Mike Tyson Meets Meg Ryan in Locker Room
Associated Press - January 30, 2003
LAS VEGAS - Mike Tyson was talking boxing, while Meg Ryan was nearby shooting pictures.
Tyson may be coming off his worst beating at the hands of Lennox Lewis, but Hollywood still recognizes a star - even one as faded as Tyson.
"Why are you taking my picture?" Tyson asked the actress Tuesday while sitting in a dressing room getting his hands wrapped.
Ryan explained that she recently shot a movie about boxing and "I just got into it."
Besides, she said, "Sometimes I take good pictures."
Ryan, 41, stars in the upcoming "Against the Ropes," a fictional story inspired by female boxing promoter Jackie Kallen and her struggle to survive and succeed.
Tyson, who fights Clifford Etienne in Memphis, Tenn., on Feb. 22 in his first fight since losing to Lewis, talked for the first time publicly about why he lost as he was getting ready for a sparring session.
"If he was that dominant he should have knocked me out in the second or third round," Tyson said of Lewis. "He was still scared. He took no risks."
Tyson had a solid first round in the June 8 heavyweight title fight, then fought the rest of the way before Lewis finally stopped him in the eighth round.
As usual with Tyson, the conversation drifted to things beyond boxing. It didn't help that Ryan was there with a camera shooting pictures.
"Hi Mike, I'm Meg," she said by way of introduction.
"I know who you are," he replied.
