Exclusive Interview With Mike Tyson Part 2

By G. Leon

09/09/2004

Exclusive Interview With Mike Tyson Part 2

"Shelly, Why Would You Bring (Watley) In If You Feel He's No Good?"

After speaking on the telephone with former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson (that conversation is available as part one of this series), Tyson came up with the idea of doing a conference call between the two of us and his manager, Shelly Finkel. The result of the conference call became this, part two of Boxingtalk’s exclusive three-part series dealing with the management situation of Mike Tyson in the wake of his loss to Danny Williams. Once Finkel was conferenced in with Tyson and me, the former champ asked me to tell Finkel what we had been discussing. I said to Finkel, "I've been telling Mike what's going on between you and Ted Watley and Mike basically said that it's very embarrassing that two grown men are fighting over his black dick like that."  Finkel laughed, at which point Mike came in and said,
"I'm not laughing at shit Shelly. Y'all really embarrassed me, you're two grown men." Click here for the rest of the conversation between me, Mike Tyson and Shelly Finkel.

Part three of the series throws Watley into the conference call mix, but Watley wound up hanging up his phone after a few minutes of heated conversation. Get ready for part two of the biggest story in boxing, only on Boxingtalk.com -- bringing you the interviews and stories that nobody else can!


Shelly Finkel: "(Watley's) the one who started it, not me."

Mike Tyson: "Naw, but you're really embarrassing me. My girlfriend is calling me telling me about how this shit is ugly. I introuduced the both of you to my girlfriend and I thought we were supposed to be a team, everybody was cool for my well being, but now we got motherfuckers fighting, you guys don't give a fuck about my well being. You tell me reporter what you told me about Shelly and how he wouldn't give you the second paper."

Greg Leon: "Shelly, I just told Mike what's happened and how it happened. He told me he was completely in the dark and I explained to him how Ted Watley called me to start this all off. Ted Watley said you were his partner, you said you weren't. You read section four of your agreement with Watley to me and you only wanted to fax me the second page with section four and I told you if you're only giving me one out of two pages, you're only giving me half of the story...

Shelly Finkel: "Right and then I gave you the whole thing (on Tuesday)."

Greg Leon: "Today (Tuesday). I told Mike that I did an interview with Ted Watley and read it to you before it came out, I told Mike that Ted Watley came on the record talking about the contract stipulating he is entitled to 50% of what you make off of Mike. Then today I got the contract from you and all of the remarks that you made that appear in your interview."

Mike Tyson: "And what did it say in the contract, that he was his partner right?

Shelly Finkel: "No! It says specifically that he's not my partner."

Mike Tyson: "Is that what the contract said?"

Greg Leon: "The contract said that Ted Watley is not legally his partner, but he's entitled to 50% of what Shelly makes."

Mike Tyson: "Is that true Shelly?"

Shelly Finkel: "Yeah, but that's from me."

Mike Tyson: "Why do I need this guy, do I need him as a father-figure? What do I need him for?"

Shelly Finkel: "You don't need him at all, and that's why I'm shocked at what he's done."

Mike Tyson: "The reporter explained to me, reporter tell him what you explained to me...."

Greg Leon: "About?"

Mike Tyson: "The father-figure."

Greg Leon: "Shelly, when I asked you what the reasoning behind bringing Ted Watley in was, you said to be a father-figure to Mike.

Shelly Finkel: "What did I say originally before I got to know him?"

Greg Leon: "Pardon me?"

Mike Tyson: (cutting in) "But Shelly you told this gentleman that you brought him in as a father-figure to me?"

Shelly Finkel: "As part of when he went to help you with Desiree."

Mike Tyson: "No, no. Shit, somebody call this man on the phone. Let's have a conference call because I'm over here looking like an asshole like I don't know what's going on with my business. The reporter called me and I feel like I'm an asshole because I don't know what's going on with my business and I got two grown men fighting over me on some bullshit. Let's get Ted on the line and have a real pow-wow."

