Jamie Foxx is taking over Hollywood, faster than you can say Callator…Colattar…Colet… Tom Cruise, and alongside his fifteen other movies in production right now there’s talk of him bringing the story of Mike Tyson to the big screen. In USA Today through JoBlo:
…Jamie Foxx let slip he’s interested in starring in another biopic: about disgraced, ear-chomping boxing champ Mike Tyson. He’s already having his team look into acquiring the rights to Tyson’s story.
Mmmm…Personally I couldn’t give a rat’s arse about a story of a thug and self disgraced character as Tyson unless it’s a factual portrayal as a warning to all who can’t conduct themselves with any form of dignity or humanity in the company of other human beings. However, I am willing to concede that there are others out there who would be interested in such a tale, not me though, bring on the story of Lennox Lewis that’s what I say.
Okay, seriously for a moment, is there an appetite out there for such a tale? Is there a desire to revisit the sad and clearly pathetic story of Tyson’s downward spiral?
Just some thoughts:I met Mike Tyson when he was about 14 in Colorado Springs at the USA Boxing Nationals. He was good, hungry and not an angry individual at that particular time. I believe he was somewhat a decent kid because of Cus D’Amato who also helped Floyd Patterson. Unfortunetely, Tyson was fast-forwarded in both psychology and physicality and those factors became the priori. It is pretty well known that he did steroids and never realized that he would be a candidate for anger management. Just check with some of the boys that used to hang at Johnny Tocco’s Gym. The result over years was the making of a monster and that is a pity.
On the other hand, little has been said of Cliff ‘Magic’ Thomas, a skinny, frail youth who was born with a congenital defect of the heart, having a hole in it the size of a silver dollar. Given a prognosis of only 12-14 years to live after an operation at age six at Ft. Bliss, Texas. life was extremely difficult for the kid and he was teased and picked on by other teens.
At the time he should have died, Cliff decided to try something: he took up karate and kickboxing to help defend himself and play the odds with life and death. The rest of this miraculous story is stunning history. Cliff, naturally given the monniker, “Magic” (also because he resembled Gayle Sayers), would shock the PKA, ISKA and KICK kickboxing world by storming to seven world championships in five weight divisions. He would hold titles from 1980 to 2002. He was the first PKA kickboxer to win two titles, three titles, four titles and five titles. He was the first kickboxer to win two different belts at the same time when he dethroned the great welterweight champion, Tommy Williams , in a racially tense environment. And if you missed his dominating defeat of and knockout of the amazing Paul Vizzio on NBC Sporstworld back on Kuly 24 , 1981, you really misssed a treat and one of the most magnificent performances ever in the kickboxing world.
Vizzio, also a world champion many times over, had just just turned the martial arts world upside down when he quickly knocked out the great Chinese invader of the Seven Animal Systems, Lee Man Chin, who tried to woo Muhammed Ali into the ring and any other boxer in the world. There were no takers except the stout and short Vizzio at 140 pounds. And vizzio made quick work of Chin, charging from his corner and surprising a cold warrior with a flurry that sent him down and stopped.
Cliff went into Vizzio’s backyard and not only put him down for the first time in his illustrious career but dumped him four more times and finally broke his jaw in the ninth round. Bill ‘Superfoot’ Wallace was the color for NBC and radio and ESPN were there too.
More amazingly, Cliff’s karate trainer, Blackbelt Hall Of Famer, Demetrius Havanas, Cliff’s genius 17 year old manager, Tony Sandoval, cutman and pilot , D.H. Price and lovely Karen Ruffin, all went down in a plane crash the night before over Tennessee in a raging storm. Bill Wallace talked Cliff into continuing the fight that he had been prepared to do.
Cliff would win over 70 fights in his career , lost a few decisions, mostly controversial decisions, and was never knocked down though he fought only champions and contenders once he dethroned the undefeated Gordon Franks for his first title back in 1980 as a 20-1 underdo…KO’d the undefeated Franks in the 3rd.
Unlike Tyson, The “Magic Man” never dud any kind of drugs, never got into trouble with the law, never was a drinker, never was an abuser, and never got his just dues in the media and possibly in the movies. His story is true and far foreshadows that of Millionaire Baby or Raging Bull.
