People remember Mitchell Rose for his unexpected knockout of then-undefeated media magnet Butterbean. Rose's autobiography "Mike Tyson Tried To Kill My Daddy" is a brutally honest account of a man leading his step by trial and error, while overcoming odds with the fighting spirit he developed in the tough streets of Brooklyn, New York.
Not once in his memoirs does Rose ever claim to be without fault. Rose recalls incidences of delinquency, drug use, street violence, as well as his career as a crack dealer. He tells the story like a man who is not ashamed of his past having accepted it as the road that led him to self-actualization. Vividly he describes his lust for something more, transcending Lafayette Gardens projects with the only tools he had as a teenager, through infamy.
Rose uses his first hand perspective to analyze, just as much as he narrates the world and circumstances that he was exposed to in Brooklyn's inner city. He allows the reader into a world that is seldom accurately portrayed in media in a way that people of all walks can identify with on a common human thread. Not just touching on fisticuffs, Rose delves into the cultural clashes and societal ills that he confronted daily in a manner that lends dignity to his environment.
The detail Rose goes into depicts the maturation of a boy, into a man-child, then finally into a man. It was through boxing that Rose transitioned through life stages. And it was through boxing that Rose finally rose above his ghetto restraints to see a world larger than the urban squalor that once imprisoned him.
The story apexes with Rose's quick washout of Eric Esch AKA Butterbean, the gargantuan slugger who had yet to meet adversity until he ran into Rose's straight one-twos. What most attracts the boxing fan is what follows, as Rose chronicles his struggle to make a living as a black-listed "spoiler", a journeyman who upsets stars. It is a story rarely heard by fans, but is stunningly portrayed by Rose's firsthand perspective.
Throughout, Rose remains true to himself and rarely shies away from candor. "Mike Tyson Tried To Kill My Daddy" is a story that many can relate to, and all can enjoy.
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