SYDNEY, 2 March 2005 — Former heavyweight champion and convicted rapist Mike Tyson has signed on to train full time with Australian great Jeff Fenech and could try to relaunch his career Down Under, Fenech said yesterday.
Speaking on Channel Nine television from Los Angeles, Fenech said the 38-year-old Tyson asked him to help revive his boxing career after the two trained together for five days on the US West Coast.
“I’m a great friend of Mike Tyson, and it will be a pleasure to try to get him back on track,” said Fenech, once considered one of the world’s toughest boxers, who retired in 1996 after a career that saw him win titles in three weight divisions. Fenech said he wanted to bring Tyson to Australia in hope of reinventing his battered public image and his professional career.
“I think that would be the best thing for him just to get away from everything here in America,” he said. “Mike’s a changed man, he wants to do the right thing,” he said.
“I think it will be great for Australian boxing, it will be great for Australia, for people to meet him... I’d love for Australia to see the real Mike Tyson. The real Mike Tyson is a gentleman.”
