By Terence Dooley

Mike Tyson is set to visit Bradford on July the 17th after his agent accepted an offer from Nadeem ‘Golden Boy’ Siddique to attend the opening of the Bradford-based boxer’s ‘Make the Weight’ gym.  Siddique, sidelined with a back problem since his 2009 points loss to Tom Glover, is also staging a dinner show to celebrate Tyson’s visit.  The 33-year-old welterweight could barely contain his joy over landing ‘Iron Mike’.

“Johnny Nelson rang me and asked if I’d be interested in putting a show on around Mike, who is due to visit England, so I approached Mike’s people and they accepted my offer.  I wasn’t pinching myself until I’d made sure that it was done, anyone can say they are bringing Mike Tyson over to the UK, I wanted to make sure that it was all set before getting excited,” enthused an excited Siddique.

“I’ve now got that information so it is a case of job done, Mike Tyson will be coming over to Bradford to open my new gym.  Let’s put a wicked show on for him, we’ve got the best venue available, some great speakers, A-List celebrities and we’re booked in for three solid hours so there will be plenty of time with Mike.”

Tyson shot to prominence during the mid-1980s, his early career was expertly guided by Jimmy Jacobs, Cus D’Amato and Bill Cayton, this early progress culminating in a WBC title win over Trevor Berbick in 1986.  The youngster unified the titles only to lost his ‘0’ in that shocking 1990 upset to James ‘Buster’ Douglas.  Prison, controversy and, more improbably, further title wins followed but, for Nadeem and other Tyson diehards, the lure of Tyson is contained within the five-year burst of brilliance that so captured the hearts of boxing fans.

“Mike is one of the iconic figure of the twentieth century”, insisted Siddique, “the whole of Bradford is excited and we’ll all get behind him for this visit.  A local businessman, and friend, called Faz Rehman had a son, Qasim, who was a massive Tyson fight, Qasim died just before he was supposed to meet Mike Tyson so Faz said he’d come onboard in honour of his son, he’s provided massive backing and publicity for this occasion.  National TV is coming down to film the event and my gym opening, this is a wicked coup for us – the tickets are flying out.

“This venue, Abundant Life Conference Centre, is beautiful, the website is www.alccevents.co.uk and the photos on the front page show the layout of the place, it is unbelievable.  We are going to do this in style.  If Mike wants to be picked up in a Rolls Royce Phantom then he’ll be picked up in a Rolls Royce Phantom, if he wants to come to the venue in a helicopter then we’ve got plans in place for that.  I want this to be a good day for Mike, I want him to be treated right and for him to enjoy the day and for him to see the lengths we’ve gone to make him comfortable.”

Still, Nadeem is a fighter first and foremost; the 22-2 (6) is not happy with his recent in-ring form and aims to put things to right over the next few years.  “Nah, I’ve a lot to prove,” insisted Sid when asked if he is set to hang the gloves up in order to pursue a career in event promotion.

“There is a lot to come, a helluva lot, over the next five years and I’ve still got my fingers in a few pies – I’ll be back.  I had a horrible back injury so it has been a nightmare but I’m getting back into shape now and should be back in action in September.”

He added: “I’m still training with Oliver [Harrison] and the Ingles.  I’m nowhere near done with fighting, everyone come and support me next time I’m out.  You can visit my website, www.thegoldenboy.co.uk for further information on my boxing career and any future events.”

Tickets for Tyson’s Bradford appearance are priced at £100 per person, £1000 for a table, and include full table service.  Contact sales@alccevents.co.uk for further details or contact Nadeem via his Facebook page.

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