Among the bouts featured on the undercard, Ashton Sylve and Floyd Schofield are scheduled to meet in the 10-round bout at lightweight. Julio César Chávez Jr. and Darren Till are scheduled to meet in the six-round bout at cruiserweight.
Despite the ear bite, Tyson had a legendary career, winning 50 fights and 44 by knockout. The 57-year-old six-time heavyweight champion hasn’t boxed professionally since 2005 but is returning to fight Paul. Tyson’s last fight was an exhibition against Roy Jones Jr. in 2020, which ended in a draw.
The eight-part limited Hulu series, Mike, is billed as the turbulent true life story of heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson. Inviting viewers to step into the ring with “Iron Mike,” the show revisits how the boxer (played by Trevante Rhodes) navigated poverty, addiction, and controversy, while also attempting to shed light on “issues of race, class, fame, misogyny, and the media in America.” But the real Tyson hasn’t pulled any punches regarding his thoughts on the series.
For his part, Tyson has been largely taking the higher road, simply sharing videos of himself preparing for the fight against Paul with expletive-filled captions like “You still wanna f*** with me?.” The tit-for-tat adds extra fanfare to an already hotly anticipated sporting event, and audiences can watch it all go down on Netflix on July 20.
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)
In the early 1990s, Tyson briefly met Monica Turner. They stayed in touch with Turner regularly visiting Tyson while he imprisoned, and the relationship eventually grew romantic. In 1997, the couple got married in a Muslim ceremony.
The fact that Tyson got his Maori facial tattoo just a week before the fight also threw the event into doubt. Any tattoo close to a fight is ill-advised as it can bleed or become infected. Yet Tyson was determined, originally wanting a bunch of hearts on his face (“I was going to be the man of hearts, baby”) until his tattoo artist convinced him that Maori warrior ink was a better look.
His defensive abilities matched his offensive arsenal. Tyson mastered slipping punches using subtle head movements that left adversaries swinging at air. Combined with weaving under punches and precise blocks, Tyson was an elusive target.
Almost two decades on from when ‘Iron Mike’ last stepped into the ring in a professional bout, a defeat to Kevin McBride in 2005, the legendary heavyweight makes his return in an event that will draw attention from the world of sport and beyond.
The UFC veteran said, “I don’t like it but Mike Tyson and I’ve been there and I was with him when he was getting ready for the Roy Jones fight. Kamaru like this dude’s disciplined dude he’s almost like us you know. He gets moody when he’s in fight camp. He stops smoking or he doesn’t smoke as much you know. He starts to eat clean he runs every day 5 in the morning.”
OH! Wilder does! He comes to life and starts throwing and Zhang is not prepared! He reacts poorly and covers up until a clinch. Not much landed, but the sheer effort surprised Zhang. Zhang gets back into it though and lands a left hook. And Wilder starts to retreat again.
While the tattoo now is almost two decades old, it remains a prime identity for Mike Tyson. Recently, Resorts World in Las Vegas inaugurated a 10 feet statue of Tyson, outside the Mulberry Street Pizzeria. The statue is of a young Mike Tyson in his 20s, when he didn’t have the tattoo. But it still imprinted the ink on the statues that we saw. This portrays the popularity of Tyson’s face tattoo and ‘Iron’ reflected it yet again on his social media.
“Yeah, man, we almost got him, we almost got him,” they laughed. I had no idea what they were talking about and then they told me. They were boxing division champions by weight Mr. Stewart, one of the counselors. Bobby Stewart was a tough Irish guy, around 170 pounds, who had been a professional boxer. I was in my room one night when there was a loud, intimidating knock on the door. I opened the door and it was Mr. Stewart.
Everyone knows Mike Tyson really cherishes his face tattoo, right? But guess what? The guy who actually inked it, S. Victor Whitmill, seems to love it even more. He even went ahead and sued Warner Bros. over them using it without his permission! Crazy, huh?
Post Fight: On replay, a lead right hook is what hurt Wilder. He stepped in and just a little inside hook dazed Wilder. Then the running right hook when Wilder was stunned was vicious. A free punch and landed perfectly. Well done.
Wilder vs. Zhang took place June 1 at the Freedom Arena in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia. Deontay Wilder (43-4-1) and Zhilei Zhang (27-2-1) squared off in the the main event clash. The fight aired live on pay-per-view on DAZN.