By TK Stewart
Former two-time heavyweight champion Mike Tyson was a surprise guest at ESPN’s annual ESPY Awards show held Wednesday night at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California.
Tyson, attired in a dark sports coat and simple pink dress shirt, appeared trim, very sedate and clear-headed. He was interviewed at ringside by ESPN’s Lisa Salter at the conclusion of the Joel Julio versus Cornelius Bundrage junior middleweight bout which was televised on ESPN2 Wednesday Night Fights.
When asked what he thought of having a boxing card held in conjunction with the ESPY Awards, Tyson responded that he thought it was a good thing. “I thought it was wonderful, yes. Everybody is always, believe it or not, everybody is always interested in seeing a little blood.”
Explaining himself further, Mike went on to say, “Well, not only myself, look at the crowd here, it speaks for itself. You can’t say Mike, (wants to see blood) it just, it speaks for itself. It’s just standing room only here.”
The 41-year-old Tyson was recently indicted on felony possession of narcotics, felony possession of drug paraphernalia and two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence of drugs. Law enforcement officers in Scottsdale, Arizona discovered cocaine in his BMW on December 30, 2006 after stopping the former champ for dangerous driving. Tyson had just exited the Pussycat Lounge in Scottsdale.
“Iron Mike” served a three-year stint in prison from 1992-1995 for raping Miss Black America beauty pageant contestant Desiree Washington. He also spent nine months in jail in 1999 for assaulting two men after a traffic accident in Maryland.
Tyson could be sentenced to up to seven and a half years in prison if convicted on all four counts. His trial on these latest charges begins August 20th in Phoenix.
