This Superhero Movie Actor Wants To Fight Mike Tyson
Look, Mike Tyson is no slouch. Sure, he's in his mid-50s. True, his personal history includes a lot of ups, downs, and unsavory incidents. Granted, younger people may best remember him as an actor, cartoon character, or perhaps that guy who featured on Shark Week. Still, as much as the world enjoyed his cameos in The Hangover films, there's no denying that he's still one of the most dangerous heavyweight boxing champions to ever walk the earth — especially because he's back in fighting shape, and TalkSPORT believes that his November 2020 charity exhibition match was only the first in the line.
Since his November match was against Roy Jones Jr. — and there are whispers about other all-time boxing legends as his future opponents — it's easy to assume that Tyson's comeback exploits will be strictly limited to bouts against other big-name former champs. This is probably just as well, considering that the man is still extremely fit and hard-hitting. If you step into the ring with Mike Tyson at any age, you'd best know how to take a punch. Surely, only huge former boxers who know how to take said punches would ever dream of stepping in the squared circle with Iron Mike?
Strangely enough, it isn't so. In fact, if one superhero actor gets his way, he's going to be the one to face Tyson in the ring. But who would even consider facing the man? Henry Cavill? Dave Bautista? T-Tom Holland?
Michael Jai White wants to take on Tyson
Don't worry, your future Marvel Cinematic Universe or DC Extended Universe movies aren't in jeopardy because Tyson bit the star's ear off. The actor in question is Michael Jai White, whom you might remember from his role as the titular hellion superhero in 1997's Spawn, as well as a lifetime of delightful action and B-movie roles in shows and movies like Netflix's Welcome to Sudden Death. He also appears in a little movie called The Dark Knight, in which he plays crime boss Gambol, the first recipient of the Joker's (Heath Ledger) "Do you know how I got these scars?" speech. Oh, and per Empire, he's also a legitimate hand-to-hand combat expert with seven black belts in increasingly difficult-to-pronounce martial arts. There is that.
White — who at 53 is a year and a half younger than Tyson and even portrayed the boxer in 1995's Tyson TV movie — revealed that he'd happily climb in the ring for free when Vlad TV asked about his potential willingness to face Tyson in a boxing bout. The actor couldn't suppress a smile when he heard the question, and his answer was excited to say the least. "Of course! To box Mike Tyson, I would love that. I would love that," White enthused. "Are you kidding me? Why would I not do something like that?"
Since submissions and kicks aren't allowed in boxing, you'd expect that a martial artist would be at a distinct disadvantage against one of the greatest boxers of all time. Even so, the actor was confident that he could win — though he'd be in it purely for the experience, so a humiliating loss would be fine, too. "If he'd whoop my a**, I would just laugh at the whole scenario."
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