Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
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F ront Runners iron mike DOWNTRODDEN FORMER HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMP MIKE TYSON USES A BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE TO MAKE A REMARKABLE COMEBACK. by shaké ajamian J ust after the third round of the much anticipated heavyweight championship rematch with Evander Holyfield on June 28, 1997, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Mike Tyson suffered a jaw-dropping disqualification that changed his life for- ever. An alleged, on Tyson's part, intentional head butt by Holyfield threw him into a rage, as Tyson had blamed Holyfield's head-butting for his loss in their first bout, on November 9, 1996. With a three-inch gash above his right eye, Tyson bit off a piece of his opponent's right ear. He was penalized two points, and the fight continued. But when he tried to chomp on Holyfield's other ear, referee Mills Lane ended the match, shocking the record-setting pay-per-view audience of 1.99 million households, as well as the packed arena whose frenzy almost escalated into a riot. With that one referee call, Tyson's boxing comeback after three years in jail on a rape conviction abruptly came to an end. Fined $3 million and his license rescinded because of the bite, "Iron Mike" found himself stripped of his identity. The climb back proved difficult: A defeat by knockout to Lennox Lewis in 2002 followed by a loss to Danny Williams in 2004 compelled Tyson to announce his retirement while los- ing to Kevin McBride in 2005, saying his heart wasn't in it anymore. Add in a string of devastating personal setbacks, including bankruptcy and the death of four-year-old daughter Exodus, and it seemed Tyson's glory days were over. But his cameo in the box-office smash The Hangover, a 2009 ode to Vegas bachelor parties, proved marketing gold and won him a solid new fan base. Oprah then snagged the athlete once known as "the baddest man on the planet" for a face-to-face meeting with Holyfield on her show, where his apology revealed a reformed man. His no-holds-barred one-man show, Undisputed Truth, sold out this spring at the MGM Grand, which sealed his status as one of our town's most beloved residents—even Holyfield himself came to the show. From ear-biter to raconteur, Tyson's comeback has been one of Las Vegas's most dramatic ever. V 10 vegasmagazine.com photograph by r. marsh starks