Mike Tyson says he carries the guilt of asking slain rapper Tupac Shakur to travel to Las Vegas to watch the fight that ultimately ended in his death.
Tyson battered Bruce Seldon on September 7, 1996, at the MGM Grand in Nevada. Shakur was ringside at the request of the heavyweight legend, witnessing a 109-second demolition.
As “The Baddest Man on the Planet” revealed, Shakur was due to party with Tyson after the bout. “Iron Mike” says he pulled out at the last minute before Shakur was shot and killed.
The former undisputed champion now regrets not meeting up with the icon in what he believes could have made a difference to the outcome.
Mike Tyson didn’t meet up with Tupac
“I feel a little guilty about him coming to the fight and me pressuring him,” Tyson told DJ Vlad. “But I was supposed to go out with him that night.
“I promised to go to the 662 with him that night. I just had a little baby, and her mother was provoking me to stay home, so I stayed home.”
On processing the events in his mind after Tupac died days later from the hail of bullets into his car, Tyson added: “I know who I am.
“I know what my element’s about. This is just what happens in my world. That was part of my world. It was different just because it was Tupac, and I was attached to it.”
The admission from Tyson comes after Floyd Mayweather was forced to deny he witnessed the drive-by shooting from his then-home on the strip.
Floyd Mayweather denial
Reports stemmed from a documentary where Mayweather spoke to film director John Singleton about being in the vicinity of the incident.
“The car pulled up and shot Tupac. The car pulled right here and shot Tupac at this light. Then the car went that way. I was living right here in 1996 when Tupac got killed,” said Mayweather to Singleton in the video.
“Right here – I ain’t never told anybody. Only the close people with me know,” he added.
Mayweather then took to social media to deny the misconstrued headlines that followed.
“In 1996, when Tupac Shakur was killed, I lived in the Meridian Apartments located on Flamingo and Koval Ln., which just so happens to be the area where Tupac was shot,” stated Mayweather.
“I have never said I witnessed the shooting. All of these false accusations stem from sharing the location of the shooting with John Singleton due to my familiarity with the area since I lived there.
“This does not mean I witnessed Tupac’s shooting. John Singleton was making a documentary or movie about Tupac. He reached out to me asking where Flamingo and Koval Ln were located.
“John was my friend. So, I showed him this location without hesitation. The location of Tupac’s shooting is public knowledge. My living near there was just a coincidence. I did not witness Tupac Shakur’s death.” he confirmed.
