Mike Tyson is serving a six-year prison sentence imposed on him in 1991 when he was found guilty of hotel-room rape. At the time of the trial he was one of the world's greatest heavyweight boxers, a former world champion with one defeat on his record. Barbara Kopple 's film, including rare footage of Tyson as a child and in trainer Cus d'Amato'scareasa 15-year-old boxing prospect, traces the rise and fall of a vulnerable champion who let his dark side get the better of him. Kopple's aim is to "offer a new perspective on a man who was unable to separate the violence of the sport from his personal life".