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The best thing about the Kentucky Derby is that it is only two minutes long. It is the quickest event in sports, except for Sumo-wrestling & Mike Tyson fights. Maybe Drag-racing is quicker, but I have never been attracted to it.
I am not a big fan of Mike Tyson. I almost idolized him for what he did in the ring - he was such a great fighter. But his behavior out of the ring... he needed to realize he was in the public eye, and there is a responsibility.
Mike Tyson was one of the fighters who motivated me. How? We both used to train at the Golden Gloves boxing gym. I used to see his Rolls-Royce, his diamond Rolex on, and I said, 'You know what? Those are the things that I want.'
In boxing, Mike Tyson fascinates me. The attitude and confidence that he could not be beaten when he was heavyweight champion of the world was interesting. He came across as very mild-mannered, and much of what he said made sense.
When I was a kid, I wanted to fight Joe Louis. But I think if I had seen Mike Tyson at that time, I would have said, 'Nah, I don't want to fight him.' He's deadly. He could have been one of the great heavyweight champions. But he goofed.
Mike Tyson notoriously looked for a way out against Evander Holyfield when it was clear Holyfield had his number. Suddenly, Tyson's cowardice in gnawing off Holyfield's ear overshadowed nearly everything he had accomplished as a fighter.
On June 27, 1988, a 21-year-old Mike Tyson made in excess of 21 million dollars for 91 seconds of work. It took him just over 14 seconds to pull in more money than Michael Jordan, in his prime, made for an entire season of work that year.
Every person I wrestle, it's the biggest match of their career. They're Buster Douglas. But what's the honor in being Mike Tyson and beating Buster Douglas? I win and move on. They win, and it's a game-changer for the rest of their lives.
'Iron' Mike Tyson is the last boxer who was truly embraced by the media. They followed him around. You didn't know what he was going to do next: bite you, cut you, fight you. When you think about it, that defines him - it was an exciting adventure.
People say of every opponent, 'When are you going to knock him out?' But I'm not like Mike Tyson, who came flying out of his corner. I'm much more composed. A guy is supposed to be durable, but then I start finding my range, and, well, it comes together. Boom.
The sport needs a personality, not a fighter. We've got plenty of great fighters in the sport, but no personalities. No one is standing for anything. The last personality we had was Mike Tyson. He stood for something. It wasn't much, but he stood for something.
I beat Larry Holmes and George Foreman. I whupped Mike Tyson twice. I had my ear chewed off and spat on the ground in front of me. I've seen everything it is possible to see in boxing. I know this business better than anyone. So I live and die by my own decisions.
When it gets to the part in life where you're more afraid of what your wife is going to do to you than if you box, say, Mike Tyson, you've got to get a new profession. You don't get to be a family. I know why boxers never quit, some of them. They don't have wives.
I remember having a Mike Tyson T-shirt back in the day that I used to sleep in. And there some things that Tyson did along the way that I wasn't too psyched to associate myself with. But back in the day, just as a fighter, what a dream that was to watch and root for him.
I remember when Muhammad Ali got beaten the first time. I remember when Lennox Lewis got beaten the first time, Sugar Ray Leonard, Mike Tyson. All of those were legendary fighters, and they came back, and that's what made them different - what they did after they got beat.
At a certain point, Mike Tyson and I reacted to violence a little differently. I was afraid to leave my house for three years while he became the heavyweight champion of the world. The thing was, at first, we reacted to it the same way, and our cowardice and trauma defined us.
I just idolise Nigel Benn, the things he said, how ferocious he was, how intimidating he was - I just loved watching him. As I do the old Mike Tyson, the '89 Mike Tyson. The Tyson who walked to the ring with a white towel on and looked ferocious. He frightened me just watching him.
I dedicate some of my power to Mike Tyson. I watched a lot of film on Mike Tyson. Then we started taking notes on Muhammad Ali. We took notes on Sugar Ray Leonard. What was that fighter known for? Why was he so difficult to beat in his time, in his era and, you know, why was he at the top?
I know he's not an MMA fighter, but can we just talk about how great Deontay Wilder is? He's must-see TV. Not since Mike Tyson has boxing had an American heavyweight who could hit like him... and talk like him, too. I love his interviews, his demeanor, his fighting style... the whole package.
When I came to the United States, I saw a lot of Mike Tyson. I would stay up and watch all of the Mike Tyson fights. A friend here said, 'You got to do Jiu-Jitsu. That's the thing.' I said, 'C'mon, Jiu-Jitsu would never beat Mike Tyson.' So, he showed me the Royce Gracie tape. I was so impressed with the thing.
Mike Tyson was probably - positively or negatively - the most recognizable face on the planet: the 'baddest man on the planet.' And you had our new resident baddest man on the planet, Stone Cold Steve Austin, whom fans were just gravitating to in a way they'd never done before, walking out and flipping off Mike Tyson.
I love Mike Tyson. I was a fan, as everybody else was. The moment somebody stood up to him, he didn't do so well. And that's the same thing with Anthony Johnson. The guy's a bully. He wants to intimidate you; he wants to dominate you. He wants to knock you out. But what happens when you don't knock somebody out? What happens?
I'm just one woman away, my mother, from being the same as Mike Tyson. I would've ended up like him if my mama had not been so tough and strong. A lot of people, including Mike, don't know I came from the ghetto. They think I'm too nice and proper. But that's the way my mama raised me - to look people in the eye and respect them.
All the champions - you go and ask Mike Tyson or Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Lennox Lewis and myself included, and I'm sorry for putting myself in line with all the other great names - but the champion's attitude is it doesn't matter who is in front of me, I am going to conquer this person and win the fight and knock the person out.
I became so disciplined when I was on tag. I would be at home by eight o'clock, and because I had boxing, I lived the disciplined life. I started reading because I learnt that so many champions educated themselves. Joe Louis, Mike Tyson, Bernard Hopkins. Before, it was 'act now, think later' - but the discipline and reading changed me.
When me and Mike Tyson were around, we played king of the hill. Whoever comes to the hill, you get your behind whooped. We don't pick and choose. I fought guys when I had fractured wrists and ribs, bad backs, I didn't care. I was the king of the hill; Tyson was king of the hill. When we left, people were trying to get the 'most money fight.'