A quarter-century ago, when Tyson had just been crowned the youngest heavyweight champion of the world at the age of 20, writer Joyce Carol Oates spent some time with him. “If in one sense, like other star athletes of our time,” she wrote, “Mike Tyson is a child, he is also a fully, even uncannily mature man — a 20-year-old like no other I have ever encountered.” Back then, handled by Cus D’Amato’s team after the trainer’s death, Tyson only appeared to be in control, a machine built to fight. Now, toe-to-toe on a couch discussing a good bit of the intervening years, Tyson is in command of a new skill, owning his own past.
After debuting a one-man show in Las Vegas, Tyson collaborated with film director Spike Lee and brought the show to Broadway in August 2012. In February 2013, Tyson took his one-man show Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth on a 36-city, three-month national tour. Tyson talks about his personal and professional life on stage. The one-man show was aired on HBO on November 16, 2013.
Meaning: The boxer went under the needle weight division champions in boxing the year 2003 by the tattoo artist, Victor Whitmill. The tribal tattoo is inked on the left side of Tyson’s face. This unique design stirred some commotions like lawsuit and trials when ‘The Hangover’ movie doctor’s character ‘Stu Price’ depicted a temporary tribal tattoo with the same design as Tyson’s tattoo on his face.
Tyson had his final professional win in 2003, a 49-second first-round knockout. Later that year he filed for bankruptcy, claiming to be $34 million in debt after earning an estimated $400 million over the course of his career. Tyson lost bouts in 2004 and 2005, and he retired in the aftermath of the latter fight. In 2007 he served 24 hours in prison after pleading guilty to drug possession and driving under the influence, charges that stemmed from a 2006 arrest.
So Paul has probably made the prudent move with a return to what he does best: star in a circus bout against a fellow big name. Whether Paul ever circles back to his stated goal of becoming cruiserweight champion remains to be seen. But this money-making event with Tyson should do little to change that trajectory. It will only stand to boost Paul’s profile, and again, it should be an exhibition where Paul doesn’t lose any boxing credibility. — Coppinger
A Living Testament: Today, Mike Tyson is a testament to the power of the human spirit to overcome adversity. His story is a vivid tapestry of triumph, despair, and redemption. The narrative reminds us that even the hardest of exteriors beats a heart capable of profound change and deep compassion.
“For my last fight, 60 million people in China tuned in to watch that, I believe we’ll make more history this time, I’m expecting 100 million, I have 1.4billion people behind me and supporting me, let’s make it happen. I’m fighting for my country.”
Joyce was looking for the quickest route possible to a world title shot after turning professional late, following his silver-medal achievement at the 2016 Olympics. But a lack of head movement cost Joyce, and he has now slipped further along the queue for a title shot.
On June 12, 2011, Tyson was inducted to the International Boxing Hall of Fame alongside legendary Mexican champion Julio César Chávez, light welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu, and actor/screenwriter Sylvester Stallone. In 2011, Bleacher Report omitted Tyson from its list of top 10 heavyweights, saying that “Mike Tyson is not a top 10 heavyweight. He killed the fighters he was supposed to beat, but when he fought another elite fighter, he always lost. I’m not talking about some of those B-level fighters he took a belt from. I’m talking about the handful of good boxers he fought throughout his career.”
Many of Zhang’s released songs contain elements of traditional Chinese music, such as the instruments hulusi, guzheng and gong. Zhang mentioned in an interviews that he considers his main genre to be M-pop, which stands for “Mix Mandarin popular music” and blends different languages. One example is his collaborative single with American EDM and hip-hop group Far East Movement titled “Lovebird”, which contains both the English and Mandarin languages. “The Assembly Call”, the opening track of his 2018 album Namanana, is an instrumental that showcases different traditional Chinese sounds and music.
His kayaking coach suggested boxing. Zhang didn’t know a little about boxing. He knew nothing. China Central Television only showed fights on Sunday mornings, and Zhang wasn’t watching. But there was something about the feeling of the gloves. The thwack of the heavy bag. “It just got me excited,” says Zhang. After two weeks of training, he sparred with a provincial champion. “I beat the crap out of him,” says Zhang. “He was bleeding all over his face. That was when I realized I was actually pretty good.”
The only thing George feels Zhang is lacking is an opportunity. Zhang (19-0, 15 knockouts) is back in action on September 28 in a scheduled 10-rounder against Don Haynesworth (15-2-1, 13 KOs) in Changsha, China. The fight will be televised there on CCTV, but isn’t being picked up in the United States or United Kingdom, the geographical regions where most of the top heavyweights are from. Despite holding a respectable looking record, Haynesworth’s highest-profile bout was less than a year ago when he was stopped in three rounds by Bryant Jennings.
