Former heavyweight champions Mike Tyson and Shannon Briggs had a friendly shirtless brawl in public ahead of July’s fight with YouTube star-turned-boxer Jake Paul. Tyson visited Brownsville, Brooklyn, where he grew up alongside Briggs.
A massive crowd followed the two former heavyweights around the neighborhood where Tyson spent most of his childhood and tensions jokingly reached a boiling point. Tyson and Briggs went topless and started jokingly sparring and grappling. Briggs went to lift Tyson’s leg and drop him to the pavement but the pair called a truce, and Shannon “The Cannon” let out his trademark: “Let’s go champ!”
However, going back to his old stomping ground brings back bad memories for Tyson, who was exposed to a wide array of crime and illegal substances. He addressed his upbringing in his 2013 autobiography, “The Undisputed Truth.”
“I was scared to be in the house, and I was also scared to go outside,” Tyson wrote in the book, per MARCA. “By then, I was going to a public school and that was a nightmare. We didn’t have hot water to shower in and, if the gas wasn’t on, we couldn’t even boil water. My mother tried to teach me about it (hygiene) but she didn’t do a very good job. She used to take soap and fill a bucket up with hot water and wash me.”
Tyson landed himself in jail 38 times before turning 13 years old. “That’s what we were, savages out there. Survival of the fittest. Even if we know you, if you are weak we gonna get you,” he said during an appearance on the Million Dollaz Worth Of Game a couple of years ago. “If you don’t shoot somebody, that’s disrespectful. You ain’t s*** in Brownville.”
Tyson will fight Paul, who was previously trained by Briggs during the early years of YouTube Boxing. Briggs was a key figure in the Paul Brothers’ corner as they took on British social media giants KSI and ComedyShortsGamer, who are also brothers. Tyson will be 58 by the time he makes his way to the ring on July 20 at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Paul has a 9-1 professional record with his only defeat coming to WBC heavyweight King Tyson Fury’s younger brother, Tommy. “The Problem Child” is looking forward to taking on one of his dad’s childhood boxing heroes. He said: “It’s motivating I think. It’s good to carry fear into the ring and with you on a daily basis when you’re training because it makes you better.
“It excites me that I have my toughest and craziest and most powerful opponent to date. The challenge of going to heavyweight is fun; it’s a benefit because I’ve been eating a lot of pasta. He definitely is looking like a f***ing animal. I will say people are underestimating me. When I go to his comments, they’re saying if Mike loses then fighting is rigged.”
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