Mike Tyson’s ex-wife hits back in fight with boxing legend

Mike Tyson’s ex-wife, actress Robin Givens, is taking things up a notch as she tries to distance herself from the heavyweight boxing icon.

Mike Tyson’s ex-wife Robin Givens has appointed lawyers and claims she is being defamed ahead of the release of a biopic about the Baddest Man on the Planet.

Actor Jamie Foxx is set to play the controversial boxing icon in the film about his life but lawyers for Givens have demanded Tyson “cease and desist” from contacting her.

The American actress also claims Iron Mike, 54, is defaming her in his podcasts.

Letters from her legal team “demand that Mr Tyson cease and desist from further defaming Ms. Givens, and to put those producing, writing and/or directing the proposed Tyson biopic, and those producing Mr Tyson’s podcast, on notice that they are to refrain from portraying Ms Givens in a false, negative and defamatory light”.

The letter further states: “While (she) has attempted to move on, she still finds herself fighting the abusive, demeaning and false accounts of their relationship by Mr Tyson nearly 35 years later.

“It is time for Mr Tyson to let this marriage be the relic of the past that it is.”

Givens has already won a technical KO after producers revealed they would not be detailing Tyson’s messy marriage and subsequent divorce in his film.

Tyson and Givens — the boxer’s first wife — were married at the height of his fame in 1988 after he became the youngest ever undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. But their volatile union ended in divorce in 1989.

Givens, 55, said to have previously dated Hollywood star Eddie Murphy and basketball legend Michael Jordan, started dating Tyson in 1987. It was claimed that after her miscarriage in 1988 their marriage fell apart.

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12/01/1996 PIRATE: Mike Tyson and wife Robin Givens. Undated.

Tyson has previously claimed that he caught her in bed with Hollywood icon Brad Pitt as their divorce was still being finalised.

Givens was awarded a $10 million divorce settlement but claims she did not receive anything. She filed a $125m claim for defamation against him before their divorce on Valentine’s Day in 1989.

Givens has previously admitted to being “disturbed” by Tyson’s book detailing their tempestuous relationship. She was left distressed after reading her ex-partner’s biography Fire and Fear: The Inside Story of Mike Tyson, released the same year they split.

Tyson is returning to the ring for an exhibition fight in November. He battled depression and alcohol binges after his career ended but has lost more than 60kg and looks in stunning shape ahead of his ring return against Roy Jones Jr.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission