Mike Tyson, whose historic boxing career was paused in 1992 by a rape conviction and a three-year prison term, is getting impatient over a promise he says he got from President Donald Trump.
Nearing the end of a panel discussion on criminal justice reform with Gov. Chris Christie and former Gov. Jim McGreevey in Jersey City on Thursday, the former world heavyweight champion was asked whether he had anything else to say to Christie.
“Man, Governor, I wish you could talk to Donald Trump,” he said as hundreds of people in the audience laughed, unsure where he was about to go with his comments. “He said he was going to give me my pardon. So I'm waiting for my pardon. He said that out of his mouth, so I'm waiting.”
Tyson, who never specified Thursday what offense he was seeking a pardon for, endorsed Trump in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.
And in the wake of Tyson’s rape conviction 25 years ago, Trump publicly called the verdict “a travesty” and said it was Tyson who was often the target of unsolicited advances by women. Tyson returned to jail in 1999 for an assault charge and pleaded guilty to drug possession in 2007.
“I’ll put that on my list for the next phone call, Mike,” Christie joked in response Thursday as the audience continue to laugh. Christie, a longtime friend of the Trump family, says he has regular conversations with the president.
The interaction got more extraordinary still when Tyson rose out of his seat a few minutes later to present Christie with what appeared to be a high-quality replica of one of his World Boxing Association title belts.
“Governor Christie, I would like to present to you the world heavyweight championship belt which you do deserve,” Tyson said, part of a ceremony crowning the governor as the "World-Class Reentry Champion of the World."
“You took the punches," Tyson said. "Trust me, you deserve it.”
A White House representative did not immediately respond to questions Thursday about whether Trump had promised to grant Tyson a pardon. Tyson's rape case was tried in an Indiana state court, and a president does not have the authority to grant clemency for a state conviction.
