More and more professional athletes are publicly begrudging the current vaccination culture, and now even veteran sports entertainers are airing out their grievances.
The former baddest man on the planet, “Iron” Mike Tyson, recently revealed he had taken the vaccination for COVID-19. However, in true Tyson style, the first undisputed champion had a lot to say on the vaccine culture currently in the world.
Never have to worry about @MikeTyson telling it how he sees it.
During a Q&A with @joshlpeter11, the former heavyweight champ waxed poetic on bullying, the COVID-19 vaccine, his new film and death. https://t.co/o2pKgP7jAg pic.twitter.com/H3yBzCXA6y
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) October 5, 2021
Reluctant Vaxxing
“I didn’t do it willingly,” Tyson recently told USA Today Sports. The interview with the legend occurred during an interview at his cannabis company, Tyson Ranch.
“I’m a little apprehensive of that. I was pretty much beaten into submission to do this because I travel internationally. And if I don’t travel, we don’t eat.
“So I decided to take the risk and take the shot. And people, they have their own choice. I never got sick.”
I'm gonna start calling the #vaccine @MikeTyson 'cause that 2nd jab be killin' folks! pic.twitter.com/Qm0uCzclQR
— Wabøøsh! (@wabooshka) June 19, 2021
However, the 55-year-old believes he might have contracted the novel coronavirus at one point during the pandemic. Tyson said he thought it was “because I was coughing a lot and I was in this place with a lot of people. The whole day I was just coughing, throwing up water, so I was dehydrated.”
Fortunately, Tyson said his initial symptoms passed.
“I might have caught it, but I feel great now,” he said. “I really feel well. The best I ever felt.”
Reluctance Across The Spectrum
Currently, in basketball, Kyrie Irving is the most prominent holdout of high-profile unvaccinated players. The Brooklyn Nets point guard must contend with New York City’s indoor vaccine mandate to play home games at the Barclays Center.
This second Covid vaccine hit me like Mike Tyson hit Alan in the hangover #damn pic.twitter.com/FlOP7Y55ZD
— Sam ☮️🍉 (@saminbloomX) February 13, 2021
The indoor vaccine mandate has also affected San Francisco and its home team, the Golden State Warriors. Recently, Warriors unvaccinated holdout Andrew Wiggins received the shot to be an active team member. The NBA just entered preseason.
“The only options were to get vaccinated or not play in the NBA,” Wiggins said after the Warriors’ preseason opener against the Portland Trail Blazers.
“It was a tough decision. Hopefully, it works out in the long run and in 10 years I’m still healthy.”
The Tyson Comeback
Tyson is one of the veteran athletes who experienced a resurgence of interest in his athleticism again. Tyson fought Roy Jones Jr. in a highly-publicized exhibition match back in November 2020.
Now his former heavyweight rival Lennox Lewis is on the horizon for a fight in December.
On the “2worldchamps” podcast, Lewis said he would meet Tyson in an exhibition late this year.
“Yes, if he wants to dance, I can dance; December,” said Lewis. He went on to say that the fight would be announced “soon.”
Additionally, a few months ago, Tyson revealed that he planned to fight Lewis in September. However, an official date and bout have not been announced.
New Veteran Rules
Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs) and Lewis (41-2-1, 32 KOs) at 55 years old are ushering in a new era for former boxers.
Lewis famously knocked out Tyson in 2002, and with the way Tyson looked against Roy Jones in their exhibition, a “rematch” against Lewis is appealing.
Recently former heavyweight champion Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield lost via technical knockout in a exhibition bout against former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort.
