Former NBC broadcaster Bob Costas went to CNN’s weekly talk show King Charles, which is co-hosted by Charles Barkley and Gayle King. During his appearance, the decorated commentator revealed an intriguing story involving Charles Barkley and Mike Tyson. He recalled how once during a game in the 80s, Charles Barkley stopped in the middle of the game and shook Tyson’s hands and even chatted with him.
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This act by the Round Mound of Rebound befuddled the announcer, who was on the sidelines with sideline reporter Ahmad Rashad. This incident took place during the late 1980s when Barkley was with the Philadelphia 76ers. Costas narrated the incident with enthusiasm and amazement to the talk show duo.
“Mike Tyson shows up at the game and the ushers are taking him down the seats and they are going to seat him next to me and Ahmad. And he passes under the basket along the baseline and the ball goes out of bounds and Charles saves it in-bounds. And now the Sixers are going back the other way. But now he is face to face with Mike Tyson and he stops and shakes Tyson’s hand and talks to him!” Costas told King and Barkley.
“Meanwhile, the game is going on and he is just enjoying himself,” the 72-year-old broadcaster added.
Costas then expressed how “very few people” would be able to chat during mid-game as the Chuckster did. However, for those who know the Inside the NBA analyst, such instances aren’t surprising at all. Barkley is known for his free-spirited ways and as an avid boxing fan, there is no way he’d miss out on chatting with Iron Mike, even if he had to do that in the middle of the game.
Mike Tyson and Charles Barkley were neighbors
Tyson and Barkley used to live in the same neighborhood and thus had multiple encounters regularly. Appearing on Kelce brothers’ pod New Heights, the 1987 rebounding champion narrated a rather wild story showcasing Iron Mike’s bizarre ways. As per the former 76ers superstar, during a New Year’s Eve party, the boxing phenom went so out of control that he had to intervene. After announcing his presence through a bullhorn announcement of ‘The Champ is Here’, the former heavyweight champion became a cause for concern.
“Two hours into the party, three or four of the husbands come up to me and says,’Yo man, you gotta do something about Mike.’ I said, ‘What’s Mike doing?’ He says, ‘He grabbin’ our wives by the a**.’ I say to these dudes, ‘So let me get this straight, the guy who bit a guy’s ear off, y’all want me to go and confront him?”’ Barkley narrated to the Kelce brothers.
Later, after Barkley’s insistence, Tyson did stop with his seemingly outrageous actions. Then the 11x NBA All-Star urged everyone to “leave the dude alone” for everyone’s sake. Thus, the 1993 NBA MVP first-hand saw Mike’s unconventional ways.
