Mike Tyson in popular culture

Mike Tyson is an American former World Heavyweight boxing Champion. Tyson, ranked by ESPN as the #1 Most Outrageous Character in modern sports history[1] has appeared in numerous popular media in either cameo appearances or as a subject of parody or satire.

Cameos and other appearances
  • Tyson has appeared in a commercial aired in 1990 for Toyota trucks in Japan.[2]
  • Mike Tyson is featured on the three-part Jimmy Kimmel parody episode "The Pizza", a parody skit of the hip hopera by singer R. Kelly called Trapped in the Closet.
  • Tyson was good friends with rapper Tupac Shakur, and often came out for a fight with a song Shakur specifically recorded for his ringwalk music. In 1996, Shakur was fatally shot in a drive-by shooting after attending the Tyson-Seldon fight.[3]
  • In 2007 Indian Bollywood movie producer Firoz Nadiadwala approached Mike Tyson to feature in a promotional video for his film Fool and Final.[4] Reportedly despite his pending legal problems, Tyson was given clearance to go to India on April 20 to participate in the shoot.[5]
  • In 2011, Tyson made a cameo in the TV series Breaking In where he hired Contra Security to assess his estate's security. He later became involved in a case that involved a cyber teen bully and helped the student become more popular.[6]
  • On May 18, 2011 Tyson appeared with his wife on Argentina's version of Dancing with the Stars, Bailando 2011.[7]
  • On August 7, 2011, CBS aired an episode of Same Name, featuring Mike Tyson.[8]
  • Tyson guest starred in the February 6, 2013 episode of the long-running NBC legal drama, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as a murderous death row inmate. Andre Braugher portrayed his defense counsel.[9][10][11]
  • Tyson makes a cameo in the critically acclaimed How I Met Your Mother TV series. He appears as himself, helping Robin take care of Baby Marvin in the Series 8 episode "Bad Crazy".
  • Tyson makes a brief appearance alongside Neil Patrick Harris in the opening number of the 2013 Tony Awards.
  • Tyson also appeared in a Foot Locker commercial where he apologized to Evander Hollyfield for biting his ear and gives it back to him and they hug in a warm and fuzzy moment

Parodies and satire
  • The Simpsons character Drederick Tatum, voiced by Hank Azaria, is based entirely on Tyson with a high-pitched lisping voice, a menacing demeanor, a criminal record, financial problems and a tendency to make pseudo-intellectual comments like "I insist that you desist" and "your behavior is unconscionable".
  • Tyson's well hyped and short bout with Peter McNeeley in 1995 served as obvious inspiration for the parody film of that phase of Tyson's career, The Great White Hype, with a caricature of Tyson played by Damon Wayans and a caricature of Don King played by Samuel L. Jackson.[12]
  • ESPN.com Page 2 columnist Bill Simmons makes frequent references to "The Tyson Zone" (named after Tyson), which is a status an athlete or celebrity reaches when their behavior becomes so outrageous that one would believe almost any story or anecdote about the person, no matter how seemingly bizarre.[13]
  • Tyson was the inspiration for the Street Fighter character Mike Bison, but to avoid a lawsuit, several characters names were switched outside Japan, resulting in the boxer Mike Bison being renamed Balrog, the masked claw-user Balrog becoming Vega, and the dictator Vega renamed to M. Bison.
  • The website www.miketython.com features edited and photoshopped movie posters that make fun of Mike Tyson's lisp, with titles such as "Jurathic Park" and "Ghothbuthterth".

Sports

In movies and television
Film Roles
  • Rocky Balboa (2006), Tyson appears as himself in Sylvester Stallone's 2006 movie Rocky Balboa. He can be seen taunting Mason "The Line" Dixon, the current champion in the movie (who because of his arrogance and ability to end fights early, is based on Tyson's early career) at ringside right before the Balboa / Dixon bout begins.[21]
  • Scary Movie 4 (2006), Tyson plays a muscular female boxer who has a match against Anna Faris' character during a flashback scene. He self-ridicules as his character starts biting spectators' ears off.
  • The Hangover (2009), Tyson appears in a supporting role as a caricature of himself. He appears in the protagonists' hotel room, demanding the return of his tiger, which they stole from him while drunk. They later return the animal to Tyson's mansion, where Tyson shows them security footage to help them locate a missing friend. In a 2010 interview, he stated that he appeared in The Hangover in order to fund a drug habit.[22]
  • The Hangover Part II (2011), Tyson reprises his role as a fictional version of himself. However, he only makes a brief cameo at the end of the film as the wedding singer for Stu's (Ed Helms) wedding.
  • Scary Movie 5 (2013), Tyson appears as himself in a scene where he complains to Christian Grey (Jerry O'Connell) about neck pain.
  • Grudge Match (2013), Tyson appears as himself in a post-credits scene with Evander Holyfield.
  • Ip Man 3 (2015) as Frank, where he plays a villainous role of a property developer.[23]
  • China Salesman (2017), as Kabbah
  • Kickboxer: Retaliation (2018) as Briggs
  • Girls 2 (2018), as Dragon
  • Hamlet Pharon (2019), as Rick[24]
Biopic

In 2015, it was announced that Martin Scorsese was developing a film based on Tyson’s life, with Jamie Foxx set to star as the boxer.[25] As of 2019, no further progress has been made, though Foxx maintains that it is still happening.

