“I drive defensively because I’ve been in a lot of fender benders, okay?”
In 1991, Street Fighter II was released, changing the landscape of the video game world at the time. And it’s roster featured an homage to World Heavyweight Champion Mike Tyson in Balrog (or M. Bison in Japan). Coincidentally, until earlier this month, Tyson had no clue that the character based on him existed.
In the clip above, ESPN’s Arda Ocal brings up the subject Street Fighter II character with Tyson, with Ocal explaining the origin of the character as well as the nature of the Balrog/M. Bison name change. Tyson states that he’d never heard of it, joking about a lawsuit. Tyson did, however state that he was honored by the portrayal of himself represented by the character.
…except the subject had actually come up in April this year on his podcast, Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson:
…in which he calls the developers “dirty motherfuckers” for using his likeness. That said, he hadn’t actually seen the character until the bit on ESPN, so it’s entirely possible that the earlier podcast mention slipped his mind until now.
Either way, Iron Mike’s in a pretty good place nowadays. Aside from the podcast, you can hear him in the excellent Mike Tyson Mysteries on Adult Swim, where he plays a very out-of-touch-with-reality version of himself.
Source: Kotaku
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