Following Paul’s only pro loss, a split-decision defeat to Tommy Fury last year, he turned his attention to his bread and butter: MMA opponents. Paul soundly defeated Nate Diaz in August and then announced he would begin to develop his skills the ol’ fashioned way with bouts against “real boxers.”
The second item on his agenda will come after the fight. Whether it ends up being his fifty-first win or his seventh loss, Tyson will take some time to himself in his locker room at the football stadium. He’ll lean back in his chair and take that moment alone to hear his heartbeat. Only in that moment will Tyson, who was taught most of his life to believe that he was a god, know that he’s still fully alive. Even if the destroyer is no longer there.
“Talk about a great pairing of nicknames — “The Bronze Bomber” versus “Big Bang” Zhang. This is a fight that demands a knockout ending, and according to the oddsmakers who have Zhang a slight favorite, one has the right to assume they’re most swayed by the difference in punch resistance that favors Zhang as well as Wilder’s dismal performance against common conqueror Joseph Parker, a man Zhang floored twice before losing on points. If Zhang lands his lethal left cross on Wilder’s chin, especially early, there will be no opportunity for Wilder to exploit Zhang’s biggest weakness, stamina. That’s what happened in the Joe Joyce rematch and the pick is that Zhang’s “Big Bang” will be enough to take out the “Bronze Bomber.”
Zhou speculated on the broader top heavyweight boxing picture, suggesting that if Fury wins, he might prioritize a fight against Anthony Joshua who may hold the IBF title if he’s matched against Hrgovic.
In 2003, as TalkSport reminds us, Tyson stepped into the ring with his freshly inscribed ink and knocked out Clifford Etienne in 49 seconds. This would be Tyson’s last career victory, a mere week after getting his first tattoo. His trainer, Jeff Fenech, who’d been training Tyson for eight weeks leading up to the fight, called shenanigans. He said that Iron Mike was sabotaging the fight, essentially, because it “wasn’t healthy” to have a 130 division boxing match where Tyson’s face would get punched days after getting a tattoo on it. Fenech also thought Tyson got the tattoo because he didn’t want the fight in the first place. A week before the bout, Fenech walked, and Tyson went on to win in the first round. Two years later in 2005, Tyson retired after back-to-back losses.
Tonight Joyce was a washout at the OVO Arena as he fearfully entered the ring, and did not show the hunger to regain the crown that the Chinese had taken from him five months ago with a sixth-round knockout.
It is unclear how the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which sanctions and regulates combat sports in the state, will approach what will surely be a matchup that garners plenty of criticism and attention. It is yet to be determined whether it will be classified as a pro fight or an exhibition.
Over the course of his career in the ring, Tyson experienced both tremendous success and debilitating setbacks. He became the youngest heavyweight champion in history at the age of 20, but also faced numerous controversies and personal struggles, including prison time for rape.
When did Mike Tyson get his tattoo and showed it to the public for the first time, it elicited a wide range of reactions. Some praised the boldness and uniqueness of the design, while others criticized it as unconventional or even controversial.
The project is expected to be shopped to various streaming outlets and networks and comes on the heels of Hulu announcing in February its own Tyson limited series, Iron Mike, from the team behind I, Tonya. Tyson previously slammed the Hulu project as “tone-deaf cultural misappropriation of my life story … to make this announcement during Black History Month only confirms Hulu’s concern for dollars over respect for Black story rights. Hollywood needs to be more sensitive to Black experiences especially after all that has transpired in 2020.”
LAS VEGAS, NV – MAY 02: Former boxer Mike Tyson (R) and his wife Lakiha “Kiki” Tyson sit ringside at “Mayweather VS Pacquiao” presented by SHOWTIME PPV And HBO PPV at MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 2, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images for SHOWTIME)
“It’s a plant that makes you happy and hungry,” he says, admitting that it’s hard to give up and that he was not his best self around his family in the first week of training for the fight when he stopped using. “The family wasn’t friendly with me. I did not behave well.”
During the design process, Tyson and Whitmill collaborated with each other, with Tyson making suggestions on the imagery and symbolism he wanted to incorporate into the design. After several iterations, they settled on the final design, which has since become iconic.
Wilder is settling in this round a little better. He’s staying in the middle more and has thrown a few right hands. Still mostly lead hand shoving, but this is better. UGLY jab from Wilder and Zhang lands a left to the body. Wilder ducks a left from Zhang. Credit where due, his defense has been pretty good. But it’s all he’s showing.
