The victory made it a clean sweep for Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions, which was squaring off with rival U.K. promoter Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing in a unique 5 vs. 5 team concept created by Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority.
Mike Tyson is considered one of the greatest boxers of all time. Fear is what he instilled in every opponent who had the courage to face ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ in the squared circle. It might be hard to imagine, but even an intimidating guy like Tyson once had a childhood laden with insecurities. One of the many chinks in the armor of ‘Iron Mike’ during his childhood had to do with his speech impediment for which he was picked on as a kid.
“For my last fight, 60 million people in China tuned in to watch that, I believe we’ll make more history this time, I’m expecting 100 million, I have 1.4billion people behind me and supporting me, let’s make it happen. I’m fighting for my country.”
The video features Smith parodying another famous Philadelphian, Rocky Balboa, as he wheezes up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and trains by punching a slab of beef. He and Townes also dress up as old men and comment on the action, baldly ripping off a similar scene from “Coming to America.” Tyson appears in just two scenes, appearing to rough Smith up at a rowdy pre-fight press conference, and then fighting Smith in the ring. Dressed in a “Free James Brown” t-shirt, Tyson dances around and throws punches toward the camera, while Smith takes several exaggerated pratfalls to the canvas before showing up at the end of the video with his face covered in gnarly bruises and welts.
Holyfield and Belfort did not wear protective headgear in their exhibition bout, which is expected to be the case when Paul faces Tyson. Paul’s manager had denied claims made by Dereck Chisora that the fighters would wear protective gear and 18oz gloves, before Paul took to social media insinuating he would not take the fight under those conditions.
Zhang, who was born and raised in China’s Henan Province but now lives and trains in the U.S. state of New Jersey, has had to be patient to attract the attention of fans in his homeland as he’s worked his way up the heavyweight rankings.
Mike showrunner Karin Gist has revealed the approach to bring the life and times of Mike Tyson to the small screen, stating that the show has been made without judgment and will include the good, the bad, and everything in between.
While Tyson’s tattoo isn’t a traditional Maori face tattoo, it draws inspiration from tribal designs. Tyson himself has mentioned that he appreciates the cultural significance of tribal tattoos, and he has embraced elements of this art form to create his own unique tattoo.
The advice proved sage. Zhang showed signs of fatigue, as would be the case for a 41-year-old heavyweight who came in at a career heaviest 291 pounds. Parker came forward in round eleven, behind his jab and followed with right hands down the middle. Zhang’s already low punch output dramatically decreased, to the chagrin of his corner who called for a knockout ending to take it out of the judges’ hands.
Zhang faced former WBC champion Deontay Wilder on 1 June 2024. He secured victory in the fifth round after landing a counter right hook that left Wilder reeling. With Wilder defenseless, Zhang rushed in and delivered the knockout.
Joyce looked tentative throughout the first three rounds, hesitant to engage and troubled by Zhang’s output. Then, in the final seconds of Round 3, Zhang landed a clean left cross and devastating right hook, site here dropping Joyce heavily.
Cus D’Amato was more than a boxing trainer with a good eye for talent. D’Amato was a legend, hailed as the man who had successfully fought mobster Frank Carbo’s boxing monopoly and made Floyd Patterson “king of the sport,” in the words of People reporter William Plummer. Norman Mailer had called him a Zen master. He was more of a teacher than a trainer, a teacher in the old, all-encompassing sense. While he taught his fighters the moves, he also drew them out, discovering their hidden talents and fears. “Fear is like a fire,” he’d tell them. “If you control it, as we do when we heat our houses, it is a friend. When you don’t it consumes you and everything around you.”
Zhang and Wilder are both looking to get back in the win column after dropping their last fights—each to Joseph Parker in upset decisions. Wilder lost to Parker in December in 12 rounds and a unanimous decision while Zhang lost his fight to Parker in March in a majority decision.
They appeared to be in different weight classes Saturday, too, as Zhang outweighed Wilder by 68.2 pounds — at 282.8 compared with Wilder’s 214.6. There is no weight limit in boxing’s heavyweight division.
Suddenly the sideshow was a star. Only in Zhang’s camp, it wasn’t sudden. “Nobody wanted to trust the process,” says George. “Everybody thinks he just figured out how to fight. That’s not the case. Zhilei knew how to fight a long time ago. He’s like a giant that just needed to be provoked.”