Thai boxing could kick-start new career for Mike Tyson
By Connie Levett, Herald Correspondent, in Bangkok
March 19, 2005
It’s an unlikely match - a flailing Mike Tyson and the newly minted Thai boxing world championship series.
The 38-year-old bankrupt is being sought by the new World Boxing Council Muaythai organisation for a monthly series of title fights set for 12 countries across all weight divisions. The new organisation will issue world rankings for muay Thai fighters and plan the first series for the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas in July.
In muay Thai, a mixture of boxing and martial arts, opponents can use elbows, knees and feet as well as their fists to score points. They may not, however, bite, as Tyson did when he took off a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear in 1997.
“He is a boxer who can barely get a match-up. And this is an opportunity for him to become a martial arts warrior, a reformed person,” said Patrick Cusick, secretary-general of the month-old World Boxing Council Muaythai organisation, which is pursuing Tyson for the newly sanctioned elite series.
If Tyson switches now, he could be ready for a July fight, said Mr Cusick, estimating Tyson would need only two to three months to learn the ropes.
“He understands fighting, he understands boxing skills. He has never been taught kicks and knee strikes but he would understand the elbows and punches very well,” he said.
Tyson has apparently expressed interest in Thailand after Australia indicated it would refuse him permission to train there because of his criminal record. He was jailed for rape in 1992 and has continued to have run-ins with the law.
His trainer, the Australian Jeff Fenech, has sent a representative to inspect facilities at Bangkok’s Fairtex gym, though not specifically in relation to muay Thai training.
“He likes muay Thai and he’s being encouraged to make the switch,” a World Boxing Council official involved in talks with Tyson told The Nation. “It’s his best option right now.”
Mr Cusick denied the push to get Tyson to switch to muay Thai was a cheap publicity gimmick. “No, there is genuine interest in it … He may not be able to get another big fight in international boxing but he could in muay Thai.”
Tyson’s ring record includes the ear biting, trying to snap an opponent’s elbow while in a clinch, throwing a punch well after the bell, refusing to stop fighting after the referee halted the bout with an outclassed opponent, inadvertently hitting the official and knocking him to the canvas, and refusing a pre-fight urine analysis, then testing positive for marijuana after the fight. But the WBC Muaythai organisation still wants him.
“The rules of muay Thai are very defined and strictly implemented,” Mr Cusick said. “No biting allowed, no headbutting: he’d have to be told that very carefully.”
From the Sydney Morning Herald. I love the last line!
