Hundreds of boxing fans and celebrity watchers crammed into The Rustic restaurant/music hall in Dallas’ Uptown neighborhood Thursday to snap a few shots of “Iron” Mike Tyson.
The
former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, at 48 is now a boxing
promoter. He held a news conference at The Rustic in advance of a card
scheduled for tonight at Mesquite’s Resistol Arena.
It’s
a credible card for fight fans, according to our
Barry Horn, and will feature a 122-pound world championship bout between
boxers from Panama and the Dominican Republic and includes up-and-coming Dallas
middleweight Charles Hatley and local featherweight draw Robert Marroquin.
It’s
called the “Big Texas Throwdown hosted by Mike Tyson.”
Perched
on the outdoor stage at the Rustic, Tyson was asked if he’s going to be the
next Don King, a reference to the neatly coiffed boxing promoter.
“I
don’t know about the next Don King,” Tyson chuckled. “If this turns out good,
I’ll be back again.”
Meanwhile,
the owners of the Rustic — Kyle Noonan and Joshua Sepkowitz — seemed a bit
amazed at the crowd. Not that the venue, which can host 2,500 for a concert,
hasn’t seen king-sized crowds before.
It’s
just that this group was largely gawking, with a lot less eating and drinking.
“It’s
real easy to get side tracked by this, and who we get to meet, where a crowd
has come in to look and leave,” said Noonan as he and Sepkowitz queued up for a
photo with the legendary box. “The school teacher that’s coming in after work
is just as important as the celebrity.”
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