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Escaped “Slavery” From “The Devil”, Mike Tyson Relives Dark Days While Being Pondered About Sylvester Stallone’s Boxing Movies

Published 03/28/2024, 9:50 AM EDT

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Back in 2002, chaos erupted at a Cuban hotel as former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson went ballistic on a group of reporters. Tyson, known for his ferocious fighting style in the ring, unleashed his fury on the unsuspecting journalists. “He just went crazy,” said cameraman Felipe Borrego, still shaken by the ordeal. Borrego, hoping for an interview, never got the chance to speak.

Instead, Tyson grabbed festive decorations – three “grapefruit-sized Christmas balls” – and hurled them at the press corps. The bizarre attack didn’t stop there. Borrego claimed Tyson landed two punches to the back of his head. This meltdown came just months before Tyson’s highly anticipated fight against Lennox Lewis. He remembered this time while being questioned about Sylvester Stallone‘s boxing movies.

Mike Tyson calls Sly a gentleman

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The antagonist of Rocky Balboa and the former professional boxer, Antonio Tarver recently hopped on the latest episode of Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson. This was a surprise since Tyson had already announced the end of the podcast. So, during the episode, co-host DJ Whoo Kid asked Tyson about his views on Sylvester Stallone’s boxing movies.

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However, Tyson was focused more on his photos from Cuba, where he was fatter than he ever was. Tyson said, “Listen back up, see that guy right there, that’s me fighting in Cuba. I was fighting in Cuba. Wow can you see that that big bottle over there, that big glass thing, I’m throwing it at police.” He was talking about his breakdown at that hotel, but Kid kept on asking him the Stallone question. He said, “I thought was the devil had me back then, the devil had me but I got away that part. I got away from slavery.

Finally, Kid got his answer when he asked whether Stallone’s movies annoyed Tyson or not. He replied, “No he’s always a gentleman always a gentleman.” So, it was a time when Tyson called himself too fat, however, it wasn’t the last time when Tyson went overweight, and it was too miserable for him.

Mike recalls how a project led to an unlikely bond

Mike Tyson’s 2009 cameo in ‘The Hangover’ is a comedy goldmine. He plays himself, a former boxing champ with a prized tiger collection – a perfect target for the film’s bumbling protagonists who accidentally “borrow” one of his big cats. But here’s the twist: Tyson himself barely remembers filming the scene! His battle with drug addiction at the time left a fog over that period of his life.

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Despite the hilarious on-screen moments, Tyson’s recollection is hazy. The movie’s success, however, led to an unlikely friendship. Co-star Bradley Cooper became a confidant, helping Tyson navigate his post-boxing life. He stated, “I was a mess. I was overweight. I was a pig, high on cocaine.” Then Tyson talked about how he even had an interaction with a bunch of school kids who wanted a picture with him because of his performance in The Hangover.

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Interestingly they had no idea about his professional career in boxing. But with time, he started changing things for himself, and now he looks back at that time as the dark phase of his life. Have you seen The Hangover? Would you like to see ‘Kid Dynamite’ in another movie soon? Let us know below.

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Written by:

Chirag Radhyan

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Chirag Radhyan is a senior boxing writer at EssentiallySports. Having authored close to 2K articles, he is a live-coverage specialist, contributing to the detailed reportage of live boxing events ranging from the Jermell Charlo vs Canelo Alvarez bout to Ryan Garcia vs Gervonta Davis. Moreover, his coverage of the off-court drama between Jake Paul and Tommy Fury received widespread appreciation from readers.
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Edited by:

Snigdhaa Jaiswal