From biting the ear of Evander Holyfield to owning tigers as pets to fighting YouTubers years after retirement, Mike Tyson has led a crazy life.
Mike Tyson has made headlines for more than his wins and his losses, but in large part due to what the heavyweight gets up to outside of the ring.
Tyson’s reputation in the ring was a fierce one, with ‘Iron’ Mike breaking the eye socket of a gangster, and knocking out most men he shared the ring with.
Outside of the ring Tyson is known for a lot more than his boxing record – Tyson was forced to give up his pet tigers after they grew too old (and after a mauling incident), Iron Mike also coached Arturo Gatti’s son, and even starred in a Nintendo video game.
Mike Tyson reveals how much he earned from Nintendo’s ‘Punch-Out!!’
‘Punch-Out!!’ was a 1987 Nintendo game made for the NES. The game featured Tyson as a boss character, and was even at one point called ‘Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!’. It has received high praise as a fantastic video game, but how much did Tyson earn from it?
Speaking on the game to Vlad TV, Tyson said: “It broke all the records.”
After the interviewer, former boxer Zab Judah, suggested Tyson was paid $50,000 for the game the heavyweight sensation responded:
“That was a bad deal but I don’t think it was 50 G’s. It was like 1.2 or something […] all in all it was a really bad deal.”
Mike Tyson didn’t know about movie role until he met the cast on a night out
One thing Tyson is known for outside of the ring is his appearance in ‘The Hangover’, a 2009 comedy featuring Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper, and Ed Helms.
Tyson played himself, but had reportedly forgotten he was meant to star in the film until the night before when he was out clubbing.
Tyson told Yahoo Sports! that he met the actors at a nightclub, stating: “It was Zach, the other guy, and he said ‘We’re going to be in a movie with you’ and I said ‘Yeah? When?’ And he said ‘Tomorrow.'”
He continued: “And I didn’t know as I was drinking and smoking back then, doing drugs so I didn’t know I was involved in the movie.”
The movie would go on to be a success, and Tyson would also star in it’s 2011 sequel.