listened anyway.

“I never knew I had just met the devil,” Tyson on his alignment with Don King.

Perhaps Tyson’s biggest problem back then was his association with Don King, which he clearly acknowledges. Many of us in the media could see this trouble coming. I was outside the Indiana prison in 1995 on a cool morning in March when we were doing live coverage of Tyson’s release. Everybody was waiting to see who would pick Tyson up after his 3 years behind bars. There was a groan, but no surprise when the inverted mop-top of King emerged from the black limo to head inside the facility to pick up Indiana’s most famous inmate. From that point on Tyson's career fell faster than Marvis Frazier after the uppercut.

“She’s gonna use this show to re-launch her career,” Tyson on Robin Givens.

At times Tyson talks softly and quickly and is hard to understand, but those are the times when you get the impression that he is going off script and those are the best parts of the show.

Yes, he talks about the Ear Bite Fight, 1997 against Evander Holyfield, a fight that took place in the same casino as the current performance. He uses the same excuse he used that night; that he was being head butted by Evander (which he was) and that since he was in a fight, he just decided to take it to the next level. As crazy as that fight and that night was, it is amazing how Tyson has turned this around. He can laugh and joke about it now, in fact, Evander even came to one of his shows and heard him talk about it. Yes, I was there that night as well and remember when the Fight of the Century became the Bite of the Century. Just another chapter in Tyson’s recovery. In this case, Mike tries to play the victim, but for the most part, he takes blame for the bad things in his life.

“It was the best thing that ever happened to me,” Tyson on his drug rehab.

Certainly, much of the Mike Tyson story has been written, discussed, covered and examined, but after watching him perform for an hour and a half, you get the impression that there is much more ahead. He talks about his children as a loving father and as somebody who is involved in their lives. I’m not sure if that’s true, but I hope it is, and I want to believe it is.

“I don’t deserve to be their father,” Tyson on his children.

Through it all, I was happy to see Tyson make this leap and succeed on stage without an opponent that he could clobber, or eat for lunch. For much of the show it’s him and the audience. Telling stories, sharing tales, and feeling the emotion that a life like this brings.

“The way you fight your fights is the way you live your life,” Cus to Tyson.

Perhaps it’s the fighter in all of us that wants to see him succeed.

Barry Family Looks Forward to Golden Gloves Competition

Pat Barry, wife, look forward to Golden Gloves July 22-24 at CasaBlanca




Long-time youth boxing enthusiast Pat Barry congratulates a competitor

following a Golden Gloves event at the CasaBlanca in 2009.

The popular Berry returns to the CasaBlanca July 22-24 when the Golden Gloves Junior Nationals.



MESQUITE, Nev. -- For Pat Barry, the Golden Gloves Junior Nationals July 22-24 at the CasaBlanca Resort and Casino may be the purest form of boxing. With an estimated 400 competitors ages 8-16 competing in the CasaBlanca Event Center, the future of the sport will be showcased in a classic event.
“There is so much value in Golden Gloves,” said the 57 year-old Beary, who with his wife, Dawn, runs Barry’s Boxing Center at 2664 S. Highland Ave., in Las Vegas. “The sport instills discipline into young people while also giving them a sense of self-worth.”
Barry speaks from experience as evidenced by a career which saw him mount a 12-8 record with five draws. His biggest win came over Jessie Bender, who was the New England state middleweight champion in 1975.
“I took the fight on a two-day notice,” Barry remembers. “I was between managers at the time. I didn’t know Bender from Adam and my grandmother had just died and my mother was horrified about the fight. I won a six-round unanimous decision. That was my claim to fame.
“I loved boxing. The problem was that my shoulder kept popping out, so I say now that I loved boxing more than it loved me.”
A former member of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department who spent 30 years (1978-2009) working as a detective in Patrol, Canine, Domestic Violence and Juvenile, Barry and his wife, Dawn, (she, too, retired from Metro where she worked in Detention Services and Patrol Section) now spend their days running the boxing gym in Las Vegas.
“Youth boxing has always been my passion,” he said adding that the gym in Vegas is a non-stop facility of about 4,000 square feet. “We first opened the gym in 1984 at Spring Mountain and Decatur in Las Vegas. Now, we have both young men and young women competing and I really believe that boxing can save lives.
“The sport shows young people the responsible way of doing things rather than blowing their temper and doing something they will regret later. People many times learn to pick themselves up off the canvas. They learn to face their fears head-on.”
Barry’s own path to Las Vegas is very interesting. A native of Long Island, N.Y., he journeyed to Las Vegas in 1976 for a chance to fight Michael Spinks who had just won the Super Middleweight title at the Olympics.
“I came to Vegas and my weight went under 148, and I was told I was too light to fight Spinks,” Barry said. “The fight was all set for the Aladdin Hotel and on the week of the fight, I was told it wouldn’t work. I walked into a gym, and saw some guy who told me he was actually fighting Michael.”
After the fight with Spinks fell apart, Barry was going to return to Long Island. After speaking with noted boxing gymnasium and fight manager Johnny Tocco, Barry decided to stay and eventually joined the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
But while injuries stopped Barry’s own boxing career, he stayed active in youth boxing in Las Vegas and you can bet hundreds of competitors and their families are thankful that he remained in the desert. After retiring from the police department, he and his wife, Dawn, focused their efforts fully on the gym.
In fact, when he retired from Metro, the gym became an official first job.
“Retiring can be scary,” Barry said. “Way too many people retire and then they die. Now, I’m at the gym to open the doors first thing in the morning and my schedule is full. My life really hasn’t changed much at all. I’m still up first thing in the morning doing road work before heading to the gym.
‘My day is full and I would not have it any other way.”
Barry’s professional coaching has included mentoring world champion contender Augie Sanchez from 1998-2002; World Champion Bones Adams from 1998-2000; and world champion contender Roman Ladon from 1997-99.
His amateur boxing has included coaching stints with Junior Golden Gloves champions Jesus Magdaleno (he also won the Senior Golden Gloves and USA Senior Golden Gloves titles), Haseim Rahman and Kevin Pimentel in 2007. He also led USA National Champion Diego Magdaleno, who is now 16-0 as a professional; and Medalist Louie Padilla (all three medaled USA national championships along with Golden Gloves titles).
In addition, Barry’s international coaching experience has included trips to Mexico, Canada and Milan, Italy. He was also named the Coach of the Year for USA Boxing in 2007 while being named one of the top five volunteer coaches of all sports by the United States Olympic Committee.
Even with the many years of activity in youth boxing, the event at the CasaBlanca stands out as one of Barry’s favorite.
“The location is excellent,” Barry said. “There is so much for the kids to do in Mesquite not to mention the fact that the competition is incredible. The facility itself is first-class and perfect for the Golden Gloves.”
Further information regarding the Golden Gloves can be found at www.juniorgoldengloves.com or by calling Dawn Barry at 702-368-2696.