Chris is a writer specialising in football coverage with a keen interest in a multitude of sports. These include cycling, boxing, and tennis, although football is something that he has been involved in for many years as both a supporter and, more recently, a writer.
Over the years, Chris has provided written content for the food, tourism and events industries with his own website named Artisan Traveller that was operational pre-pandemic. Since 2024, he has worked with Shepshed Dynamo Football Club as a match reporter, covering almost every game of the 2024/5 season. This has included an exciting jump into post-match interviews, written programme articles, and live score updates on internet radio station Non-League Connect.
Iron Mike would go on to win the WBA heavyweight title against James ‘Bonecrusher’ Smith and then secure the IBF belt by defeating Tony Tucker to become undisputed champion at just 21 years of age.
The golden age of heavyweight boxing that Tyson competed in came with its fair share of heavy-hitters. He shared the ring with the best of them, including Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield, and Larry Holmes. A knockout streak of 19 in a row crowned the beginning of Iron Mike’s career as the Brooklyn-born fighter would storm his way into the record books and take over the heavyweight scene before a shock knockout defeat at the hands of James ‘Buster’ Douglas in Tokyo.
In an interview with CNN, Tyson reflected on his past opponents and recalled the power in Ruddock’s gloves, stating: “Yes, Ray Ruddock … You’re talking about when you were like whoa. When you get hit, it doesn’t hurt anymore. It’s just numb. You just hear the bell ringing — bong.”
Tyson made a brief return to the ring in November last year, facing YouTuber Jake Paul in an exhibition bout at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Paul defeated Tyson by unanimous decision after a contest lasting eight rounds. Iron Mike’s time in the boxing ring is not quite at an end either, as he will step through the ropes once again in spring 2026 to face Floyd Mayweather Jr in another exhibition match with a venue yet to be confirmed.
The days of facing opponents with the power of Donovan Ruddock are thankfully gone for Tyson as he enjoys semi-retirement from the fight game while focusing on his business Carma HoldCo, specialising in cannabis products and advocating for legalisation of marijuana. The lure of the glitz and glamour surrounding the big nights remains irresistible still for the former champion, as boxing hasn’t quite seen the end of Iron Mike Tyson just yet.
Muhammad Ali would have been “entertained” by the “circus” that some boxing bouts have become, according to his grandson. While many would assume that the greatest of all time would be furious at mega-money fights between some of the sport’s finest athletes and social media influencers, Biaggio Ali Walsh sees things differently.
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Sitting down in an exclusive interview with Mirror Fighting this week, Walsh said that his late grandfather was amazed by the amounts of money the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr were making for fights in the 2000s, with Ali’s paydays in the 1960s and 1970s paling in comparison.
The 26-year-old explained: “You know, years ago when he was still alive, we were telling him how much Floyd was getting paid for his fights because Floyd was making a lot of money. He was making over 100million for his fights.
“And my grandpa was sitting in the chair. He’s like, ‘No, no, no.’ ‘Oh, yeah. Yeah, bro. He’s making 100million.’ And he’s like, ‘No, no way.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, dude, that’s where boxing is now.'”
And while many purists were disgusted at the prospect of Mike Tyson coming out of retirement in 2024 to take on YouTuber-turned-pugilist Jake Paul – given the 30-year age-gap between the two and the fact that ‘Iron Mike’ hadn’t competed professionally for almost two decades – Walsh believes that his grandfather would have been all for the contest.
He added: “In terms of the circus fights, that’s what I like to call them – it’s money orientated. It’s not like it’s not based on talent anymore, really. It’s based on, you know, just the biggest name versus the biggest name, regardless of your skill level.
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“But to make of that… I honestly don’t think he would disapprove of it, because the viewership in the eyes and people buying to watch the fight was the reason he even started trash-talking and brought out his personality anyway. Yeah, so in a way, I feel like he’d be supportive of it.
“You know, if you can fool millions of people to watch you fight, then you’re doing something right, right? So I feel like he wouldn’t disapprove of it.
“I feel like he would…it would be entertaining for him to see what’s next, like, who’s the next big name versus the next big name, you know? So I don’t think he would disapprove of it. In fact, I think he would be entertained by it.”
It came as very little surprise that Tyson suffered a unanimous decision loss to Paul when the two met at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, as fight fans watched live worldwide on Netflix. The 28-year-old picked apart the former heavyweight world champion at leisure for eight rounds to bolster his professional record in the squared circle to 11-1, largely thanks to his advantage in terms of speed and stamina.
Tyson also saw a wealth of criticism for entertaining such a fight with Paul in the first place, given that purists have been massively opposed to the impact that social media stars have had on the sport – with fighters participating in payday events instead of seeking tougher opposition to win world titles like boxers of decades past.
Ali will go down in the history books as one of the greatest fighters to ever step foot in the ring. A three-time lineal heavyweight champion, Ali beat a who’s who of opponents to build a stunning record of 56-5, with wins over the likes of George Foreman, Leon Spinks and Buster Mathis – not to mention his trilogy with Joe Frazier, which culminated in the 1975 Thrilla in Manila.
While Ali passed away at the age of 74 in 2016, Walsh appears to be following in his grandfather’s footsteps by carving out his own career in the world of combat sports, currently riding a flawless 2-0 record in mixed martial arts with the Professional Fighters League. The lightweight, who trains out of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, Nevada, secured a unanimous decision win over Emmanuel Palacio in his debut with the organisation last February, before doubling down with a first-round TKO of Brian Stapleton just six months later.
He is next set to compete with the PFL come June 27, taking on Ronnie Gibbs at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois. Speaking about his opponent for the evening, Walsh remained humble as he said: “And my opponent, Ronnie, he’s from Chicago.
“I think he had a pretty good amateur career. He was, I think, 7-1. He’s 1-0 as a pro now. Seems like a striker, but can grapple too. Just seems like a good matchup for this fight.
“I’m just super excited to be able to display all the stuff that I’ve improved on and all the things I’ve worked on since my last fight. And that’s just what I’m most excited about, is being able to show the people that.”