Boxing icon Mike Tyson’s involvement with Jake Paul in a boxing match has created an event with unbridled curiosity and nostalgia. Netflix has become the third man in the ring.
The explosive, wide-reaching combination is going to create one of the most watched sports events of all time on Friday night at Dallas Cowboys Stadium. It is trending towards a 25 million audience, or more, on Netflix. Ninety thousand are expected in the vast sporting arena.
I’m privileged to be here to witness, write and report on it. I’m privileged to be close enough to Tyson, to say that we have had deep conversations. He is a deep human being. An extraordinary spirit. An incredible tome on a life lived beyond what is normal. As a result, he is very special. To many millions of people.
And to myself. Dignity is within him. Respect is part of him.
I followed the career of Tyson; I have been in and around Jake Paul’s near five year deep dive into an addiction for the fight game.
An addiction that is real, that has given him an ambition to be a veritable world champion.
But this is a huge extravaganza designed to build his name – through his promotional company Most Valuable Promotions – and propel his name even more globally. It is all bound up with marketing genius.
Mike Tyson was once one of the most compelling human beings on the planet. Arguably, he still is…maybe even more so.
But Tyson has gone from ‘wild man to wise man’. Tyson is a different man now. I’ve spent time with him recently and although he will bring destruction in the early two minute rounds against Paul, the once wild character that Mike was has gone somewhere else. His objective now is to summon that once more…
Yes, of course Tyson has that aura, and will always carry the muscle memory. Yes, Tyson is a deep warrior, a proud fighter, who will never want to be shown up or embarrassed in his office, the ring. But he is a changed man.
There was a time when Tyson was a human wrecking-machine, a physical specimen who eviscerated his opponents, large or extra-large.
He now exudes a different persona. Once ‘The Baddest Man on The Planet’, he will try to summon darkness once more, and as he told me this week “is bringing the devil” with him.
Tyson is relaxed, amusing and painfully honest. He wants to knock Paul out.
The hubris is gone and his mental turbulence is in abeyance. In many ways, Tyson, once paid millions for global sporting extravaganzas in giant Las Vegas casinos, is now a man of wisdom, in whom others find solace. He is testament to transformation; to evolution of the self.
Tyson is among us, yet in isolation. Tyson has all the prerequisites for a fighter, even in later life. Most of the fans around him remind him of past glories, yet their praise possibly haunts his soul. As he finds himself through evolution, his ego shrinks and his self-esteem blossoms.
The classic dichotomy. Glory or destruction. Or as Tyson once described it: “I was born in chaos. I’m looking for peace… ”
As Mike told me once. “I don’t have that ego any more. Fighting is about a frame of mind, about persistence. Anyone can kick ass. Fighting is not about winning. It’s about not being yourself. My insecurity [drove me], I wanted to sacrifice everything to not lose. To lose was not to exist. I came from scum. I wanted to be mean.”
“I have to deal with all my baggage. I want to be about someone bigger than me. A servant to
someone else. I have had all my dignity stripped away. Now, I just want to live the rest of my life being dignified.”
Mike Tyson has shown that this week. Now he just needs to recall the muscle memory one last time. And many millions of us are praying that he can find it…
It would be a victory for the human spirit. The spirit that is Mike Tyson.