Recently news has surfaced on the net that the WBC plans to start promoting Muay Thai bouts, and are planning to use Mike Tyson as their figurehead. The parties involved:

• Record: 50 – 5, with 44 KOs
• DOB: 30th of June, 1966
• Former holder of the WBC, WBA, and IBF heavyweight titles

While all in all this is a impressive resume, there is a general agreement among boxing fans that Tyson’s career is pretty much over, in the last 4 years he has gone 2 – 2, with wins over Brian Nielsen and Clifford Eitenne, and losses to Lennox Lewis, and most recently, a knock out loss to Danny Williams. Recently articles have surfaced on the net claiming Tyson has showed a interest in learning, and fighting Thai Boxing. What gives even more credibility to these articles is that fact that Fairtex Gym is claiming that Tyson has expressed interest in training with them.

One of the worlds largest and most respected boxing sanctioning bodies, the WBC belts are currently held by champions like; Vitali Klitschko, Bernard Hopkins, Kostya Tszyu, Floyd Mayweather and Marco Antonio Barrera. Recently a article from 2002 has surfaced on the net, reporting that the WBC will be promoting Thai Boxing world wide in 17 different weight classes, with recognized champions etc. They have also been somewhat involved in the Thai Boxing scene in Thailand itself for some time. However, a prominent member of the WBC, Bob Arum, is currently under investigation by the FBI for bribery and match fixing. Also, they a reportedly near bankruptcy, despite being a non-profit organization. If the WBC intends to seriously promote Muay Thai, it is possible they intend to use Tyson as a marketing tool, by making him fight for and represent the organization.

There is no doubt Mike Tyson is one of the most well known and popular fighters in the world, even today. His bizarre behavior, highly publicized criminal convictions and brutal performances inside the ring have all helped capture the attention of the pretty much anyone who has a TV. My mother knows who Mike Tyson is, does she know who Peter Aerts, Ernesto Hoost, Andy Hug are? Of course not. What about Apidej Sit Hirun, Samart Payakaroon, Danny Bill, Ramon Dekkers or Jomhod Kiatadisak? Not a chance.

And there in lies the reason why Tyson is so sort after by K-1 and now apparently the WBC’s Muay Thai sanctioning body. Tyson isn’t famous, he’s infamous, he’s instantly recognizable as a man to be feared, and this world wide notoriety is what the WBC plan to use to promote their Muay Thai venture. They know as well as anyone else that Tyson will never be champ again, but he isn’t without his uses, and probably still has more power to draw the casual fans then any other active boxer.

Now, is this a good or bad thing? It has the potential to be either. Boxing, Kickboxing and Muay Thai all have the same problem, too many sanctioning bodies. This causes a dilution of talent, and gives the public misconceptions about the sport and quality of fighters, and each new body that pops up give the other sanctioning bodies that much less credibility.

Now, arguably the WBC will have more money and greater promotional power then any other organization currently involved in Muay Thai. They more have more commercial capability yes, but considering that they are in danger of going bankrupt, how much money will they be willing to sink into this venture?

Also, which fighters will they showcase, and how will they ease new comers into the sport? It’s generally agreed that Muay Thai’s most talented fighters are in the lower weights, and a lot of matches at this level are more akin to a chess match then a brawl, and a brawl will be what people are expecting to see in a event associated with Tyson. And who will Tyson even fight at Heavyweight? The last time I can remember seeing two top level heavyweights fight full Thai rules was Alexei Ignashov vs. Cyril Diabete, other then that most bouts are under K-1 or modified Thai rules.

And would Tyson fight at all? Despite all of the attention being given to this subject, Tyson hasn’t even begun training in Thai Boxing, let alone preparing for a fight. And the average fight purse in Thailand is no where near what Tyson could make if he continued to fight in boxing, whether he is a legit contender or not. In my opinion, his name will just be used as a promotional device, in much the same way K-1 paid for the right to use it that way.

I have to admit that I almost immediately dismissed this as nothing more then a rumor to generate publicity, as I suspect most people did, but then ChokeMuay.com, posted an interview where Songchai (basically the largest promoter in Thailand) where he said he would favor the WBC over the World Muay Thai council, who he is currently affiliated with.

While this situation does have the potential to get a lot of publicity for Muay Thai, and the WBC's new sanctioning body, I have serious doubts we will ever see the man fight. One can only hope that our sport will be positively promoted, and positively received on the world stage.

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