Once-proud Mike Tyson is a pathetic, lonely, self-destructive has-been who’s in the midst of a severe psychological meltdown.
That’s the conclusion of renowned psychologist and boxing expert Dr. Joyce Brothers, who says the former champ’s outrageous behavior shows how desperate he is to regain his lost glory.
“It’s so sad,” Dr. Brothers told The ENQUIRER in an exclusive interview. “It’s all over for him, but he can’t face the truth.
“He’s trying to draw attention to himself in a misguided bid to recapture the recognition he had when he was Iron Mike, the champion.”
Dr. Brothers made her remarks after watching Tyson — sporting a bizarre new tattoo on the left side of his face — explode in fury during an interview with FOX News Channel’s Greta Van Susteren.
The 36-year-old heavyweight denied raping beauty queen Desiree Washington, a crime for which he served three years in prison beginning in 1992.
“She’s a lying, monstrous young lady,” Tyson snarled. “I just hate her guts. Now I really want to rape her — and her (expletive) mama.”
But Dr. Brothers says the venomous outburst was an empty threat from a lost, heartbroken man.
“He’s no psychopath. He’s not going to rape anybody,” the expert said.
“He just wants publicity. He’s in the midst of a major meltdown, and has been for years.”
Tyson’s former spiritual adviser, Muhammed Siddeeq, charged that the boxer was goaded into taking the verbal jabs at his victim. But he confirmed that Tyson has been “self-destructing” lately — particularly since his divorce from his second wife, Monica Turner, in January.
“Mike is going through some severe emotional problems, and I see him running from help, running from people who love him,” said Siddeeq, who said he last talked to Tyson two months ago.
After Tyson bit Evander Holyfield’s ear during a 1997 fight, a team of experts said he should be “engaged in a course of regular psychotherapy.” But Dr. Brothers said treatment would be a double-edged sword for Tyson.
“The trouble here is that if you provide Mike with therapy to curb his aggressiveness, you sacrifice the very emotion that made him so intimidating as a boxer,” she told The ENQUIRER. “If psychotherapy was successful for Mike, he would probably get beaten to a pulp in the ring.”
