by ‘Ifreke Inyang

Mike Tyson’s lifelong friend, Rory Holloway, has penned an autobiography about the boxer’s rise and fall.

The book is titled Taming the Beast: The Untold Story of Mike Tyson and it is already on sale. We expect this one to be a bestseller.

Here are some of the stand out quotes from Holloway, on how Tyson’s career went downhill.

Girls

1. On growing up with Tyson: “I knew there was nobody in the ring who could stop him. The only reason he may not go down as the best is because of his weakness for women. Every decision he made was around women and sex. I knew it would catch up with him, and it did. I don’t think there is a single person alive who could’ve changed the outcome.”

2. On Tyson getting jailed at 26, for raping 18 year-old beauty pageant contestant Desiree Washington in an Indianapolis hotel room: “The rape case was inevitable. I’m surprised more girls didn’t make claims against him.”

3. On Tyson’s life inside prison: “All my life I’d fought to keep Mike away from women, but I’d pull up at the prison and the guards would tell me I couldn’t visit till the next day because Mike’s got women lined up to see him. He was getting more women in there than he was outside. I ended up sleeping in the damn parking lot.”

4. On Tyson and Naomi Campbell: “I was there to keep Mike out of trouble, doing my usual babysitting job, and when I looked over, he was talking to this girl. I had to rub my eyes. It was Naomi Campbell. Mike says he’s got to use the restroom. Next thing, Naomi’s following him and I’m outside holding their drinks. Guests are walking up and I’m telling them, ‘Bathroom’s taken’.”

Guns

5. On Tyson’s obsession with guns: “I was scared to death he was going to shoot himself.”

Generosity

6. On Tyson’s generosity: “He was very generous. Whether it was $5 or $500,000, he gave it to anyone with a sob story. He took care of family and friends, paid mortgages and bills. But somewhere along the way he got lost.”

General career overlook

7. “Mike was tired of boxing. Sometimes we had closed gyms before a fight, so the media didn’t know he had disappeared, probably on a mission to get women. That’s the frustrating thing. We only saw the tip of the iceberg of what Mike is capable of. If he hadn’t had the distractions he could have been the best of all time. He had the charisma, the physical ability and the talent to put him in the same category as Muhammad Ali.”