Listen as Mike Tyson, the baddest man on the planet, pours his soul into conversations with fascinating minds, celebrities and athletes in a studio full of smoke. Starring in his first podcast series entitled Hotboxin’ w/ Mike Tyson, Kid Dynamite dives deep into the issues impacting us all today. This show will change the way you see the world.
An American boxer who, at age 20, became the youngest heavyweight champion in history of boxing. Mike Tyson was a member of various street gangs at an early age, he was sent to reform school in upstate New York in 1978. At the reform school, social worker and boxing aficionado Bobby Stewart recognized his boxing potential and directed him to renowned trainer Cus D’Amato, who became his legal guardian. Tyson compiled a 24–3 record as an amateur and turned professional in 1985. D’Amato taught Tyson a peekaboo boxing style, with hands held close to his cheeks and a continuous bobbing motion in the boxing ring that made his defense almost impenetrable. At 5 feet 11 inches (1.8 metres) tall and weighing about 218 pounds (99 kg), Tyson was short and squat and lacked the classic heavyweight boxer’s appearance, but his surprising quickness and aggressiveness in the ring overwhelmed most of his opponents. On November 22, 1986, he became the youngest heavyweight champion in history, with a second-round knockout of Trevor Berbick, to claim the crown of the World Boxing Council (WBC). On March 7, 1987, he acquired the World Boxing Association (WBA) belt when he defeated James Smith. After he defeated Tony Tucker on August 1, 1987, Tyson was unanimously recognized as champion by all three sanctioning organizations (WBC, WBA, and International Boxing Federation [IBF]). After the deaths of D’Amato and manager Jimmy Jacobs, Tyson aligned with controversial promoter Don King. He made 10 successful defenses of his world heavyweight title, including victories over former champions Larry Holmes and Michael Spinks. Following his release from prison in 1995, Tyson resumed boxing and in 1996 regained two of his championship belts with easy victories over Frank Bruno and Bruce Seldon. Tyson had his final professional win in 2003, a 49-second first-round knockout. Later that year he filed for bankruptcy, claiming to be $34 million in debt after earning an estimated $400 million over the course of his career. Tyson’s personal and professional exploits were recounted in the documentary Tyson, which premiered at the Cannes film festival in 2008, and in a one-man stage show, Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth, which he first performed in Las Vegas in 2012. He also appeared as himself in a number of television shows and films, including the blockbuster comedy The Hangover (2009) and its sequel (2011), as well as the animated television show Mike Tyson Mysteries (2014–20), a spoof on the various Scooby Doo cartoon series. His memoirs Undisputed Truth (2013) and Iron Ambition: My Life with Cus D’Amato (2017) were written with Larry Sloman. Tyson was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011.
In the week’s episode, legendary comedian and actor Cedric The Entertainer stops by to discuss coming up in the industry, what he thinks of the comedy scene today, and to share some hilarious stories from back in the day.
His most recent HBO Comedy Special was Cedric The Entertainer: Taking You Higher. Two of the background dancers from the special were Kamilah Barrett and Sandra Colton, who were also finalists in Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance. He also recorded comedic interludes on two multi-platinum selling albums, Nelly’s Country Grammar (2000) and Jay-Z’s Black Album (2003).
In the 2007 comedy film Code Name: The Cleaner, Cedric plays Jake, a janitor with amnesia who may be a secret undercover government agent involved in an illegal arms conspiracy. He then starred in the 2008 films Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins and Street Kings.
Cedric at the June 2008 premiere of Get Smart
Cedric appeared as the lead comedian at the White House Correspondents Dinner but jokingly remarked that he was unprepared because he thought that he would follow a humorous speech by President George W. Bush but instead followed First Lady Laura Bush, who said he was “hilarious” and “probably the funniest person” she had ever met.
Cedric was inducted to the St. Louis Walk of Fame on June 7, 2008. His star is at 6166 Delmar.
Cedric was the special guest host for WWE Raw on September 21, 2009, in Little Rock, Arkansas. During the show, he participated in a wrestling match, defeating Chavo Guerrero by pinfall. The match also featured Santino Marella as a guest referee. Cedric also got help from an unknown wrestler dubbed The Sledge Hammer (played by Imani Lee) and Hornswoggle.
In March 2010, Cedric made his directorial debut with Dance Fu, produced and funded independently by his company Bird and a Bear Entertainment with producer Eric C. Rhone. The film starred comedian Kel Mitchell. Cedric made a cameo appearance in the film as a Homicide detective. It was released straight-to-DVD on October 4, 2011.
Cedric appeared in the Broadway revival of David Mamet’s “American Buffalo,” the story of three small-time crooks who come to blows during a plot to steal a valuable coin collection.
In a June 21, 2011 interview, Cedric confirmed that his latest reality game show, It’s Worth What?, was going to air on July 12, 2011 on NBC, but the start date was delayed by one week to July 19. Starting in 2012, Cedric played the main character in the TV Land original series, The Soul Man, featuring Niecy Nash. The series ran for five seasons and ended in 2016. Cedric was the host of the classic American TV show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire beginning with its 12th season in national syndication, which premiered on September 2, 2013. “With his deep roots as a legendary stand-up comedian and actor, Cedric will bring his fresh approach and unpredictable fun to the show,” said Janice Marinelli, president, Disney-ABC Domestic Television. On April 30, 2014, Cedric announced that he was leaving Who Wants to Be a Millionaire after the 2013–14 season to focus on his busy schedule. Terry Crews took over as host on September 8, 2014.
