“There was no way that this seemed like a sustainable operation,” Smith says. “Somehow, against every odd, it turned the other way. I don’t think you could have ever predicted this one at all. He may be the biggest proof that you just never know in life.”
In the almost two decades since his last official fight (he fought an exhibition match against Roy Jones Jr. in 2020), Tyson has battled through deep financial despair, grappled with legal issues, struggled with a cocaine addiction, and suffered the tragic loss of his four-year-old daughter, Exodus, in 2009. But in that same period, Tyson has also become one of the more interesting and unexpected second-chance stories in recent American history—finding family, stability, and cultural acceptance in the process.
As boxing fans eagerly anticipate the exhibition match between former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and professional boxer Jake Paul, scheduled for July 20, 2024, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas and streamed globally on Netflix, there’s more to Mike Tyson than his legendary status in the ring.
It was a bitter blow, but far from a knockout punch. Tyson still had his co-manager, Jimmy Jacobs, D’Amato’s old friend and a legendary trainer in his own right. He had a good team around him, he had that glare, a strong neck that let him take a fair amount of punishment, and fists that seemed unstoppable. Before long they were calling him “Iron Mike,” and not long after that, they were calling him champ.
Of course tattoos can be copyrighted. I don’t think there is any reasonable dispute about that. They are not copyrighting Mr. Tyson’s face, or restricting Mr. Tyson’s use of his own face, as the defendant argues, or saying that someone who has a tattoo can’t remove the tattoo or change it, but the tattoo itself and the design itself can be copyrighted, and I think it’s entirely consistent with the copyright law.
On January 3, 2022, the IBF sent an invitation to Hrgović and Luis Ortiz to enter talks for a final title eliminator. Hrgović immediately accepted the offer, with his promoters stating: “Challenge accepted by Filip Hrgovic, days and counting for Luis Ortiz to accept”. Ortiz refused, citing inability to compete due to injury. The IBF then invited the next highest ranked heavyweight contender, Joseph Parker, to enter talks for a title eliminator bout. Parker refused to enter talks as well, due to recovering from injuries. On January 10, the same invitation was extended to Tony Yoka. Yoka accepted the offer on January 13. The fight was supposed to be a rematch of their 2016 Summer Olympics semi-final bout, which Yoka narrowly won on points. The IBF later ruled Yoka ineligible to enter an agreement with any opponent other than Martin Bakole, as the two had already signed contracts to face each other. On January 26, both Andy Ruiz Jr. and Murat Gassiev received invitations to enter into negotiations with Hrgović, which they refused five days later, citing lingering injuries as the reason for refusal. On February 7, it was revealed that the #13 ranked Chinese heavyweight Zhilei Zhang had accepted the invitation to enter into negotiations with Hrgović.
“I think we live in a crazy world, don’t we, where that younger generation is built off views, built off narrative, built off controversy.” said the 44-year-old. “And as a hardcore fight fan, someone who has been around boxing since I was nine years old, I find it disgusting that a 58-year-old man – who was my hero growing up – firstly has to even get back in the ring.
While Tyson started fighting during his childhood in Brooklyn, he didn’t begin to box until his teenage years. After repeated run-ins with the law, he found himself in upstate New York at the Tyron School for Boys. There, Mike sought out Bobby Stewart, a former boxer turned counselor; Stewart, however, realized he was dealing with a generational talent and introduced Tyson to Cus D’Amato.
On June 27, 1988, Tyson faced Michael Spinks. Spinks, who had taken the heavyweight championship from Larry Holmes via fifteen-round decision in 1985, had not lost his title in the ring but was not recognized as champion by the major boxing organizations. Holmes had previously given up all but the IBF title, and that was eventually stripped from Spinks after he elected to fight Gerry Cooney (winning by TKO in the fifth round) rather than IBF Number 1 Contender Tony Tucker, as the Cooney fight provided him a larger purse. However, Spinks did become the lineal champion by beating Holmes and many (including Ring magazine) considered him to have a legitimate claim to being the true heavyweight champion. The bout was, at the time, the richest fight in history and expectations were very high. Boxing pundits were predicting a titanic battle of styles, with Tyson’s aggressive infighting conflicting with Spinks’s skillful out-boxing and footwork. The fight ended after 91 seconds when Tyson knocked Spinks out in the first round; many consider this to be the pinnacle of Tyson’s fame and boxing ability.