Hulu released an official trailer for its new Mike, a series from Steven Rogers (I, Tonya) and 20th Television that chronicles the life of controversial heavyweight champion boxer Mike Tyson. It premieres Aug. 25.
The suit isn’t frivolous, however, legal experts say. They contend the case could offer the first rulings on tricky questions about how far the rights of the copyright holder extend in creations that are, after all, on someone else’s body. They are questions likely to crop up more often as it becomes more common for actors or athletes to have tattoos and as tattoo designs become more sophisticated.
The tattoo drew significant attention before the fight. Tyson took time off of training to get it, which trainer Jeff Fenech would later say was a contributing factor to the fight being rescheduled by a week. Some questioned Tyson’s physical and mental fitness to fight. Experts including dermatologist Robert A. Weiss expressed concerns about Tyson boxing while the tattoo healed; Etienne said that he would not go after the tattoo. (Tyson ultimately knocked out Etienne in under a minute. ) The work—which Tyson and others have referred to as his “warrior tattoo”—was also met with criticism from the outset by Māori activists who saw it as cultural appropriation. In 2006, tā moko artist Mark Kopua in a statement to the Waitangi Tribunal called for “a law that would prevent a Mike Tyson or a Robbie Williams or large non-Māori companies from wearing and exploiting the moko”.
The boxing star also admitted to being wasted when he got the tattoo on the same podcast. “I think I was on cocaine at the time,” he said “I am drinking and I was fucking wanted to get a badass tattoo. Some mean shit on my face.” Well, he certainly achieved his goal.
Dominating the ring between 1987-1990, Tyson is the youngest ever boxer to win a heavyweight title at 20 years, four months, and 22 days old, but his career has also been controversial. He was convicted of rape in 1992 and served three years behind bars before returning to the ring, winning back several of his titles before his 1997 match against Evander Holyfield pretty much ended his career when Tyson bit off part of Holyfield’s ear.
Raised as a Catholic, Tyson has stated that he converted to Islam before entering prison and that he made no efforts to correct what was reported in the media, although it was falsely reported that he converted to Islam during his time in prison and adopted the Muslim name Malik Abdul Aziz; some sources report it as Malik Shabazz. Tyson never changed his given name to an Islamic one, despite the rumors.
Secondly, how does a non-Maori tattoo artist get to claim intellectual property rites over an obviously traditionally styled design? When Tyson first appeared with this thing around his eye I remember how he talked about it’s traditional origins and significance, so what about it makes it something that some tattoo artist can claim as original? I mean, really? (In doing a web search for a common use eligible image of the tattoo I did come across an article from Techdirt about an indignant Maori response to this claim — see the quoted portion below)
When it comes to the world of boxing, Mike Tyson is a name that is synonymous with the violent sport. Known as “The Baddest Man on the Planet,” Tyson won his first 37 matches in a row, claiming the WBA, WBC, and IBF heavyweight titles before a surprise loss to Buster Douglas in 1990. Along with being a champion in the ring and one of the greatest to ever do it, Tyson loves tattoos, site here with this article aiming to dissect six Mike Tyson tattoos and the meaning behind them. But before that, let’s have a quick look at the life and times of the former heavyweight champion.
A lot of famous people are known by just ONE THING: a winning shot in a championship game, saying the wrong word or phrase in a public speech or even a cameo in a Hollywood movie. You’re about to hear Tony interview someone who has had multiple defining moments that people remember him by.
Rachael A. Carmen et al. in the Review of General Psychology posit that Tyson’s face tattoo may be an example of “body ornamentation as a form of intimidation”. Charlie Connell and Edmund Sullivan in Inked describe it as having become “instantly iconic”, while Vice’s Mitchell Sunderland ranks it as one of the two things Tyson is best known for, alongside biting off part of Evander Holyfield’s ear. Marie Hadley, in A History of Intellectual Property in 50 Objects, writes that the tattoo “has been described as one of the most distinctive tattoos in North America”. Its stature has increased over time, aided by Tyson and the 2009 comedy The Hangover, in which it is prominent on Tyson, who appears as a fictionalized version of himself. The tattoo has become strongly associated with Tyson and has made his persona more distinctive.
