In 2013, Tyson was inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame and headlined the induction ceremony. Tyson was inducted into the Southern Nevada Hall of Fame in 2015 along with four other inductees with ties to Southern Nevada.
When he moved to the United States on March 8, 2014, he had to manage and self-finance aspects of his life which had previously been handled by the Henan Provincial Combat and Weightlifting Center. Cooking for himself was the biggest challenge of his early days in the US. In his first few months as a professional, he spent more time learning how to properly cook noodles than he did working in the ring.
After debuting a one-man show in Las Vegas, Tyson collaborated with film director Spike Lee and brought the show to Broadway in August 2012. In February 2013, Tyson took his one-man show Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth on a 36-city, three-month national tour. Tyson talks about his personal and professional life on stage. The one-man show was aired on HBO on November 16, 2013.
Apart from the belated release from the Chinese boxing lightweight division rankings authorities and the promotional companies’ fiasco, Zhang’s peak years were also squandered because of visa troubles as a Chinese citizen which led to the cancellation of several bouts. While he stuck outside the U.S., his form dropped as he could not train as he usually did.
In August 2003, after years of financial struggles, Tyson finally filed for bankruptcy. Tyson earned over $30 million for several of his fights and $300 million during his career. At the time, the media reported that he had approximately $23 million in debt.
“I’m the best ever. I’m the most brutal and vicious, the most ruthless champion there has ever been. There’s no one can stop me. Lennox is a conqueror? No! I’m Alexander! He’s no Alexander! I’m the best ever. There’s never been anyone as ruthless. I’m Sonny Liston. I’m Jack Dempsey. There’s no one like me. I’m from their cloth. There is no one who can match me. My style is impetuous, my defense is impregnable, and I’m just ferocious. I want your heart! I want to eat his children! Praise be to Allah!”
Parker will also be looking to make the upcoming year a memorable one after a dominant win against former WBC world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder in December which has now made the New Zealand fighter a leading contender once again in boxing’s most glamourous division.
Zhang is arguably China’s most decorated boxer of all-time and not many are aware that he has already defeated Joseph Parker before, in the amateurs. Find out many more interesting facts about the Zhang HERE
While Tyson is busy training, Paul is doing the podcast circuit talking about getting a tattoo. In fact, he says he wants to get a tattoo inspired by the Tyson face tattoo. “So I’m just like, f*** it, like, why not just do it because Tyson did it? It’s a story behind Tyson’s face tat is, it was like Wednesday of his fight week, and he just got it, and he showed up to the presser the next day with the face tat and he didn’t tell anybody. So I’m thinking about doing that in honor…”
In 2000 Tyson dismissed everyone who was working for him and enlisted new accountants, who prepared a statement showing he started the year $3.3 million in debt but earned $65.7 million. In August 2007, Tyson pleaded guilty to drug possession and driving under the influence in an Arizona court, which stemmed from an arrest in December where authorities said Tyson, who has a long history of legal contentions, admitted to using cocaine that day and to being addicted to the drug.
But there was also a contingent of younger audience members who professed their loyalty to Paul, whose platform on YouTube and social media has made him an icon for a generation with an unconventional, if uneven, exposure to boxing.
On 27 November 2021, Zhang faced Craig Lewis on the undercard of Teófimo López vs. George Kambosos Jr. Zhang started the fight off slowly, but dropped Lewis twice in round two, leading Lewis’ corner to throw in the towel, giving Zhang a win by TKO.
WBO cruiserweight world champion Chris Billam-Smith: “I think Joyce stops him in the second half of the fight. Zhang was tiring in the last fight and I think Joe is smart enough to make adjustments early on to not get hit as much. So I think providing he doesn’t take too much damage early on, Joyce can get to Zhang and stop him later on in the fight.”
It was a more cultured fight than many had anticipated but it was also very watchable. Hrgovic was cut on his scalp early in the third following a clash of heads and the favoured Croatian was finding it hard to penetrate his opponent’s high guard.
Following Zhang’s victory, reports stated that a bout between himself and Tyson Fury were being discussed. On 29 June an immediate rematch was announced for 23 September at Wembley Arena in London, England for the same title. Tyson Fury took to social media to offer Joyce sparring following the announcement.