The undisputed reinvention of Mike Tyson hits Atlanta
The public makeover from self-confessed animal to dopey recovering addict to cuddly cameo performer continues in Atlanta this weekend
“Everything you say is interesting. I don’t know what it is but every experience you’ve had is interesting to me.” - Jimmy Kimmel, to Mike Tyson
There’s something about Mike Tyson. Especially when he sits down on a couch and the cameras start rolling. Whether he’s groveling on Oprah in front of his former ear-bite victim Evander Holyfield or telling Conan about the time he got Las Vegas police to escort him to the dope house while high, he’s such an unlikely but highly likable communicator. Sure, his diction is fucked and sometimes he tongue-twists his syllables and says something like “West Vile Nirus” on Jimmy Fallon instead of “West Nile Virus,” or lets out a random Neanderthal growl (3:50 mark above) when at a loss for words. Yet somehow he’s emerged as an eloquent storyteller, if only because the story of his life is so fascinating.