Friends who have watched Mike Tyson's fights know that he always wears black shorts and black sneakers in the ring, which seems to have become a kind of brand image of "Iron Mike". Tyson's career can be described as legendary, and he still holds the record for the youngest winner in the heavyweight division, because he was only 20 years old when he reached the top of the boxing throne, and some people think that this record will not be broken, after all, it is difficult to have a genius like Tyson again.
Unlike many of today's boxers who wear bells and whistles, Tyson's outfit was simple but instantly recognizable, and that was its association with black.
In the early days of Tyson's career, he raced in white shorts and even light blue shorts, but with the gradual rise, Tyson's signature attire was black, and for most of the 80s and 90s of the last century, when you saw Tyson's race photos and videos, almost all of them were "black designs".
Why does Tyson love black? Most people think that it is just to be more recognizable, just like Muhammad Ali likes to race in white sweatpants, George Foreman likes to race in red sweatpants, and Tyson is the same, which has since developed into a brand symbol.
In a podcast interview, Tyson responded to why he likes to compete in black shorts, and the answer came as a bit of a surprise to fans, which is that it is not just recognizable, nor is it purely a personal preference, but has a deeper meaning.
In the podcast interview, host Kate Williams said: "In my life, when you hear Mike Tyson, you are like a superhero, because no matter if we are on the street or anywhere else, when Tyson's cultural symbols appear, they are always accompanied by black, which makes me associate black with power and power, without any concealment. ”
"I always race in black because black is ominous and I need that feeling," Tyson said. ”
Now you know why Tyson wears black for the game? An important reason is that deep down, he feels that this is conducive to fighting, because since black is "ominous", then Tyson wants to bring this "ominous" to the opponent.
Because of the fight with black, Tyson has not forgotten this "old partner", he returned to boxing in 2020 to play an exhibition match with Roy Jones Jr., still wearing black shorts, it is reported that Tyson will also wear black shorts against Internet celebrity Jack Paul on July 20, if you change to other color shorts, it is estimated that fans will feel uncomfortable.
Tyson also revealed with interest the earnings from his first professional fight, which was on March 6, 1985, when the 18-year-old appeared in New York and took just 117 seconds to knock out a fighter named Hector Mercedes. Regarding the honorarium that night, Tyson admitted that he was not a "rich man" at the time.
"In the early fights, I barely made any money, and the first game, I made the promoter lose money, but Jimmy Jacobs (the agent) gave me $500 and I took out $50 to Kevon Rooney (the coach), put $350 in the bank and had $100 with me," Tyson said. ”
It seems that Tyson's early days in his career were relatively difficult, but in the next two years, he quickly rose to prominence, and by November 1986, he challenged WBC boxing champion Trevor Burbick, Tyson reached a salary of $1.5 million, and then the tide rose, especially after his release from prison in 1995, he earned $30 million in a rematch with Frank Bruno and $30 million in two duels with Evan Holyfield.
When Tyson lost to Kevin McBride in his last game in 2005, the appearance fee was $5 million, and he was rumored to get $20 million in his next battle with Paul, so let's take this amount for the time being, so compared to the $500 honorarium for his first professional game in 1985, Tyson's income has increased by 40,000 times.