In music
  • Second Round K.O. was a single by Canibus which was produced by hip-hop legend Wyclef Jean, from debut album, Can-I-Bus. It contains Tyson vocals as the hook and he is featured in the music video. It peaked number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 3 on rap singles.[26] It contains lyrics directed at rap genre pioneer LL Cool J who responded to both of them via a diss freestyle[27]
  • "Myke Ptyson" (2008), A song by the Portland, Oregon-based band Starfucker, off of their debut album STRFKR.[28][29][30]
  • Tyson appears as himself in the 1989 Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince music video, "I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson"
  • Tyson is featured in the song "Iconic" on Madonna's 2015 album Rebel Heart.
  • Tyson is the inspiration behind the 1994 Blackstreet single "Booti Call".[31]
  • Tyson's trial was the subject behind Boogie Down Productions' song "Say Gal" from their 1992 album Sex and Violence.[32]
  • "Free Tyson Free" was a 1994 song by the Holy Gang made while Tyson was in prison.[33]
  • Tyson's lost against Buster Douglas was the inspiration for The Killers' song "Tyson Vs. Douglas". A portion of the comments during the fight can be heard at the beginning.
  • The Toasters reference Tyson in their song "Rude, Rude Baby" from their 1997 album "D.L.T.B.G.Y.D."
  • Tyson makes a cameo in the music video for the Eminem song "Godzilla" (Eminem song) when he punches Eminem before apologizing profusely and attempting to assist in his recovery at the hospital with Dr Dre.

World Wrestling Federation/WWE
Tyson being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2012

Tyson made a guest appearance at WrestleMania XIV on March 29, 1998 as a special outside enforcer for the main event match between Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Before the match, Tyson seemingly aligned himself with Michaels and his D-Generation X stable, due to the fact that he and his entourage had an in-ring brawl with Austin on Monday Night Raw on January 19, 1998 after Austin gave Tyson the middle finger. Tyson would eventually turn on D-X after counting the pinfall for Austin and awarding him the win for the WWF Championship, and after delivered a knockout punch to Michaels.[34] Tyson was paid $3 million for his role in the match at WrestleMania XIV.[35]

Tyson appeared on WWE Monday Night Raw as the guest host on January 11, 2010 and even made his return to the ring in a tag team match with Chris Jericho against D-Generation X. At first, the duo had their way until Tyson revealed a DX T-shirt he was wearing underneath a black shirt he was wearing and knocked out Jericho, which allowed Shawn Michaels to pin Jericho, giving DX the win.

On April 2, 2012 Tyson was inducted into the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame at the American Airlines Arena in Miami. He was inducted by D-Generation X members Shawn Michaels and Triple H.[36]

In 2016, Tyson starred in the documentary film Nine Legends where he discussed his time involved in the WWE.[37]

In video games
  • In 1987, Nintendo released Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!, on the NES, based on the arcade game Punch-Out!!, although there was later a version released in 1990 that replaced Mike Tyson with a fictional character, "Mr. Dream", after Nintendo's license with Tyson expired. Tyson is the final opponent in the 1987 game. Defeating Tyson (through boxer Little Mac) is extremely difficult, as he can knock Mac down with a single "Dynamite Punch", modeled after the real-life Tyson's devastating right upper-cut.
  • In 1992, a second Nintendo game featuring Mike Tyson entitled Mike Tyson's Intergalactic Power Punch was to be released as a sequel to Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!. However, due to the Desiree Washington case the project was scrapped and the game was eventually released as Power Punch II with Mike Tyson in the game being replaced with a character named Mark Tyler.
  • A video game called Mike Tyson Boxing was released for PlayStation by Codemasters on October 23, 2000,[38] and for Game Boy Advance by Virtucraft and Ubisoft in March 2002.[39]
  • Tyson (or more specifically, the version of Tyson from Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!) appears as the first boss in I Wanna Be the Guy, released in 2007. During the battle, most of Tyson’s body is immune to damage, except for a small weak point which the player must shoot in order to defeat Tyson.
  • Electronic Arts' Fight Night Round 4 marks the debut of Mike Tyson on the Next Gen consoles in 2009. Tyson is featured, along with Muhammad Ali, on the cover of the game.
  • Tyson appeared at the SXSW Screenburn Arcade in March 2011 for the launch of his iPhone app Mike Tyson: Main Event.[40]
  • Tyson is playable as downloadable content in professional wrestling game WWE '13.[41]
  • Tyson, set in two different eras, is an additional character in another Electronic Arts game, EA Sports UFC 2.

