Mike Tyson’s wife had a different take on his description of their household finances. The former heavyweight champion was explaining what happens to his earnings during a podcast interview when he paused to relay her objection.
The 60-year-old discussed his current work during the November 5 episode of Fly on the Wall, the comedy podcast hosted by Dana Carvey and David Spade.
He credited his agent with continuing to find paid opportunities for him, including commercials and cameos. Those jobs have kept him working well beyond the years when he earned his biggest boxing purses.
Tyson and Lakiha “Kiki” Spicer married on June 6, 2009, and share two children, Milan and Morocco.
Mike Tyson Says His Wife Disagrees About Where His Earnings Go
“I give it all to my wife,” Tyson said, according to Entertainment Weekly. Then he glanced offscreen toward Spicer and added, “She said it’s not true.” His point was that making expensive mistakes had given him experience he could use to avoid repeating them.
Tyson sought Chapter 11 protection in New York on August 1, 2003, a date confirmed in federal bankruptcy court records. Contemporary Associated Press reporting put his boxing earnings at approximately $300 million. His spending had included mansions, Bentleys, jewelry, Bengal tigers and expensive gifts for people around him.
His attorney, Debra Grassgreen, said his debts had exceeded his assets. Tyson’s representatives also blamed mismanagement by others for contributing to his financial problems.
Earlier that year, he had agreed to pay former wife Monica Turner $6.5 million from future earnings as part of their divorce settlement, according to the same report.
Lakiha Spicer Helped Bring Tyson’s Life Story to the Stage
Spicer appears in the four-part documentary TYSON, which began streaming on Netflix on October 13. In its trailer, she reflects on the hardships her husband has survived, saying many people would not have made it through similar experiences.
The series includes interviews with Tyson and people close to him, tracing his childhood in Brooklyn, rise to the heavyweight championship and later struggles with addiction and incarceration.
Spicer has also helped shape how he tells those stories himself. Credited professionally as Kiki Tyson, she wrote and executive-produced Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth. The show opened at Broadway’s Longacre Theatre in August 2012, with Spike Lee directing, according to the Internet Broadway Database.
Her latest collaboration with her husband, Mike Tyson: Return of the Mike, premiered on Netflix on November 3. She wrote and directed the production, which was filmed at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
Tyson Says Luxury Fragrance Remains an Expensive Habit
Tyson hasn’t given up every indulgence. In an October 16 interview with PEOPLE, he identified fragrance as something he still spends heavily on, naming Swiss perfume house AMAFFI as his preferred brand.
The outlet reported that fragrances available on the company’s website ranged from $2,000 to $6,000 at the time. Tyson offered his own estimate of the collection he had accumulated: “I have a bunch of bottles, probably worth about $50,000 total.”