During Mike‘s presentation earlier this month at the Television Critics Association press tour, executive producer Steven Rogers (I, Tonya) and showrunner Karin Gist both said they had no intention of portraying Tyson as either a hero or villain.

Tyson was known for his ferocious and intimidating boxing style as well as his controversial behavior inside and outside the ring, which he explained was inspired by Sonny Liston, a boxer who is widely regarded as the most intimidating man in the history of boxing. With a knockout-to-win percentage of 88%, he was ranked 16th on The Ring magazine’s list of 100 greatest punchers of all time, and first on ESPN’s list of “The Hardest Hitters in Heavyweight History”. Sky Sports described him as “perhaps the most ferocious fighter to step into a professional ring”. He has been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame.

In 1992, Tyson was convicted of rape and sentenced to six years in prison. He was released on parole after three years. After his release in 1995, he engaged in a series of comeback fights, regaining the WBA and WBC titles in 1996 to join Floyd Patterson, Muhammad Ali, Tim Witherspoon, Evander Holyfield and George Foreman as the only men in boxing history to have regained a heavyweight championship after losing it. After being stripped of the WBC title in the same year, Tyson lost the WBA title to Evander Holyfield by an eleventh round stoppage. Their 1997 rematch ended when Tyson was disqualified for biting Holyfield’s ears, one bite notoriously being strong enough to remove a portion of his right ear. In 2002, Tyson fought for the world heavyweight title, losing by knockout to Lennox Lewis.

Tyson resides in Seven Hills, Nevada. He has been married three times, and has seven children, one deceased, with three women; in addition to his biological children, Tyson includes his second wife’s oldest daughter as one of his own.

Warner Bros. asserted about 16 defenses. They acknowledged that the tattoos were similar but denied that theirs was a copy. They further argued that “tattoos on the skin are not copyrightable”. They reasoned that a human body is a useful article under 17 U.S.C. § 101 and thus not copyrightable. The question of a tattoo’s copyrightability had never been determined by the Supreme Court of the United States. Arguments in the alternative included that Tyson, by allowing them to use his likeness and not objecting to the plot device in The Hangover Part II, had given them an implied license, and that their use of the tattoo constituted fair use as parody because it juxtaposed Tyson as “the epitome of male aggression” with the “milquetoast” Price. Scholar David Nimmer, participating an expert witness for Warner Bros., argued that treating tattoos as copyrightable would violate the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution as a badge of slavery; Nimmer’s declaration was then excluded because it was a legal opinion.

Also, for a long time, the body of Mike painted a portrait of his ex-wife – pediatrician Monica Turner. The world first saw this tattoo on Tyson’s left forearm in 1995, when the boxer got out of prison, where he had been for three years on rape charges.

Tyson has stayed in the limelight by promoting various websites and companies. In the past Tyson had shunned endorsements, accusing other athletes of putting on a false front to obtain them. Tyson has held entertainment boxing shows at a casino in Las Vegas and started a tour of exhibition bouts to pay off his numerous debts.

“And that was our intention as well, to tell the story so that we’re talking about more than just the events in his life, but rather placing the story and giving it context in the world and at the time,” executive producer Karin Gist added. “We really wanted to make sure we were as broad as possible see in yahoo.com the research and the dramatization of the events of his life and we could make sure we were opening the doors to other conversations to be had around those things as well.”

Having based the series on “extensive research of factual accounts, interviews, footage of real-life events,” Rogers added that, as a writer and storyteller, he doesn’t like to rely on a single source. “I really like to do the research and get all these different opinions and then put a story around all of that. I don’t like to be beholden to just one person,” he said.

In addition to his athletic career, Ashe is remembered for his social activities. Arthur was a fighter for the rights of African Americans, which most likely caused Tyson to sympathize with him. Ashe also founded the Foundation for the Prevention of AIDS, which he was infected with, calling it “Days of Grace.” It is this inscription that sits above his portrait on Mike’s shoulder.

With all due respect to Mr. Tyson, it wasn’t exactly a great acting performance. He was basically being himself–which is a likable and funny guy. There was something funny about Tyson singing Phil Collins with Zach Galafinakas and then punching him; for a moment one wonders whether people are laughing with Tyson or at him. Yet certainly they are laughing with him because how could we not embrace Iron Mike as a more human and relatable guy?