Mike (2022–…): Season 1, Episode 1 - Thief - full transcript

You got to fight back, baby.

Fight back!

I know, he's a bum,
champ. Let's go get him.

Let's go get him, champ,
right now.

We got to have it right now.

And fight!

No, no, no.
Fuck that shit.

We're not gonna start here.

Listen, there's a lot of
fucked-up shit we'll get to.

But right now...

we've got a show to do.



Listen, listen, listen.

So this is interesting.

So I was in prison, right?

I was on the phone talking
to my car dealer, like you do,

and he's discussing how he's
gonna get him some horses.

I say, "Horses?
You can get horses?"

I mean, I'm from Brooklyn,
you know, I didn't know.

He's like, "Yeah, man,
I can get you anything.

I can get cougars,
lions, tigers."

That's a picture
of me and my tiger.

It's crazy.

That's how you know you're not
in Brownsville anymore.

That's when I was,
you know, insane.

I'm not gonna lie
about anything in this show.



I'm gonna tell you guys
everything.

I'm gonna be completely honest
with you guys, you know.

Sometimes I think
of myself back then.

I took all those trips
to the psych ward and stuff.

What was wrong with me
back then?

I was really disturbed
back then.

I was a really strange kid
back then.

You know, who am I?

Then I come out here.

I'm who you guys want to see.

Who am I?

I'm the most brutal,
the most vicious,

ruthless champion
that's ever been.

There's no one like me.
There's no one can match me.

My style is impetuous.
My defense is impregnable.

I'm just ferocious.
I want your heart.

I want to eat your children.
Praise be to Allah!

Is that who I am?

Yeah.

No.

Well, I'm just scratching
the surface, man.

I'm Iron Mike.

You mess with my bro,
you mess with me, ugly.

Go tell your friends.

You a worthless, weak, crybaby

piece of shit,
Michael Gerard Tyson.

You always gonna be that fat
fuck that everybody fucks with.

Why?

- Unless you fight back.
- I don't want to fight.

You fight, or you die,
so what you gonna do about it?

Run?

- Shit, Mike.
- Where?

Where you gonna run to?
Ain't nowhere to run.

I grew up
in Brownsville, New York.

Back in 1971,

they had the highest
murder rate in the country.

There was hookers
and drugs and murders

on every street corner.

Now, you put a little fat fuck
like me in that environment,

I get up in the morning,
get my ass whupped.

I go to school,
get my ass whupped.

I'd go home from school,
and I get my ass whupped.

That's all I knew.
I'm not gonna lie.

- A quarter?
- Cheap-ass pussy.

I had some issues.

Used to talk to myself out loud.

I was just a weird little kid.

But my mom, she took me
to see some doctor.

He's retarded, your son.

So you'll need
to be prepared for that.

No. You sure?

I saw him kill
any dream she had for me

in that one moment.

I never saw her
believe in me after that.

So I was a retarded
fat fuck with a lisp.

So, yeah, I took a beating.

But the way I saw it, everyone
took a beating at some point.

That was my new gold tooth,
motherfucker.

Mike, help me in the kitchen.

Denise, Rodney, under the quilt.

Now!

Time for bed.

I want you
to stay out of the way, Mike.

Hmm?

We ain't got nowhere else to go.

But that don't mean we got
to take his shit, right?

You want some soup, Eddie?

- Yeah, baby. Yeah.
- Thank you.

Oh, now, this move's
gonna surprise you, Mike.

Mike, come here. Come here.
Now watch.

When he does this right here?

Watch this.

Now, when he gets up
on that rope...

They used to beat
the hell out of each other,

then have sex.

That was normal to me.

I think they loved each other.

Probably when they weren't
stabbing each other.

Before Brownsville,
she lived a nicer kind of life.

She'd been a nurse, a dietitian,

was in college
studying to be a teacher

before she met the man
who was probably my dad.

She always had
terrible taste in men.

The last one took all our money,

and we were put out
on the street.

