Mike Tyson, Who Once Brawled With Michael Jordan in a Bar, Admits Unknown Fact About Their Connection

Mike Tyson and Michael Jordan are two of the biggest athletes in the world in terms of stature and legacy. They were both feared in their prime as athletes. MJ had an aura and personality which could make anyone in the world feel intimidated, whereas Mike was branded as “the baddest man on the planet.”

The acclamation was not in vain, as he did prove himself as the “baddest” when he established himself as one of the best in his early days. People often underrated Tyson when he was a young boxer. He then proved his doubters wrong when he became the youngest world heavyweight boxer at the age of 20.

Mike Tyson talks about Michael Jordan

Jordan and Tyson were arguably the most successful and famous athletes of their time. Both of them revolutionized the sport they played. Michael Jordan influenced the game by his style, quality, and dominance. Mike Tyson was not the biggest in build. But he still achieved the success his talent deserved.

In an appearance on a Club Shay Shay episode, Mike Tyson revealed a secret about him and Michael Jordan.

The host Shannon Sharpe asked Mike about who his favorite was in basketball. To which Mike answered, “Michael Jordan.”

“I think you like Jordan because his name Mike and your name Mike,” said Shay.

Mike moved his head in disagreement and revealed, “We were born in the same hospital.” The two then laughed.

READ MORE: Mike Tyson shares how he took his mother’s death in positive light.

Imagine the two legends of our generation were born in the same hospital. The chances of two babies from the same hospital growing up to become the greatest ever in their respective sport is actually astounding to think about.

Mike Tyson almost got into a fight with MJ

Everyone knows that Mike’s ego fueled him. According to Tyson, his trainer D’Amato encouraged Tyson’s ego to make him confident and perform at the highest level. However, he was never able to turn it off, due to which he took an adversarial attitude toward anyone he sensed was a threat. The term “the baddest man on the planet” was not only because of him being the toughest to beat in the ring but also due to his dark phase at the time.

A similar thing happened in an incident with MJ, where the boxing legend lost his cool. The two legends had one more thing in common other than being born in the same hospital. They both once dated the same woman, actress Robin Givens.

After Mike and Givens separated in 1989, Givens dated Michael Jordan. This did not sit well with Mike Tyson, who confronted MJ at a meeting of some kind in Chicago. He accused MJ of stealing his wife and used some rather harsh language to make his point. 

“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. And that’s what he did, he got out of there quickly,”  said Rory Holloway, Mike’s manager who tried to stop him from doing even this much but he could not. Although it was a good thing that Michael walked away and diffused the situation.

Also read: Michael Jordan talks about his 1st NBA championship and Magic Johnson.

It would have been a bad sight to see two legendary athletes get into a brawl. But it sure is nice to see Mike Tyson talk about being born in the same hospital as Michael Jordan and having a laugh about it decades after the confrontation.