Cliff is a role model deluxe and he just retired his last belt at age 48. He also has to care for a retarded daughter and has given up good jobs and speaking engagements to be by her side whenever possible when he is not on the road in his 18 wheeler. That’s right: the “Magic Man” still has to work his butt off for a living. It was a shame that the purses were too low in his days. Not only that, even though he was champion, his opponents were paid twice or more times than what Thomas received.
The book about Thomas is called “The Black Knight of Kickboxing” Cliff ‘Magic” Thomas in “Magic, Magic, Magic.” Cliff’s website is cliffmagicthomas.com or e-mail him at [email protected]. And if anyone can get the word to Jaime Foxx , a Cliff look-a-like, ask him to check this story out. He might do what Million dollar Baby did but have more facts and truth.
Tom McKay
cliff’s coach and confidant
[email protected]
If anyone saw Mike Tyson’s Beyond the Glory documentary on FOX, the 2hour special, then Tyson fan or not, you will defintely want to see a movie on his crazy, intersting ass!
You’re right I haven’t, but I never claimed that at all. The truth is that he was convicted of these things, that makes him 100% guilty, nothing to do with press, it’s 100% true. Then you look at the television footage of him resorting to biting off an ear in a fight, and the recent string of complete defeats.
Sure I’ve not been a heavyweight champion who is a convicted rapist, bit someone’s ear off in a fight and threw my career away.
Lewis achieved as much, but then didn’t stoop so low, as other famous fighters did.
“Nope, fraid I haven’t been convicted of brutally raping a woman, or biting peoples ears off and beating people up for no reason.”
Richard, I think you’ve never been the youngest undisputed world heavyweight Champion neither you’ve unified the WBA, WBC and IBF World. what’s your greatest acomplishment?
Think about it before u spend your time blaming someone, trusting and agreeing with whatever journalists may tell about him, you and the like will never remove it from him.
personally i think mike tyson is one of the most interesting people around. much more so than lennox lewis. To make a movie about a man who who in less than six years went from having nothing and being nothing to become one of the greatest fucking fighters of all time.I think that’s no more or no less interesting than a movie about Muhammed Ali!!!!.
Or would think about wanting to do it either.
Nope, fraid I haven’t been convicted of brutally raping a woman, or biting peoples ears off and beating people up for no reason.
I am a huge Iron Mike fan. So what if he has done some pretty crazy stuff in the past. I bet if you sit down and really think about it you have probably done some pretty crazy stuff too. Honestly you can’t judge a man unless you have walked in his shoes. And I doubt any low life non tyson fan has ever done that. By far he and Ali will never be touched when it comes to ring performance. Point blank period.
Aha, and my point is proven. Thanks Tyson.
Hey this is mike and i am gonna find all of you and bit your heads off!! Stop fucking with me. My movie will make millions and i will then do the same things ive always done but this time even worse you clown ass cock lovers with no bettr thing to do then dog on me. I hopw you rot in hell and that your houses go up into a blazing inferno and all your children and family members die you worthless nobodies. I AM THE CHAMPION!!!!
Despite your eloquence on the subject, I can’t agree with you. Let me address some of your points.
On the subject of his tough past life, well there are hundreds upon thousands of people who have similar and worse experiences, and they aren’t behaving as this man does. He had a choice, commmit the crime, behave the way he did, etc., but he chose to do these things no matter his past.
“when load of pricks like yourselves” – There was only myself that wrote the story.
“write a load of bullshit about him” – The story is true. He is convicted of these crimes.
“try and put him down even more” – He’s done a good job of that already. I’m merely repeating what has been proven or already shown.
“show knobheads like you lot how bad things were for him and how hard he worked to get where he did!” – No idea if I do fit the criteria to be a ‘knobhead’. However, yes, a movie might show this, but would it also show how he raped a woman, abused his power, treated people like animals and bit someones ear off? I should hope so.
“you can all go fuck yourselves” – Not physically possible. Especially since I’ve done too much weight training and am very inflexible nowadays.
“you are a bunch of pathetic low life assholes with no life!” – I would be interested to see your rationale for claiming I am a low life, also for why you think I have no life. I’m not the one verbally abusing people whom I know nothing about for having an opinion and enought motiviation to go and find a platform on which to speak it.
