The bout, in February 2003 against Clifford ‘The Black Rhino’ Etienne, involved a fresh face tattoo, a ‘spinal’ injury, both boxers trying to pull out during fight week and a brutal 49-second stoppage.
Both are consenting adults and if they want to fight and the TDLR approves Tyson with a clean bill of health, then no one can really stand in their way. These are the kinds of spectacles that get put on these days in combat sports and this is the most polarizing one yet. The best-case scenario is the fight gets classified as an exhibition and the two have a friendly, yet physical sparring match, kind of like Tyson vs. Jones Jr. As Coppinger noted, those two weren’t throwing with bad intentions back in November 2020, but the crowd still went home satisfied with the event. Frankly, this is all about entertainment anyway, not real sports competition. And that’s OK if taken at face value. — Raimondi
Paul redirected his energy to facing boxers with more experience, after suffering a decision loss to Tommy Fury in 2023, with the goal of being ranked by a sanctioning body and eventually challenging for a world championship. He followed the traditional boxing track for two bouts — knockout wins over journeymen Andre August and Ryan Bourland — before he pivoted back to a fight against Tyson.
In 2003, as TalkSport reminds us, Tyson stepped into the ring with his freshly inscribed ink and knocked out Clifford Etienne in 49 seconds. This would be Tyson’s last career victory, a mere week after getting his first tattoo. His trainer, Jeff Fenech, who’d been training Tyson for eight weeks leading up to the fight, called shenanigans. He said that Iron Mike was sabotaging the fight, essentially, because it “wasn’t healthy” to have a boxing match where Tyson’s face would get punched days after getting a tattoo on it. Fenech also thought Tyson got the tattoo because he didn’t want the fight in the first place. A week before the bout, Fenech walked, and Tyson went on to win in the first round. Two years later in 2005, Tyson retired after back-to-back losses.
It’s a pretty basic tattoo and while you can see the resemblance to Turner, it’s not exactly a work of art. It also helps that the tattoo is on the inside of Tyson’s forearm so it’s not the most visible, meaning he doesn’t have to worry about people seeing it all the time.
On April 2, Tyson confirmed at that time the fight was to be classified as an exhibition bout and was not set to be recorded on their professional records. In response to rumors of 18-ounce gloves and headgear, Tyson said in an interview, “not true at all”, and clarified: “This is called an exhibition, but if you look up exhibition, you will not see any of the laws that we’re fighting under. This is a fight.” On April 10, Paul confirmed that they will be submitting a request to the Texas Combative Sports Program for the bout to be sanctioned as a professional bout.
The American former boxer Mike Tyson has four tattoos of note. Three—at least two of them prison tattoos —are portraits of men he respects: tennis player Arthur Ashe, Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara, and Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong. The fourth, a face tattoo influenced by the Māori style tā moko, was designed and inked by S. Victor Whitmill in 2003. Tyson associates it with the Māori being warriors and has called it his “warrior tattoo”, a name that has also been used in the news media.
Although the design of the Mike Tyson tattoos has remained virtually unchanged since its creation, from time to time he has made minor changes or additions to the pattern. These changes reflect Tyson’s changing tastes and preferences.
Tyson, 57, has a birthday at the end of June. He retired in 2005, though he most recently fought in November 2020 in an exhibition with Roy Jones Jr. This may very well be the last chance fans have to see him in the ring. Tyson, however, left the door wide open for another potential return to the ring.
Mike Tyson face tattoos were created by renowned tattoo artist S. Victor Whitmill, and it was his skill and creativity that made him a sought-after celebrity. Whitmill, who has experience and talent in creating unusual and symbolic designs, was chosen by Tyson to do this important work. С. Victor Whitmill is known for his considerate approach to the division world champion boxing and principled ideas in life that reflect people’s personal histories and inner worlds. His work with Tyson has become one of the most famous tattoos in the world and has played a crucial role in shaping the new image of the classic boxer.
While it is certainly possible to get tattoos of copyrighted images, there are some risks and objections when it comes to this practice. From Disney character tattoos to your favorite brewery’s logo, copyrighted images in the form of tattoos can create problems, so it’s important to be aware of the potential risks, particularly for artists.
It wouldn’t be the first time Warner Bros. was accused of infringement in a movie. In a 1985 chase scene in Tim Burton’s Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, the studio featured a Godzilla character without permission. The Hollywood studio paid an undisclosed amount to rights-holder Toho after it was sued.