Boxing legend, Mike Tyson, was a savage in every sense of the word. During his boxing days, he was notorious for his aggressive and ruthless style, knocking out his opponents within minutes in his matches. Naturally, this garnered fear of Iron Mike among many as there was no telling when his switch would go off.
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Tyson has also been a fan of MMA often appearing in UFC events and even training professional fighters. Moreover, back in 2006, he was offered an opportunity to officiate an MMA match for the World Cage Fighting Championship, an MMA promotion in the UK. Tyson was offered a job to act as a referee for a match between Diego Gonzalez, and Terry Etim, who even went on to have a decent career in UFC.
UFC Welterweight contender, Jorge Masvidal, also reacted to this bout, praising Tyson for taking up the job of a referee. He stated that Iron Mike almost took a point away from Gonzalez after he pinned Etim on the mat and not engaging in the fight. “When #MikeTyson got mad and was about to take a point away. The fear in that fighters eyes,” he wrote.
However, this was not the first time, Tyson was officiating a bout. The former heavyweight champion was paid a cool $3.5 million for officiating the WrestleMania 14 contest between Shawn Michaels, and Stone Cold Steve Austin, in 1998.
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Although he wasn’t paid this much by the MMA promotion he claimed to have done this for the love of the sport.
Mike Tyson made $1.5 million more than Floyd Mayweather for their WWE stints
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Both Tyson and Floyd Mayweather have had stints in the WWE. However, according to renowned Wrestling Journalist, Dave Meltzer, Iron Mike was paid a lot more than ‘Money’. It was reported that Mayweather took home around $2 million for his run with the company back in 2008.
Tyson on the other hand was paid $3.5 million for his stint in 1998. This could be attributed to Tyson’s immense star power during the 90s. Iron Mike lost his boxing license after his infamous ear bite during his bout with Evander Holyfield. This led Tyson to explore new options as WWE was quick to bag the boxing legend.
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What do you make of Tyson refereeing an MMA bout? Let us know your valuable thoughts in the comments below.
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