Mike Tyson is broadening his horizons.
The 37-year-old former heavyweight boxing champion has signed a contract with Japan's K-1 organization, setting up a potential showdown with former NFL lineman Bob Sapp, K-1's director of media relations said Wednesday in Tokyo.
"The timing was right this time," said the K-1 official, who asked that he not be named. "Mike is very interested in K-1 and has seen many bouts on video."
Sapp, nicknamed "The Beast," is a 193cm, 170kg former Minnesota Vikings defensive lineman, who has made a name for himself through K-1. He's a huge celebrity in Japan, where he pushes everything from DVD players to fabric softeners.
Sapp and Tyson engaged in a heated verbal exchange two weeks ago in Las Vegas after the 29-year-old Sapp defeated American Kimo Leopoldo in the K-1 World GP 2003.
Tyson made his way into the ring for Sapp's post-bout celebration and the two had to be separated. According to some media reports, a Tyson-Sapp bout is tentatively scheduled for late December.
"I think it will be interesting," Sapp was quoted as saying on K-1's official Web site. "Tyson represents boxing, which he believes is the best fighting sport. I don't know what rules will apply if he fights in K-1, but hopefully we'll see which style of fighting is superior."
K-1 combines karate, taekwondo and kickboxing and is tremendously popular in Japan. Bouts are regularly staged before crowds of up to 70,000 and the sport has been looking to tap into the American market. "Having someone with the name recognition of Tyson certainly will help," said the K-1 official.
Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, 29, has died, the NBA team said in a statement on Tuesday, while the family of Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to play in a major US pro sports league, announced the former Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets player had died after a battle with brain cancer. “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke,” the Grizzlies said in a statement posted on social media. “Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten.” The statement did not provide
Taiwan’s top male badminton player, Chou Tien-chen, on Saturday bowed out in the men’s singles semi-finals at the Thailand Open after losing in straight games to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn. The world No. 6 Chou, seeded fourth at the Super 500 tournament, lost to the world No. 2 Thai 21-7, 21-19 in 53 minutes. The victory improved Vitidsarn’s head-to-head record against Chou to 3-5. Chou, 36, trailed throughout the opening game after the score was tied 2-2. His relatively passive approach allowed the 25-year-old Thai to capitalize on Chou’s defensive clears with powerful smashes while committing few unforced errors. The Taiwanese
FRUSTRATION: Gauff smacked herself on the head with her racket before storming down the tunnel, emerging afterward to have a heated discussion with her coach Elina Svitolina on Saturday won the Italian Open after beating Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2 to claim her third Rome title, while Jannik Sinner set a date with Casper Ruud in the men’s final. Ukraine’s Svitolina had not claimed a WTA 1000 title since her last victory at the Foro Italico eight years ago, but prevailed over the ever-erratic Gauff to claim her 20th tournament triumph. Saturday’s win over Gauff was her third in a row against a player in the top four of the world rankings — including Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina — ahead of the French
West Ham United’s 3-1 defeat at Newcastle United on Sunday left Tottenham Hotspur realistically only needing one more point to win the battle for English Premier League survival, while Bruno Fernandes made history in Manchester United’s 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest. Spurs can avoid dropping out of the English top flight for the first time in nearly 50 years with victory at Chelsea today, but a draw would also likely suffice thanks to their much superior goal-difference over West Ham. “Overall bad performance. Too many things [went wrong], I think we gifted them the goals,” West Ham head caoch Nuno Espirito Santo
RSS