Mike Tyson is the greatest boxer there ever has been and will be. He had a deprived childhood causing his mental problems (manic depression) which is one factor causing his anger. Another is when load of pricks like yourselves write a load of bullshit about him to try and put him down even more. A movie portraying his life would show knobheads like you lot how bad things were for him and how hard he worked to get where he did! So you can all go fuck yourselves as you are a bunch of pathetic low life assholes with no life!
ok cool, I was just throwing something out there to see if you would bite. I’m just saying your Defintion of scum, better have some objectivity to it or you are sending mixed messages. Ok, you never seen the John Gotti movie, that’s cool. I applaud.
So let’s break it down. If you think a person is scum, that probably means that you won’t see the movie right? Now if your defintion of scum only deals with certain people and doesn’t have an overall median then there is problem. Because you have listed certain facts which correlates with scum, then their are a lot of Bio’s which you shouldn’t watch.
Ray charles can be considered scum. He used and abused women and cheated on his wife, did drugs,and cheated his manager. Those are pretty scummy things. But since he made good music that is overlooked.
I on the otherhand prefer to watch any movie thats good, whether scum or not. I will the sadam hussein movie when it comes out, and the fidel movie, and the scott peterson movie. How about you will you be watching those too?
“There were a lot of people who did scummy things too and you sat up and watched their movie.”
There you go again, making assumptions about me.
“But there are whites who are scum”
…and once again making it about race when no one else did.
“but for some reasons the undertones just oozes out of you.”
I have no idea where you get that from. I think you are inferring it rather than me implying it. Again, it has nothing to do with race, sure I think thare are loads of people of multiple races who are just as much in the same class of scum and lower.
Once again, as in the other post, you’re making this out to be some black-white issue when it’s not.
Thankfully you get back to movies though. I’ve never seen the John Gotti movie.
Hey, we’re not about reviewing facts and presenting news, we’re the home of “correct movie opinion”.
My opinion is that Tyson is a convicted rapist and scum. He’s also a pathetic man, a former shell of the thug he was. I wouldn’t be interested in watching the movie for those reasons. So no one else agrees, great, we get some lively debate!
That’s why he was beaten and repeatedly so?
REGARDLESS WHAT ANY IDIOTS GOT TO SAY ABOUT MIKE TYSON.HE IS THE YOUNGEST WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION AND BEST FIGHTER YOU’LL EVER SEE.
Author Tom McKay lives in El Paso at 10255 Saigon 79925.
Cliff thomas would be a perfect fit. A new book just hit the market about him. Magic, Magic, Magic,”
Is it just me or is there a little tension between Jamie Foxx and Will Smith. They competed as struggling comedians, great actors with their own sitcomes. Will, however got the upper hand in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air over Foxx’s The Jamie Foxx show.
Now Jamie is trying to outplay Smith’s “Ali” with his own Mike Tyson biopic.
This is kind of stupid because up until “Ray” I felt that Will was a far better actor than Foxx. Now I am having doubts.
The Lennox Lewis story would be as boring as hell!! Born England, raised in Canada, trained hard all his life, never married, never drank, never took drugs, never beat anyone up (except in a ring), still lives with Mummy and bored his way to the World Championships (whilst getting beating along the way by two of the worst boxers in history!). They’d have to pay me to watch that!
I personally think a bio on Tyson, would be facinating, as long as it is true to life and does not “soften” Tyson up. One of the greatest bio’s of all time was Raging Bull, and you don’t get a much nastier person than Jake La Motta! Now that film was done, “warts and all”. It showed La Motta in his true light. Thats how every bio should be done and certainly what a Tyson story needs. He may be an animal, he may be a disgrace to boxing and even a disgrace to the human race. But thats what makes him interesting and what will make this film happen.
i think alot of people would love to see a tyson portrayal. although i really dont like jaimee fox, he is a great imitator. did anyone see the a&e biography of mike, wow! it was incredible, this guys story is crazy. i think it would be very entertaining.
first off I have to question the judgement of anyone who would prefer to see anything , even remotely related to lennox lewis. I wouldnt pay to see Lennox stuffed in a bag and shipped back to merry ole England,,,or whererever the hell he came from.
I would love to see Jamie’s portrayl of the second greatest heavyweight champ of the world. Second to only Ali!!! Mike Tysons life, story and his accomplishments,,no matter how his personal life has transpired is still a story worth being told.
huff.