Thirty years ago Mike Tyson was unleashed upon the world, and nobody, not him, not us, was actually ready for it. His ferocity would be his undoing, but in a series of singular moments—for example, the exact instant in his pro debut when he punches Hector Mercedes in the gut and sends him off to "bolivian"—he came to embody the concept of violent glory.We loved Tyson for this brand of violence until it also showed an ugly side to his persona, a criminal side, which would be used to condemn him as a person, and then used to turn him into a racial caricature.Forever and ever, Tyson rightly will be known as the former heavyweight champion of the world, and a convicted rapist. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1992. He was released from jail just three years later and was back in the ring within months. He wasn't the same. Neither were we. It was difficult to forget what had happened. Mostly, we probably just wished he was still the 18-year-old kid in that debut fight.But this is America and there are second acts, and the 48-year-old Tyson might actually be on his third or fourth act by now. He's still around, and there's something to be said about this resilience, or at least it says something about just how astounding he was in the ring, because we won't let him just fade away.But it all began 30 years ago with this dismantling of Mercedes, a cream puff whose record dropped to 0-4 after that night. The fight lasted just 109 seconds. It was a sign of things to come both in and out of the ring.