Now, there are
three types of poor.

There's poor,
there's dirt poor...

And there's fucked-up poor.

When a Black single mom
with three kids

falls into fucked-up poor,
there's no way out.

And she knew it.

We lost our whole community.

It was a life sentence.

We moved from one
abandoned building to another.

Every time we moved,
it got worse.

Any dreams she had died.

She did things she had to do.

That shit would fuck any kid up.

I stopped going to school
because of the bullying.

I was in second grade,

and that was the end
of my education.

I'd show up to the school
with my sister and leave.

I'd show up again for lunch,
and then I'd leave.

- You got any money?
- No.

Anything we find, we keep.

Man, he's trying
to steal our birds.

You got birds?

We got lots of birds. Shit.

Looks hungry.

I never saw birds
like that up close.

Those birds...

They were the only things
I loved that loved me back.

They could fly anywhere, but
they'd always came back home.

I got to know each one of them.

I learned to love them.

Hey, shorty.

Go downstairs to the pet store
and get us some birdseed.

I had names for each
one of those 30 pigeons.

The guys still picked on me.

- Jesus, shorty.
- You a stinky motherfucker.

Don't you know
how to wash yourself?

But I didn't give a shit.

I was happy...

until Gary Flowers fucked
with my pigeon, Georgie.

That's the day
I became a fighter.

And that's the fucking truth.

Come on, man,
give me my bird back.

What bird?

Please, man.

What are you gonna do about it?

What the fuck are you gonna do
about it, Mike?

Tell me,
why should I give him to you?

'Cause by the looks of it,
he's... he's mine.

Maybe...

Maybe I'll eat
this fucking bird.

Yeah!

I-I bet he tastes like chicken.

Come on, what do you want?

Here, I'm sorry.

Everything
Tyson does is intimidating.

He doesn't wear a robe.
He's worked up a full sweat.

He's got a scornful look
on his face that says,

"Let's get this going.
Let's get it over with."

The heavyweight
champion of the world

comes into the ring.

This is why we are all here.

It's Tyson all
the way here in round one.

Vicious shot
to the body. Down he goes!

That was a body
shot that brought him down.

Five. Good? Let's go.

Here comes Spinks again.

Down he goes!

I don't think he'll get up
from this.

Spinks is laying flat
on his back.

Six, seven, eight, nine.

It's all over.
Mike Tyson has won it...

A dramatic first-round knockout.

And now the question is,

who in the world has
any chance against this man?

That's when things
started to change.

Barkim introduced me
to these guys.

We'd steal anything
we can get our hands on...

Money, clothes, jewelry.

I chose them over family.

My mom fell into a system
rigged to make us powerless.

With these guys, I had power.

I was 8. They were maybe 12.

We called ourselves
the Rutland Road Crew.

We only went to school
for lunch.

It didn't even have
to be our school.

We were just poor Black kids
no one cared about.

Hey!
Give me that purse back!

By the time I was ten,
this is what I knew.

The badder you were, the better.

We lived big and fast and hard

'cause no one's gonna
live for long.

I figured it was just
a matter of time

until it's my brains
on the sidewalk.

All these lying, smiley street
hustlers said I was great.

Those are the people
I surrounded myself with.

I felt at home there.

It's a pattern
I fell back to all my life.

Mike Tyson,
my brother, my brother.

Let me introduce myself, please.

I'm Don King.

Oh, if only.

Michael.

Nettie and Sal from upstairs
was over here drinking,

and somebody
robbed their place...

Stole the money and
the baby's food, everything.

- Mom, look around.
- It wasn't me.

Don't you look me in the eye
and lie to me.

I know it was you.

- I was here the whole time.
- I didn't go anywhere.

Your brother and sister
stay out of trouble.

Denise gets good grades.
Rodney does science and shit.

- Rodney's a freak.
- Rodney has a future.

As what? A mad scientist?

Science don't mean nothing
out here.

Rodney became a surgeon.

Why you do this shit?

Walking around here
with your nice clothes,

you thief?

I never stole nothing
in my life.

You'd rather beg.

Than be a fucking lowlife
thief, you piece of shit.

Got to do to get through to you?

You take the money
I give you fast enough,

and you never pay me back.

I never have to pay you back,
you cheap-ass motherfucker.

I gave you life, and now you're
gonna spend that life in jail.

- I don't care.
- Keep not caring.

What kind of bird don't fly?

Jailbird.

Jailbird.

You need to listen,
or you gonna die.

I ain't never been arrested.

What ten-year-old says that?

It ain't nothing to brag about.

You heading down the path
of a doomed child.

It's coming, Mike.

It's coming.

You don't know shit.

First time I got arrested?

Yeah, ten.

Oh, and that whole
Sal and Nettie thing...

Okay, it was me.

Oh, you can never understand
the action and excitement.

I mean, being able
to outsmart somebody.

It's a rush.

Being in someone's home, and...

there's so much luxury there...

and it's yours.

It gives you power.

You're the man.
You're in charge.

I started to get a reputation
on the street

that I would fight anyone.

I didn't think
I'd make it to 20,

so why not go out swinging?

But I was so ashamed, man.

I didn't go to school, so
I couldn't read or write good.

I was just a lying
piece of shit back then.

You know, when you hate
yourself like that,

you can't love nobody.

Is it harder being
called a convicted rapist,

or is it more nerve-racking
for you to box?

Oh, well,
it's more nerve-racking

to be talking to
a rat piece of shit like you.

Oh, come on, Mike.

Nah, because
you're a piece of shit.

We're on live TV here.

- What do I care?
- You're a piece of shit.

We're gonna wrap up
this interview.

Thank you for coming in.

Fuck you.

Yeah,
we'll talk about that later.

Yeah, let's get out of here.

Why should I have compassion?

I didn't have a future.

I was more interested
in getting revenge

on those bullies from my past.

- Yo, what's the matter, Mike?
- What'd you stop for?

Before I was born,

my mother worked
as a prison matron,

so she saw Black faces
behind bars firsthand.

It scared her.

She was trying to scare me, too.

When I started
getting arrested...

she'd come down
to the police station...

and do the only thing
she knew how to do.

It was a regular occurrence.

Once, she came
and beat me so bad,

the police
didn't even charge me.

Now, a white family would see
that violence and disapprove.

I see you shaking your head.
Am I right?

But now, no.

A Black family would see a woman

who's just trying
to keep her child alive.

She didn't know
how to get through to me.

I didn't make it easy.

I think the harder she hit me,
the more afraid she was.

She died before she could see
any of the success I had.

She never knew.

I never got to do
anything good for her.

My sister and brother
never got in trouble like me.

I just wish she knew
I was gonna be okay.

She tried, but she could never
keep me out of prison.

Yo, you ever been
to Spofford before?

My cousin said
some guys held him down,

shaved him
his first night there.

It's a freak show, man.

Young ones like you, well...

Freaks really like 'em ripe.

Yo, Mike, what up, baby?

Yo! Barkim.

- Yo, chill.
- All your boys is here, baby.

It's like
a fucking class reunion.

Except we ain't never
go to class.

After that, Spoff became
a second fucking home to me.

I was in group homes,

special ed,

some facility on Staten Island.

By the time I was 13,

I was too much
for all five boroughs.

So I got sent up to the Try on
Juvenile Facility upstate.

You know, I don't even think

my mom said goodbye
at that point.

At Try on, I was always
in trouble and shit,

but I was like,
"Fuck you, I'm from Brooklyn."

- Hey!
- Hey!

Hey!

Man, I almost had him, if he
hadn't fucked my teeth up.

Fuck you. Look what
he did to my fucking ribs.

Shit, he didn't even know
you were there.

Hey, what happened to you guys?

Mr. Stewart,
that's what happened.

He a guard?

- Nah, man.
- Guidance counselor.

