(AP) - Former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson opened a boxing tournament in Chechnya on Thursday, becoming the first international celebrity to visit the war-ravaged Russian republic.
Before opening the boxing tournament, Mike Tyson attended a performance at the Gudermes Stadium by 15 bikers dressed in black who had come from Moscow on a friendship mission to the eastern city of Gudermes in Chechnya.
He was mobbed by spectators in the 2,000-strong crowd as he walked along as a guest of honour at the all-Russian tournament, held in memory of assassinated Chechen president Akhmad Kadyrov.
He was accompanied by Kadyrov's son, Deputy Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov, who is a boxing enthusiast.
"I'm just happy to be here. I'm touring around the world and I made sure that this would be one of my places to visit, and I'm just happy to come,” said Tyson.
Chechnya, a mainly Muslim province in southern Russia, has been torn apart by a guerrilla conflict for most of the past decade between separatist rebels and Russian troops.
Tyson told the crowd that when he boxed, it was not for himself but for all Muslims in the world, including Chechens whom he considers to be his brothers.
The boxer is said to have converted to Islam during his time in jail on a rape conviction in the early 1990s