Floyd Mayweather Jr., fighting on September 14th in Las Vegas, was on hand for the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame banquet, but for once he was not the main attraction.
Mayweather may be boxing's top draw these days, with his September bout against Saul "Canelo" Alvarez being billed as the biggest fight of the year, but on this night he was overshadowed by "Iron" Mike Tyson.
Tyson spoke to the crowd and was involved in a touching moment with former referee Mills Lane. Tyson hugged Lane, who rarely makes public appearances after suffering a stroke, and touched his cheek to Lane's head according to reports.
The tender moment was jarring coming from Tyson, known as the "baddest man on the planet" during his career. Lane was the official who disqualified Tyson from his second fight against Evander "The Real Deal" Holyfield after Tyson bit Holyfield's ear during a clinch, taking a piece of it off.
According to sources Larry Holmes overstayed his welcome a bit, hanging on to the microphone past his allotted time while going on at length about the greatest fighters he took on, as well as his relationship with former promoter Don King.
Holmes once sued King for taking his money without asking permission, but all seems forgiven. Holmes pointed at King and said, "I don't care if he took the money because he always gave me more money."
As Holmes kept on going about powerful punchers like Tyson and Earnie Shavers, someone in the crowd yelled "Sit down!" Holmes took his time getting to the finish line regardless.
Finally, King spoke and talked about his struggle to reach the top of the boxing pyramid. "In America they wouldn't give a black man eye water to cry with," King said. "I had to go all the way around the world looking for money after signing two of the hottest athletes in America at the time."
Still, of all the boxing royalty in the building, Tyson stood out. He thanked his late trainer Cus D'Amato for taking him off the streets and transforming him into a champion. "I'm a guy who comes from a prostitute mother and pimp father and when I go to another country I get mobbed like I'm the president," Tyson said. "I'm very grateful for that."
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