Raised as a Catholic, Tyson has stated that he converted to Islam before entering prison and that he made no efforts to correct what was reported in the media, although it was falsely reported that he converted to Islam during his time in prison and adopted the Muslim name Malik Abdul Aziz; some sources report it as Malik Shabazz. Tyson never changed his given name to an Islamic one, despite the rumors.

Zhang, rated at No. 5 by The Ring at heavyweight, captured silver for China at the 2008 Olympics and lost narrowly to eventual gold medal winner Anthony Joshua at London 2012. “Big Bang” turned professional in 2014. His progress was slow until he stepped up and faced unbeaten Filip Hrgovic, losing a contentious 12-round unanimous decision.

i assume ur taking heavybag nor speed or double endbag. for those 8oz is ok. for the heavybag 8oz is not ok, unless u literally have hands and wrists of stone u’ll have to worry about perfect position on each punch and all that, just a pain. i suggest try it out in the store, u may be the awesome exception 🙂 but if u wanna hit all out on a heavybag, common boxing wisdom is to use a glove that will have you wanting to bust up that bag rather than busting up your hand

In 2019, a year before the official closure of Roc Nation’s boxing division, the Lane brothers negotiated Zhang’s release with Matchroom Boxing USA, which Duva, again, had cut a deal with. In 2024, Zhang’s co-manager recalled his promoter tried to stop him leaving by intimidation, dragging him into legal battles and refusing to line him up in fights. Brothers Tommy and Terry Lane, sons of boxing referee Mills Lane, joined Zhang as advisers and helped guide him out of trouble. It was not clear whether this incident was referring to Zhang’s termination of contract in November 2014 or in 2019.

Many Māori took issue with Whitmill suing for copyright infringement when the work was, box in bing.com their view, appropriative of moko. Ngahuia Te Awekotuku, an expert on Māori tattoos, told The New Zealand Herald that ” t is astounding that a Pākehā tattooist who inscribes an African American’s flesh with what he considers to be a Māori design has the gall to claim … that design as his intellectual property” and accused Whitmill of having “never consulted with Māori” and having “stole the design”. Bloom suggests that Te Awekotuku’s argument could have formed the basis for a defense that the tattoo fell below the threshold of originality.

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.

On 15 January 2024, it was announced that Zhang would be facing former WBO champion Joseph Parker, with the fight scheduled to occur on 8 March 2024 as the co-main event of the Knockout Chaos event, at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena. Zhang was defeated by Parker in a majority points decision, in which two judges had it for Parker, 114–112 and 115–111, and one judge had it even at 113–113.

Zhang was housemates with middleweight Meng Fanlong and lightweight Wang Zhimin in New Jersey when he first came to the US. Along with Zou Shiming, these four were the first wave of boxers ever released by the Chinese authorities to turn professional.

Etienne’s life tragically spun out of control in a way many feared Tyson’s would after he finished fighting. But at least Etienne got to share the ring with one of the most feared and famous heavyweights of any era – even if the whole event is mainly remembered for just how bizarre it all was.

My 11 year old son (slim build) in need of something to let off steam with. Looking at buying kids Boxing Gloves and Focus Pads. Would these be a good starting point for him. Grateful for your recommendations and if weight of gloves right. We can’t have a punch bag (our ceilings not up to it!). Many Thanks.

Jake Paul has taken emulation to the next level in the buildup to his bout with Mike Tyson. He’s not just fighting a legend; he’s transforming into one, at least superficially. “You heard it right, motherf***er. I’m fighting Mike Tyson, b*tch,” Paul boldly declares in a promotional video, revealing a tattoo identical to Tyson’s iconic face ink.

After the 2008 Olympics, Dino Duva built relationships with the National Boxing and Taekwondo Center of the Department of Sports of China and obtained exclusive rights to market all Chinese boxers. As a result, Chinese boxers had little freedom to choose an alternative promoter. On March 10, 2014, the 31-year-old Zhang signed a four-year contract with Dynasty Boxing, a company 50% owned by Duva. Zhang was Dynasty’s first signing and Zhang had only one fight under Dynasty Boxing. Dynasty went bankrupt and closed down in December 2014.