He was, like, a boxing champ...
Amateur champ or some shit.

I could take him.

Okay, buddy.

Fuck you.

I heard about you.

Suit up.

Whoo!

I figured the only thing
standing in the way

of everyone sucking up to me
was this little white guy.

I'm gonna fuck his shit up.

Oh!

Ooh!

I remember I thought
I was dying...

literally dying.

But I also thought if I learned
how to punch like that,

I'd be able to knock anyone out
and steal everybody's shit.

Excuse me, sir.

Could you teach me
to punch like that?

No.

Sir, I'd really like to learn.

- No, you wouldn't.
- Get out of here.

- I want to be a fighter.
- Oh, yeah?

Well, so do the rest
of these guys.

But none of you have the balls
to work to be a fighter.

I heard about you.

You're a badass
motherfucker, right?

You were sent to the hole
second night you're here?

Nah, you don't want
to work for anything.

I'm not teaching you shit.

I do.

Please,
I'm not conning you, man.

- I need you.
- Well, I don't need you.

You know, you need credits
to train with me anyway.

Maybe if you
straighten up your act,

stop being such an asshole,
show some respect,

I'll work with you.

Until then,
get the fuck out of my way.

So I started applying myself.

Eventually
I made the honor roll.

Me, right?

I always thought I was
the stupidest guy in the world.

Turns out
I'm smarter than stupid.

So I started training
with Bobby Stewart.

Months in, turns out...

Well, I guess
you all know this part.

Turns out
I'm pretty good at this shit.

It was the first time
I was good at something

that wasn't totally illegal.

Come on, man, call her.

Call her.

I want my mom to know
that I'm good at something.

Okay.

She'll believe it
if a white man tells her.

- All right, all right.
- Come on, come on.

Mike, I want to talk to you
for a second, seriously.

- I didn't do anything.
- No. No, I know. I know.

There's someone
I want you to meet.

Cus D'Amato.
He's a big-time boxing trainer.

He could take you
to the next level.

Why? What did I do?

- What do you mean?
- I train with you, man.

Mike.

Look, he trained
Floyd Patterson.

He made him a champion.
He trained José Torres.

All right?
Come on, trust me on this.

- I'll do better.
- I promise.

No, Mike.

- Mike, this is a good thing.
- Come on, man.

What did I do? What did I do?

No, Mike, Mike,
you didn't do anything.

Look...

You're gonna be paroled soon.

I don't want you going back
to Brownsville,

getting into trouble.

Mike, I'm doing this for you,
not to you.

All right?

Hey, come on, Mike.

Come on, cheer up.
This is good news.

Okay.

Cus D'Amato trained not one
but two world champions.

He was a legend.

But Cus only had a small
gym in Catskill, New York,

when I met him.

He had fallen into obscurity.

Fighters thought
he was old-timey.

I was his last Hail Mary...

All right, that's enough.

His golden meal ticket back.

Here's the truth.

This is the heavyweight
champion of the world.

I made Floyd Patterson the
youngest champion of the world.

If you listen to me,

I can make you the youngest
champion of all time...

A beast, a terror, a monster.

What do you think about that?

I thought he was a pervert.

Back home, right when people
say that shit,

they're about
to perv out on you.

I can't believe
you're just 13 years old.

Yes, sir.

You have a natural talent, Mike.

You looked splendid.

In time,

you will be the greatest
fighter that has ever lived.

Do you believe that?

I didn't know
what to think about that.

I was honestly just thinking
how I was gonna rob his house.

- I don't know what to say.
- It's the truth.

Everyone thinks I'm finished.
I'm not finished.

I've been waiting,

and I think you're the one
I've been waiting for.

Now I'm glad I lived
as long as I did.

- So you up for it?
- You gonna work together?

What do you think, Mike?

Are those roses?

What?

Roses.

I never seen them
in real life before...

only on television.

You okay, Mike?

Hey.

What you thinking?

I think I'm gonna be somebody.