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Fight game icon Mike Tyson doesn’t just have boxing prowess in common with the late, great Muhammad Ali, his most famous predecessor as Heavyweight Champion of the World. The two pugilists also share — beyond still being the most recognizable names in boxing — an affinity for words and memorable phrasing.
Ali — who called himself “The Greatest” — was a poet in the ring and outside it, taunting opponents and inspiring fans in verse to the degree that Chuck D of Public Enemy called him the “original rapper.”
Tyson, more a percussionist than poet in the ring, has nevertheless turned into an accomplished phrasemaker outside of it. His most famous words are, suitably, words of warning. On being told his opponent had a plan to defeat him, Tyson replied, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
It may be the most quoted sports phrase in business circles after the advice often attributed to hockey great Wayne Gretzky about skating to where the puck is going.
Tyson has turned his post-boxing phrasemaking into a career path that saw him nab a one-man show on Broadway (Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth), even if the reviews weren’t too kind. HBO released it too, which you can see here. There’s also a book.
Recently, Tyson has been posting videos that examine his mantras and the ways of thinking that help him keep going. Above is the latest, in which he tells fans that “fear is an illusion.”
Fans are loving it. As one writes: “You are a very wise and inspirational man to me Mike. You changed my life with what you have to say. You are my idol for life and fighting. Thank you Mike.”
