Sunday, January 18, 2009

Mike Tyson Played Himself

I would like to talk a little bit about Malik Abdul Aziz.

You know him as "Iron" Mike Tyson. Few people have entertained me on so many different levels as good 'ol Mike Tyson. As a kid growing up, watching him beat the holy shit out of people was always really awesome. Playing "Mike Tyson's Punch Out", was one of my favorite pastimes as well.

Before I go any further, it is important to note that Tyson had a very successful boxing career by any standard. He retired with a record of 50 Wins (44 knockouts, 5 decisions, 1 disqualification), 6 Losses (5 knockouts, 1 disqualification), 0 Draws, 2 No Contests. He held all three major championship belts; WBA, IBF, and WBC.

Watching his decades long downward spiral has been an adventure the likes American pop culture has never seen.
" This country was built on rape, slavery, murder, degradation and affiliation with crime."
-Mike Tyson


Mike played himself in the 1991 Drama, "Black And White". Mike also played himself in various other productions, including... Ready?


Mike Tyson as a sports, and quite clearly, entertainment icon, has played HIMSELF everywhere. The lines of reality are all but indistinguishable when it comes to him. He was of course featured on several albums, most recently with 'Lil Wayne. Mike played a role in the L.L. Cool J/Canibus feud. (That feud probably warrants a blog of it's own, but one step at a time). My favorite line in "2nd Round Knock Out", which was apparently not included in the video was;

"I caught these foul slouch-ass ni***z, youknowmean? Talkin foul bout you the other night on the corner of the boulevard man - I wasn't with that but I ain't know you well enough to defend you though right?"

I ain't know you well enough to defend you.... I love it. Anyway... moving on...

Who could forget "The Bite Fight". This one reached out to everyone. Not just the boxing/sports community. There was no getting away from it. This alone puts Tyson in a whole other category than just about any other professional athlete. Seriously... even despite Mike's explanation of getting "butted" repeatedly, who bites someone?
"I'm the most irresponsible person in the world. The reason I'm like that is because, at 21, you all gave me $50 or $100 million, and I didn't know what to do. I'm from the ghetto. I don't know how to act. Who am I? What am I? I don't even know who I am. I'm just a dumb child. I'm being abused. I'm just a dumb pugnacious fool. I'm just a fool who thinks I'm someone. And you tell me I should be responsible?"
-Mike Tyson


5 years later, Mike would again bite his opponent.(sigh) This time however, it would happen at a press conference turned riot, when Mike would bite World Champion Lennox Lewis' leg.

"All praise is to Allah, I'll fight any man, any animal, if Jesus were here I'd fight him too."
-Mike Tyson


Tupac Shakur was murdered after leaving the Tyson vs. Seldon fight on September 7th, 1996 in Las Vegas, Nevada. In this clip, Tyson seems about as normal as one can expect from him. There even seems to be some depth there.

Maybe Depth isn't the word... He didn't curse, raise his voice or insult anyone... So that's kind of what I mean by depth.

I guess what's so fascinating to me about Tyson is that he was allowed to continue to be himself, wherever he chose to do so. Weather it be a press conference, a movie, a boxing ring, a pro wrestling event, a talk show, a Pepsi commercial, a sitcom, Nintendo Games or in prison. And as long as the money was there, we all watched (prison notwithstanding, of course). And that's what kept this whole thing going. You could always count on something happening.

I don't think there will ever be a spectacle quite as grand as The Mike Tyson Show. His antics made Dennis Rodman look kind of like a frat boy. He kept up such a high standard of insanity for so long, that it would take someone beyond crazy to fill that void.

Here's to you Mike, you crazy son of a bitch!
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