MUMBAI: Popularly known as ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’, Mike Tyson spent most of his time on his first evening in Mumbai, a sweltering one at that, wiping sweat off his signature bald head and face tattoo with a handkerchief. ‘Iron Mike’ now carries a considerable pot belly and during the weigh-in of the Mixed Martial Arts fight night ‘Kumite 1 League’, for which he is the brand ambassador, was even seen separating the adrenaline-rushed fighters with a faint smile on his face.
Wearing a casual white half-sleeve shirt, with pink and blue swirls on it, he looked more like one of the causal shoppers in a popular mall — where the event was taking place — rather than someone known for his ferocity and violence. In the boxing ring, Tyson was ever-prepared for a flying fist that came his way. But the American looked taken aback by the extensive security and hordes of fans that followed him on his first visit to the country.
Tyson’s security was taken care of by Salman Khan’s personal bodyguard, Shera. But in conversation with the press, he insisted that visiting Bollywood stars or parties was not on his list of priorities. “I’m visiting the slums. I ain’t here for no party,” the former heavyweight boxing champion said.
Tyson himself had grown up on the streets on Brooklyn and survived a tough childhood to become one of the fiercest boxers. “I am a slumdog,” he continued. “I grew up on the streets of New York. My ambition was to get out of it, and that’s why I’m here talking to you. The poorer you are the better boxer you are. If you see, most of the successful fighters are either from the slums of some sort of correction institute.”
Tyson’s bad boy image preceded him everywhere. It became worldwide when in 1997, he was disqualified from the WBA title bout for biting Evander Holyfield’s ear. But boxing lacks such fighters, as controversial as they may be, with a global appeal. In fact, only on Thursday it was announced that broadcast giants HBO were dropping boxing from their line-up.
“I don’t know how that is going to work,” said Tyson. “Especially since boxing’ money comes from the TV pay per view. The difference is that now they (boxers) are not personalities. They are all straight guys, gentlemen, focused on only boxing. I was a young kid going wild, always getting into trouble, always in the papers.”
While Tyson happily accepted the invite to come to India to promote MMA, he doesn’t think he would have given it a shot . “No money in it,” the plain-talking Tyson said. “I chased the money.” Fame, and infamy, followed. Now a vegan and known for goofy cameos in movies, Tyson has made the transformation to a well-loved legend.