References
  1. ESPN25: The 25 Most Outrageous Characters Archived August 27, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, ESPN25.com, Retrieved on April 1, 2007.
  2. (in Japanese) 自動車CM大全 - 出演者リスト (外国人) Archived April 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  3. Scott, Kathy./AP, Shakur mourned, body cremated Archived January 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Las Vegas Sun, 1996-09-18, Retrieved on March 31, 2007.
  4. Mike Tyson eyes Bollywood debut, BBC News, 2007-04-13, Retrieved on April 24, 2007.
  5. Firoz Nadiadwala has approached world famous boxer Mike Tyson to feature in a promotional video for his film Fool N Final, IndiaFM news Bureau, 2007-04-11, Retrieved on April 12, 2007.
  6. Hibberd, James. "Mike Tyson down for 'Breaking In' -- EXCLUSIVE". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  7. "Mike Tyson still has the good footwork". USA Today. May 19, 2011.
  8. Watch SAME NAME on CBS.com. Full Episodes, Clips and Behind the Scenes footage. Cbs.com. Retrieved on November 25, 2011.
  9. Foss, Mike (January 11, 2013). "Mike Tyson guest starring in an episode of 'Law & Order: SVU'". USA Today.
  10. de Moraes, Lisa (February 7, 2013). "Mike Tyson guest gig on 'Law & Order: SVU' backfires, ratings-wise". The Washington Post.
  11. Andreeva, Nellie (January 10, 2013). "Mike Tyson To Play Convicted Murderer On 'Law & Order: SVU'". Deadline. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  12. Maslin, Janet., FILM REVIEW;Float Like a Butterball, Hit Like a Flea, New York Times, 1996-05-03, Retrieved on April 1, 2007.
  13. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/061011
  14. Emery won't use Tyson mask again, CP via TSN.com, 2006-01-31, Retrieved on April 1, 2007.
  15. "Mike Tyson threw a strike for the Pirates' ceremonial first pitch and pretended to eat someone's ear". USA Today.
  16. http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=340417123
  17. Documentary in IMDb
  18. Film in IMDb
  19. Documentary in IMDb
  20. "Mike Tyson Joins Shark Week 2020". Discovery. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  21. Rocky Balboa photo Archived April 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Allmoviephoto.com, Retrieved on March 15, 2007.
  22. Wilson, Greg. "Mike Tyson: I Did "The Hangover" to Buy Drugs". NBC Washington. Retrieved August 6, 2010.
  23. http://www.screendaily.com/reviews/ip-man-3-review/5098259.article
  24. "Boxing Legend Tyson to Star in Egyptian Motion Picture 'Hamlet Faron'". aawsat.com. March 18, 2019.
  25. https://www.denofgeek.com/us//244610/jamie-foxx-says-martin-scorsese-will-direct-mike-tyson-biopic
  26. https://www.billboard.com/artist/298631/canibus/chart
  27. https://web.archive.org/web/20150430125827/http://www.mtv.com/bands/h/hip_hop_week/2007/groups/index3.jhtml
  28. http://www.polyvinylrecords.com/store/index.php?id=1891
  29. http://www.biography.com/news/pioneers-of-rap
  30. http://www.complex.com/sports/2014/10/rapper-athlete-beefs-history/ll-cool-j-mike-tyson
  31. "Radio Scope". Newspaper (Page B4). Hoosier State Chronicles. The Indianapolis Recorder. August 27, 1994. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  32. CRITIQUES BY KRS-ONE RAPPING KNUCKLES AGAIN
  33. FABRYKA MUSIC MAGAZINE
  34. Powell, John. "Austin wins WWF World Title at WrestleMania". Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved March 17, 2007.
  35. Biography for Mike Tyson in popular culture on IMDb
  36. "MOMENTS FROM THE 2012 WWE HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CEREMONY". WWE.com.
  37. Werner, Barry (January 30, 2016). "Mike Tyson, Bill Goldberg and Bret Hart are among the legends in 'Nine Legends.'". foxsports.com. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  38. http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps/250607-mike-tyson-boxing/data
  39. http://www.gamefaqs.com/gba/557187-mike-tyson-boxing/data
  40. "Mike Tyson promises knockout with new interactive boxing app". USA Today. March 14, 2011.
  41. "Mike Tyson Returns to the Ring in WWE '13". THQ. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
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