Apparently, Mike Tyson’s one-man show, “Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth” is coming to UA’s Centennial Hall. I am so legitimately excited about this right now that it is incredible.
I mean, it’s Mike Tyson, who I believe could have been the greatest boxer of all time and still think could have beaten Ali in his prime, on stage, reciting his life story in a show written by his wife and directed by Spike Lee, of all people. The entertainment potential there, given Tyson’s relatively insane personal history, is astounding.
But, to be honest with you, reviews for the former heavyweight champion’s show have been, uh…less than great, so far. The New York Times said that Tyson “…is doing little more than relating his well-publicized life story, and, under Spike Lee’s direction, he’s doing so with a clumsiness startling to see on a Broadway stage,”
The New Yorker is more harsh, saying that “the performance feels more like a slavishly chronological series of boozy barroom reminiscences, complete with the high-spiritedness, the cringe-inducing settling of scores, the wallowing, the feints of solemnity, and occasional blubbering incoherence built into that form.” But on the bright side, the Telegraph called it an “amusingly honest, if at times self-indulgent, two hours.” That’s vaguely positive, right?
If nothing else, this has the potential to be one hell of an entertaining evening, whether or not Tyson gets his verbal delivery as sharp as his left hook.
Tickets aren’t yet on sale, but Broadway in Tucson appears to be the place to get ’em when they’re announced. We’ll keep an eye on it.
This article appears in Nov 29 – Dec 5, 2012.
Put down the crack pipe, Mendez-Tyson at his best couldn’t change Ali’s jockstrap, much less beat him in the ring.
Hey, I know it sounds crazy, but I think that a motivated young Tyson was fast enough to slip under Ali, get inside and crush him.
People forget how insanely fast Tyson was, remembering the fierce power that took him to being the youngest-ever heavyweight champ and forgetting that, for a long, long time, people couldn’t land flush shots on him. Ali could, and would, hit him, but he’d also have to survive Tyson’s power.
It’d be a hell of a fight, and I don’t think Tyson would take him every time, but I think he would have had a damn good chance.
Well said Dave! That has been the same argument I have made in multiple discussions on the subject, and I am a HUGE ali fan!