Mike Tyson once tried to fight Michael Jordan at boozy dinner party, says ex-manager

Mike Tyson and Michael Jordan are two of the biggest names in the history of sports. Both were absolutely phenomenal in their respective sport, with Tyson becoming one of the greatest boxing heavyweights of all time, thanks to his dominant 37-fight win streak and Jordan winning the six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. However, being at the pinnacle of their sport was not the only thing the two legends had in common. They were both once involved with actress Robin Givens.

While Michael Jordan dated the ‘Head of the Class’ star in his early NBA career, Tyson married her in February 1988 before the two parted ways a year later in February 1989. And according to Tyson’s former manager, Rory Holloway, because of Robin Givens, Mike Tyson almost thrashed Jordan at a dinner party in Chicago. Holloway reminisced the incident in a book he co-wrote, which featured many other crazy stories from the life of the boxing legend, titled - “Taming the Beast: The Untold Story of Mike Tyson”.

Mike Tyson Michael Jordan: when the two legends almost fought at a party

Holloway revealed that the incident took place at a Chicago restaurant just weeks after Tyson and Givens divorced. The venue was packed with celebrities and sports legends, including former Super Bowl MVP Richard Dent, former Chicago Bears head coach Mike Ditka and Don King. Rory claimed that he and Mike Tyson were sitting at a table, with the boxing legend drinking his favourite Long Island Iced Tea.

There Tyson noticed Jordan, who was sitting across him. Holloway tried to take Tyson’s attention off of Jordan as he didn’t want something wrong to go down, considering Tyson was going through a dark phase at that time and had even earned the title of ‘the Baddest Man on the Planet’. However, Holloway’s strategy didn’t work as Tyson, who knew Jordan had dated Givens at one point, walked towards the NBA legend and unloaded on him with some harsh words.

“Jordan looks like he just seen a ghost. ‘I know you messed with her,’ Mike says, ‘You can tell me’. Jordan, it’s obvious he just wants to get up and run. He wants no part of this,” Holloway revealed.

How the Mike Tyson Michael Jordan incident ended

As things got tenser, Richard Dent, Mike Ditka and Don King stepped in to calm Tyson down. According to Holloway, Don King was trying to change the subject, while the others held Tyson from behind. “Mike telling everyone he’s going to bust Jordan’s a**. Jordan’s dressed sharp as always and he can’t get out of there fast enough,” Holloway concluded.

Mike Tyson weight: Mike Tyson next fight

Mike Tyson made his highly-anticipated boxing return last year, fighting fellow legend Roy Jones Jr to a draw. Since then, he has been in talks to fight arch-rival Evander Holyfield in a trilogy bout, which is yet to be made official.

Image Source: AP, Mike Tyson/ Instagram