A Reputation’s Memory

MIKE TYSON IS going to return to the ring on November 15 and the world of boxing is not exactly bursting with excitement. Once upon a time, it was all fans used to wait for. He is fighting Jake Paul, who used to be known as a YouTuber, but has since gained some respect as a fighter having defeated a few well-known mixed martial arts fighters. But those were boxing rules and the fighters were past their prime. Ordinarily, it would be a health risk for a non-professional to enter the ring against Tyson, but this is not the same heavyweight boxer who would never take a step back and knocked out opponents within seconds until his darker side sent him to prison and from then on, despite the return, was no longer the same. He has reminisced that he just did not have it in him anymore to do what it takes. He was past the phase of being an animal.

Tyson went on to do many other things meanwhile, like a stand-up act which, in his own self-mockery, was genuinely funny. He ventured into the marijuana business and is an active promoter of it, saying that it makes him a better person. In recent times, after getting onto doing exhibition matches, he would stop taking marijuana for some time before the fight because he wanted to have some of the meanness necessary to compete. Tyson puts out practice videos and they look like how he once moved but a short clip of a few seconds means nothing against what is demanded over eight rounds. The last such bout that he did against Roy Jones Jr was almost boring in its lack of aggression.

It is not just that time catches up with everyone. You can still outwit it as George Foreman did when he returned in his middle age to professional boxing and rose to the top again, despite the flab. He had the heart and the skill for it. Tyson belongs to another category, of those who are invincible but only until their first loss. And then it is as if the shield that protected them vanishes and they join the ranks of the human. It happens in the creative arts, too. Authors write a first novel of such a work of genius as if the gods had touched them and then keep churning out pedestrian work. Perhaps, with those like Tyson, the very fire that burns and propels them to the top is also consuming them from the inside at the same time. If Tyson loses in the next fight against a YouTuber, it will not be a sad end to his career because that ended long ago. Now, he is just cashing in on the memory of something that hypnotised the world. He himself will just shrug off the defeat and eventually do one more fight like this. After all, he is getting $20 million to go up against Paul and at the age of 57, that has meaning.

About The Author

Madhavankutty Pillai

Madhavankutty Pillai has no specialisations whatsoever. He is among the last of the generalists. And also Open chief of bureau, Mumbai  

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