The mediatic fight ofPaul vs. Tysonstreamed on Netflix on November 15 marked Tyson’s return after 4 years out of the ring and his first official fight in 19 years. Although after a proficient start, the years took their toll on the former champion losing steam over the YouTuber Jake Paul, who is still in his prime, one of the most notable things during the match that many viewers couldn’t help but wonder about iswhy Mike Tyson was biting his thumbs during a great portion of the fight.
Despite Mike Tyson revealing the reason behind this habit of his in an after-match interview, classic anime lovers may knowthis strange quirk of the former world heavyweight champion was already explained more than two decades agoin thelegendary sports animeHajime no Ippo, also known asFighting Spirit.
Why Mike Tyson Bit His Gloves Was Explained inHajime No Ippo
Ippo Trained Using the Same Technique as Iron Tyson
It was shared byThe Independentthatwhen Mike Tyson was questioned about his curious quirk after the fight against Jake Paul, he jokingly dismissed it as nothing important, claiming it was just a habit of his.
Oh, I have a habit of biting my gloves, yeah. I have a biting fixation. - Mike Tyson
However,in episode 12 ofHajime no Ippo,it’s revealed that biting the thumbs is a way of training to keep the mouthguard tightwith the fists on the chin to improve defense, and it’s the classic style that coach Cus D’Amato taught to Mike Tyson. In the anime, Ippo is biting his gloves during training, and the sports journalist Fujii recognizes it’s the same Peek-a-boo style used by Mike Tyson. In this style, which is not easy to master, the boxer places the gloves on the chin and watches the opponent, and as he keeps his defense up, he is able to advance when fighting.
During the Tyson-Paul fight, Mike Tyson instinctively bit his thumbs to firmly maintain the Peek-a-boo style, which was a good strategy taken by the experienced boxer, as Jake Paul has a larger reach because of their height difference, and this technique helps shorten the distance while covering the majority of the vital spots. Yet it still demands a proficiency of stamina, which might explain why Tyson’s fatigue caused his offensive output to drop after the mid-rounds and why he wasn’t able to pick up his pace again. Still, this style helped the boxer to hold on to crucial moments and last the entire 8 rounds of the fight.
Mike Tyson Was Ippo’s Inspiration To Become a Boxer
Some of Mike Tyson’s References Were Excluded inHajime No Ippo’s Anime
Mike Tyson is a controversial boxer, but he also became one of the most influential figures of the sport worldwide after achieving the title of the youngest world heavyweight champion in 1986, even serving as a model for theStreet Fightercharacter Balrog. Because of this, as Hajime no Ippo started just 3 years later,Tyson’s story about overcoming struggle after being bullied as a kid was the biggest inspiration to the manga artist Jyoji Morikawato create Ippo Makunouchi’s character.
One Classic Anime That Inspired Creed Is Still Worth Your Time
The story of a bullied high schooler who turns to learn boxing has inspired countless people, like the director/star of Creed III, Michael B. Jordan.
Even though it was excluded from the anime adaptation, probably to avoid legal issues, inHajime no Ippochapter 1, after Ippo is saved by the professional boxer Mamoru Takamura from bullies, he tells him a story of Mike Tyson’s past and how he became a champion to motivate him. Also,Takamura lends Ippo some videos of Tyson’s best knockouts.
This was what sparked in Ippo the desire to become a professional boxerlike Takamura with the objective of becoming strong just like Tyson did and knowing the feeling of being a new version of himself. The numerous references to Mike Tyson inHajime no Ipponot only explain one of the habits of the boxer but also show how he is an icon in and outside the ring, having inspired one of thebest boxing animes of all time.
