The 1980s and 1990s are littered with stories of people getting punched by former undisputed world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. While most of these stories broke pay-per-view records and won him titles, some of them materialized in less-than-professional environments and had unwilling participants, like NBA greats Michael Jordan and Baron Davis.
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In 1988, Jordan and Tyson both attended a birthday party in Chicago for NFL great Richard Dent. Promoter Don King and the boxer’s comanager, Rory Holloway, were also there. Despite having been an undefeated talent at this point, Tyson’s private life was already in shambles.
Tyson’s marriage to Robin Givens was on the verge of becoming a very expensive divorce. It was a spectacle for the world to see, much like everything else Tyson did. So how did Jordan figure into this? Well, Jordan had dated Givens long before Tyson was in a relationship with her. And that was enough, it seems.
Tyson had reportedly had more than a few drinks and confronted Jordan about having dated his wife. According to Holloway, he stared at Jordan across the table and blurted out, “Hey man, you think I’m stupid? I know you f***** with my b****.“
“Jordan looks like he just seen a ghost. ‘I know you messed with her,’ Mike says. ‘You can tell me,'” Holloway recalled. “It was a circus for real that night. Don King trying to change the subject. Me and John … trying to hold Mike down. Mike telling everyone he’s going to bust Jordan’s a**. Jordan’s dressed sharp as always and he can’t get out of there fast enough.“
As the story goes, Jordan refused to dignify the question with a response. Thankfully, no punches were thrown that night. But this wasn’t new behavior for Tyson. In fact, former two-time NBA All-Star point guard Baron Davis also got uncomfortably close to getting hit by Tyson, or bit, to be more precise.
“Next thing you know, like, Mike Tyson was right here. [Jason Richardson] was like, ‘Oh s***, n*****, Mike Tyson!’“ Davis recalled on Podcast P with Paul George.
“‘What up, Mike? That’s the homey,’ [I said to him]. And so [Tyson] started whispering in my ear in the club, you know, like talking like dead in my ear and s***. Bro, that was the one time I was drunk … I didn’t even drink. But dawg, the scariest thing in life is to be in the club and have Mike Tyson talking in your ear and he’s mad at you,” Davis continued.
“Oh, he was like, ‘Man, what’s up with you, man? Look, you all fat and s***.’ Like, you know what I mean? I’m like, ‘Damn, bro!’ He’s about to take me out! … I was like ‘[J-Rich], man, do something! We’re going to have to jump his a**’,” he said with a laugh.
Thankfully, the situation didn’t go beyond the point of no return, and nobody was harmed. It’s not the climax anyone was expecting, but it’s good enough for a podcast at least!
