The final round has come for the champ, and no one knows how Mike is going to end? Has he learned anything about his life or will he continue to make the same mistakes.
Episode 7: Cannibal
It’s 1997, Mike (Trevante Rhodes) is on the ropes and being told by his corner that he needs to fight back against Evander Holyfield. Mike recounts how no fighter in boxing has ever got back on top after being away for three years.
Back in 1995, Mike holds a press conference stating that he will fight again and that he hopes to see everyone supporting him. Monica Turner (Clark Backo) tells him that he doesn’t have to do anything that he doesn’t want to. Monica
Monica visited him in jail every two weeks, and they fell in love. For the first time, someone asks Mike what he wants. She encourages him to fire Don King (Russell Hornsby). Mike attempts this, but changes his mind when Don offers him cash in advance on the next fight. Mike is ready for the cash but out of shape and not ready to fight. So, he brings in Steve ‘Crocodile’ Finch (Lawrence J. Hughes) to help get him mentally ready to battle. Mike’s first fight back and he wins with a knockout.
As he regains his fighting ability, Mike and Monica have a baby girl. Mike was winning championship belts and making lots of money. The problem for Mike is that he looked like he was rebounding. The future was there for him, but Mike felt like he didn’t deserve it. Instead of preparing for Holyfield, Mike gets high on cocaine and spirals out of control. During the first fight with Holyfield, Mike loses the belt, and his relationship with Monica starts to fall apart.
When Monica announces she is pregnant, Mike commits to her, and they get married. At the wedding Mike describes one demon he can’t quit, Don King. The legendary promoter has closed the deal for a second fight against Holyfield. It was only in a couple of months and Mike knew he wasn’t ready.
The match starts and Mike is head butted by Holyfield. So, Mike strikes back and bites a chunk off Holyfield’s ear. Worried that Monica thinks he is a monster, Mike tells his wife that he is a mess. He doesn’t know what to do. Though Monica assures him that she loves him, but Mike is convinced that she doesn’t.
By 2003, Mike talks about hating himself so much that he sits down at a tattoo parlor to get the infamous face tattoo because he hates looking at himself.
Episode 8: Phoenix
1997 is not looking good for Mike. The biting incident has got him suspended from boxing, and the money he was set to make has been frozen. Mike freefalls into drugs. After his fifteenth month suspension, Mike gets back in the ring and goes on a tear. He admits that throughout this time he is on cocaine and needing professional help. At a press conference for a fight with Lennox Lewis, Mike attacks the current champ and bites his leg. Mike describes that he is so high on cocaine, that he didn’t need the ring to fight.
It's 2002, the night of his fight with Lennox Lewis. Is Mike going to reclaim the belt and redeem himself in the ring? Mike thinks he’s going to destroy Lewis, but the champ knocks him out. He has lost the belt forever, but things are about to get worse.
Mike learns that he is broke and is told to ask Don King where his money is. Meeting with Don in Florida, Mike is on the edge, high on drugs, and angry. Mike attacks Don in the car and is left by the roadside. Don is furious and claims that he tried his best to help Mike. (This is a laughable claim).
Continuing to fight to make money, Mike realizes after losing an easy match that it’s time to retire and announces this was his final match. Mike retires, and everyone who was in his corner abandoned him, except for Kiki (Ash Santos). Even though he was dating Monica, Mike was also seeing Kiki.
In the years after his retirement, Kiki hung around. But Kiki loved Mike for who he was, even though he was broke. Pregnant with Mike’s child, Tyson tries to go clean while Kiki is away in prison. Kiki delivers their child and Mike goes back to therapy.
Dealing with past trauma, Mike gets the worst news of his life. His daughter dies in an accident at home. Upset, he resorts to drugs to dull the ache he feels. With the love and support of Kiki, Mike gets clean, and they get married.
He’s got a second chance, but Mike reminds the audience that he’s not just one thing. We can decide for ourselves who we think he is. It’s mean, it’s unfair, it’s tragic, but this is his story. This is Mike.
Bill’s Perspective:
The final round to Mike, and audiences are left to make their own judgements about the famed fighter. Mike Tyson has done some bad things, but it’s complicated. Somehow, many people loved the man, even though he did some very bad things. I think what makes Mike stand out the most is that the show allows you to decide what you think of the man.
One thing is certain, Trevante Rhodes is bound for Emmy glory next year.