Mike Tyson legacy now means finding boxing’s next young star
Mike Tyson told TMZ Sports he wants his amateur boxing showcase in Las Vegas to define his legacy by lifting young fighters.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
3 min read
Mike Tyson legacy talk has taken a sharp turn: the former heavyweight champion told TMZ Sports he wants to be remembered for helping young amateur fighters, not just for the fear and fireworks he brought to the ring.
Speaking with Babcock for TMZ Sports, Tyson said his second Mike Tyson Invitational, an amateur boxing showcase set for SAHARA Las Vegas, is the work he hopes will outlast him. The event gives hundreds of young fighters a place to compete in front of trainers, scouts and Tyson himself, according to TMZ Sports.
“This is my legacy, God willing,” Tyson said in the interview. “I want this to be my legacy.”
That is a notable shift from Tyson, who TMZ Sports said has previously dismissed the idea of legacy as ego. Now, the 59-year-old boxing great is putting the word on a youth event, with the aim of boosting amateur boxing at a time he says the sport needs help.
What is the Mike Tyson Invitational?
The Mike Tyson Invitational is an amateur boxing showcase created around young fighters getting ring time and exposure. TMZ Sports reported that the second edition is taking place at SAHARA Las Vegas, with fights streaming through Tyson’s YouTube channel.
Tyson said the first event, held in March, went well, and he expects the follow-up to be larger. He pointed to sign-ups as a sign that the demand is already there.
“Listen, you won’t believe the number of people we had sign up this time. 350 kids in a couple hours,” Tyson told TMZ Sports. “I was so gratefully honored by that. I want to help amateur boxing. I want it to be at the level it was when I was an amateur fighter.”
Tyson was a teenager in the early 1980s, when he was coming up through the amateur ranks before becoming the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history. TMZ Sports noted that amateur boxing had a stronger public profile during that period, while Tyson now sees the sport as being in a more fragile place.
He also raised concern about amateur boxing’s Olympic future, saying, “They’re about to take amateur fighting out to the Olympics.” Tyson did not frame the Invitational as a publicity stop. He described it as something he wants to keep alive beyond his own lifetime.
“I want to keep going even when I’m no longer around,” Tyson said. “This would be my legacy. Since people make legacy such a big thing, this would be my legacy.”
Tyson told TMZ Sports he believes young fighters can gain more than a bout from taking part. “You are not going to have no idea the benefits these young fighters are going to get from this,” he said. “It’s going to change their whole life.”
For decades, Tyson’s public legacy has been tied to his run as one of boxing’s most intimidating champions. In this chapter, he is pointing the spotlight away from his own résumé and toward the next wave.
As Tyson put it to TMZ Sports: “Mike Tyson had his turn. It’s time for these young guys now.”
This story draws on original reporting from TMZ.