Greg Leon: "I can only conference in one and that was Shelly."

Mike Tyson: "Can you do it Shelly?"

Shelly Finkel: "You have his number, I don't."

Mike Tyson: "He's your partner so you need to have his number."

Shelly Finkel: "He's not my partner Mike, he never was my partner."

Mike Tyson: "Okay, well why are you giving him 50% of your money then?"

Shelly Finkel: "Because at the time he lied to me which Jackie explained to me recently. He conned me about you Mike."

Mike Tyson: "I just want y'all to know and I'm not going to go into details over the phone, but me and reporter man will call him after we're finished. I just want you to know that you guys have no care for my well being and you're truly embarrassing me. Don't you guys see that I'm a human being? I've got heart, I've got dignity, I've got family and I got my girl reading this shit."

Shelly Finkel: "Greg, did I not ask you not to write this?"

Mike Tyson: "But fuck that because Greg got to write his shit!"

Greg Leon: "Before the first story went out, Shelly told me not to run with it."

Mike Tyson: "But he's a reporter and if he doesn't run with it he'll never become a track star. Listen, I'm humiliated. Everybody is looking at me like I'm the sucker...

Shelly Finkel: "Not you, me Mike."

Mike Tyson: "No it's me nigga. People are going to be looking at me like some stupid motherfucker, that y'all got my money. Y'all got 50% of my shit here, he got 50% of your shit, but I'm the jackass here. It's all because of me. Why did you allow somebody like this to jump on your ship? I don't know."

Shelly Finkel: "I told you a while ago that the guy was asking for this and that and we both said that the guy is a con-man. And then we both said, what do we like con-men for."

Mike Tyson: "Fuck what we said Shelly, I'm just asking you why you would bring in this motherfucker if you feel he's no good? Now I got to hear him running his mouth. My girl tells me about the shit on the internet, I guess that's because you guys care about me so much that's why you're doing such a good job of protecting me from the media. Isn't that supposed to be a part of your job too? But you let this motherfucker in and you know he used to be Don King's right hand man."

Shelly Finkel: "I thought he was going to help you with Desiree, that's how it all began."

Mike Tyson: "Nobody is going to help me with Desiree because Desiree's cousin just called and said she's going to testify to break her silence. Don't you know that?"

Shelly Finkel: "And who gave her the information?"

Mike Tyson: "Well, I don't know."

Shelly Finkel: "Me!"

Mike Tyson: "Well Shelly that doesn't mean you're a great guy. The information is public, you didn't go in privately and come out with that information. If you would have dont that the information would have been a fucking gold mine! But the information was public any lawyer could have gotten it. The fact is, y'all two men are fighting and crying over some bullshit and I don't got no fucking money. The only thing I know is when I broke my fucking leg, I don't got nobody now! I don't got no fucking money, whatever money I got I have to give to this IRS guy and the money I do got, I don't have enough money to do shit with. I've just got to save it like a fucking mizer."

Greg Leon: "And Shelly, you were conferenced in at Mike's request by the way."

Mike Tyson: "Yeah, I just want everybody to know what's going on. Nobody gives a fuck. I feel that I've fallen off the world now that I fucked my leg up nobody is coming to see my black ass. But when my fight was going everybody was here all the fucking time! Was it really like that? Is that all I am to you guys is a dollar piece? Am I another Meldrick Taylor who everybody loves so much that I'll go out without even knowing how to spell my name or know my fucking kids name? I'm not saying you're a bad guy Shelly, Ted gave him my number, but why didn't Ted get on the phone with me. I'm not on Shelly's side or Ted's side, but why hasn't Ted gotten on the phone with me? Everybody wants to manipulate with me and use me for some bullshit. Nobody would be talking about Ted if my name wasn't in this, but that's how the ball bounces sometimes I guess."

Ted Watley joins the conversation in Part 3 as Boxingtalk.com, continues to bring you what no one else can!

 


 



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