Mike Tyson says he watched tennis over boxing during the Olympics

Mike Tyson says he watched tennis over boxing during the Olympics

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

Now that he’s a full-time father, Mike Tyson doesn’t spend much time watching boxing. He’s much more focused on the tennis careers of his two kids, seven-year-old Milan and five-year-old Rocco. 

In fact, during the recent Olympics, Tyson didn’t bother to watch boxing. He was absorbed by tennis, he told Sports Illustrated’s Jon Wertheim for an interview in this week’s magazine.

SI: So Olympic boxing is going on now. You’re not watching?

MT: I know there’s one tennis player, a Puerto Rican girl, the first Puerto Rican to win the gold medal.

SI: Monica Puig.

MT: Yeah. My wife and my mother, they’re crying. My daughter got us into this stuff.

SI: I just want to be clear. Mike Tyson doesn’t watch Olympic boxing, but he knows all about Monica Puig?

MT: Yeah. She beat No. 2, German player.... Yeah. That’s my life now. I’m a tennis parent.

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While Milan has been playing for a while, Tyson said Rocco is only just getting into the game. 

“Rocco started hitting the tennis ball yesterday,” he said. “First time last night; he was hitting for like 30 minutes. We were so excited.”

Tyson also describes himself as a "tennis parent."  

Read the full interview with Tyson here.

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