Mike Tyson looks ahead to a future with new fortune, new relationships

After 1,095 days and nights as prisoner 922335 behind the walls of the Indiana Youth Center located near the Indianapolis Airport, soft-spoken, mild-mannered Mike Tyson walked to freedom to face a new life that promises a new fortune and new relationships.

The former world's heavyweight boxing champion, called "Iron Mike" because his fast fists and hard power-packed punches brought him a coveted crown and over $100 million during his boxing career, left his cramped cell where he read 100 books in 17 months and journeyed with an entourage to say a prayer of thanks at the Islamic Center in Plainfield, IN.

Wearing a Muslim skullcap, 28-year-old Tyson was accompanied by Muhammad Siddeeq, his spiritual adviser; Don King, boxing promoter and business partner of Tyson; and several invited guests, including his boxing idol, former boxing champ Muhammad Ali; and a special friend, Ms. Monica Turner, a medical student at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

It was about 5:55 a.m. on Saturday, March 25, when the sunrise ushered in a new day and a new chapter in the troubled life of the titan of the boxing ring. While four helicopters hovered overhead, fans and strong supporters converged on the prison parking area. Tyson left the prison compound and all of his clothes were burned so that they could not be sold as souvenirs.

With the ordeal behind him, Tyson visited AL Muslim mosque, where he prayed at the front along with former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. It was an emotion moment for the young ex-champ whose dream took flight when the former three-time boxing champ visited a jail in New York, where Tyson was a juvenile inmate. "I was in a (Bronx) jail for bad kids--kids that are murderers and rapists," Tyson told Jet (Nov. 14,1988). "Because I saw him, he changed my life. I reshaped my life," he confided, "but Ali changed my life."

Although reporters from both print and broadcast media had descended upon the prison for the historic event, Tyson declined to be interviewed. He released a statement that said:

"I'm very happy to be out and on my way home. I want to thank everyone for their support. I will have more to say in the future. I'll see you all soon."

Having served three of the six years that he was sentenced to serve on a charge that he raped a Black beauty pageant contestant, Desiree Washington, in 1991, Tyson is optimistic about his future. He is proud that he kept his vow not to leave prison with bitterness.

Rev. Charles Williams, president of the Indiana Black Expo which sponsored the pageant and also served as a spiritual adviser to Tyson. said the boxer will have many choices to make about his future but he is prepared to do so: "He achieved a new state of being mostly through prayer and fasting. He conquered fears within and became secure within himself"