“I just hope the fights are exciting and everybody enjoys themselves. Of course I have butterflies because I want to succeed and do well, but I know this is going to take time. It’s not going to be an overnight sensation. That’s not what this business is about. It’s about putting in work and putting in time and becoming seasoned at this job…maybe everything is just coming full circle for me. I never in a million years thought I wanted to be involved in boxing again. If you look at my career, I didn’t leave on necessarily a good note, so it’s like I said before, its like it’s coming full circle. I have the opportunity now to conduct myself like a professional in the sport that made me the success that I am now and I owe this sport that. I owe it to the sport to leave this sport conducting myself as a gentleman and a sportsman,” stated Hall of Fame former undisputed heavyweight world champion turned promoter Mike Tyson, who talked about his upcoming August 23 promotional debut. Check out what else he had to say!
PC: It’s an honor to speak with you, Mike. I said unless I interview you at some point, I haven’t made it as a writer, so I’ve finally made it.
MT: Ah, thanks brotha. It’s an honor and pleasure.
PC: Now that you have been on both sides of the spectrum, fighter and now promoter, what are your nerves like for your August 23rd promotional debut on ESPN with Iron Mike Productions?
MT: Well, you know, I just hope the fights are exciting and everybody enjoys themselves. Of course I have butterflies because I want to succeed and do well, but I know this is going to take time. It’s not going to be an overnight sensation. That’s not what this business is about. It’s about putting in work and putting in time and becoming seasoned at this job.
PC: I’m sure you have received all types of offers to get back involved in boxing in some way, shape, or form. What was it about this deal that made you getting back into the sport as a promoter a reality?
MT: Just having a chance to give back to people and them having the opportunity…I’m not saying they will because they are human beings, but they will have the opportunity to not be like me and say, “What the hell happened?” That would be the difference.
PC: You have a great card lined up. The combined record of your headline guys is 41-3. What was it about these super featherweights that made you say this is the main event for the debut, Argenis Mendez against Arash Usmanee?
MT: I just think that they are the best in the world at their weight division, and I wanted to bring the best fighters in my premier.
PC: A little friendly rivalry going on; I spoke with Eddie Mustafa Muhammad and he said although he loves you like a brother, his fighter, Usmanee, will walk away with your fighter Mendez’s title.
MT: Hey, I don’t think that is necessarily true, but it will be so awesome to see Eddie in the ring. I know his whole family. I grew up in the neighborhood that he grew up in and that’s a success story in itself where you look at two guys like us and where we can from and look at us now.
PC: Being that you were known for so long as the “bad guy” of boxing, did you ever think you would reach this point to where you are an inspiration and people look up to you or did you think you would pretty much be remembered as the villain of the sport?
MT: This is where life gets tricky at, right; it’s not profound enough…we don’t know who we are. We are people of contradiction because we are not the same person at 35 that we were at 25. You don’t believe in the same things. As we grow older, we have some kind of shift in our lives where we find out that everything we believed in our lives to be true was a lie. So we have to change our lives and build ourselves a proper foundation where we can deal with society and life.
PC: How much does it mean for you to host your first show on the east coast and in your home state of New York?
MT: I can’t believe it’s in New York. I think that’s gonna be so awesome because…ah man, they have such amazing fight fans down there. Of course you know I’m only 3 hours from there in Catskills, New York; it’s South of that. I look forward to it and I know I’m going to see people I know from my childhood there. It’s going to be…I don’t know, man, maybe everything is just coming full circle for me. I never in a million years thought I wanted to be involved in boxing again. If you look at my career, I didn’t leave on necessarily a good note, so it’s like I said before, its like it’s coming full circle. I have the opportunity now to conduct myself like a professional in the sport that made me the success that I am now and I owe this sport that. I owe it to the sport to leave this sport conducting myself as a gentleman and a sportsman.
PC: When you see a guy like Oscar De La Hoya become a promoter during and after his career and really take it to that next level, is that something that motivates you to get into the promotional side of things?
MT: No, no, no. Many fighters went into promoting after they were finished fighting; it’s just none of them has ever been as successful as Oscar De La Hoya and that’s what inspires me more than anything, his success and what he was able to do with that success and the fighters that he was able to help with that success. He’s making money, but he’s really helping a lot of families. People don’t really understand that, but he’s helping a lot of people by him being a promoter. A lot of people don’t see that, but I want to get on that level with helping people.
PC: What better people than ex-fighters because you guys know what these guys go through in camp and in life, so you could cater to the fighter more than a guy who is just looking to dump some money into a sport they never was on the inside of.
MT: Absolutely 100%. See, when we were fighters, we got a lot of raw deals because we were naive and young boys when we started fighting. And I know these monsters that abused us; we have to sometimes be careful because sometimes when you’re fighting monsters, you become a monster, and we can’t allow ourselves to become monsters and abuse fighters the way we’ve been abused.
PC: Sometimes when they show you at events, it’s almost like you are surprised that you still get so much love and attention. Is that somewhat surprising to you?
MT: It’s actually something that I’m very grateful for, but if I can’t use this attention to make a better world or a better life or to put a smile on somebody’s face or make a better life for myself, then hey man, it doesn’t mean anything. All of this stuff is just me being a servant. That’s what I believe and I want to die being a servant.
PC: We’ve seen your greatest knockouts and greatest hits televised on the ESPN networks for a long time. How does it feel to have your first go-round as a promoter televised on ESPN?
MT: Listen man, as a promoter, this is the biggest day of my life as a promoter. I’m very excited as someone who just got started and got in within a few months and to get my first show on television and what I’m trying to convey is just gratitude. I was really happy and grateful for my support system. I have a really great support system and if I didn’t have a great support system, I don’t know what would happen to me.
PC: I know it’s hard to gauge pre-event, but just on the surface, what would you consider a successful promotion on August 23rd and the morning of the 24th?
MT: If all of the fans enjoyed themselves and no one got hurt.
