Donald Trump appears in Mike Tyson's new Netflix documentary, Tyson, because of their long-standing friendship and Trump's pivotal role in one of the heavyweight champion's biggest fights.
The four-part series explores Tyson's life, covering "a brutal Brooklyn childhood and a meteoric rise to heavyweight glory to the addiction, jail time, public breakdowns, and infamous ear bite that almost ended it all". Netflix described it as an "intimate portrait of greatness, collapse, and a man still confronting the cost of his legacy", told "unfiltered in Tyson's own words" with never-before-seen material and rare access to his family, friends, and foes.
Trump's role in Tyson's 1988 Spinks fight
In the second episode, the documentary explains that in 1988 Tyson was to fight Michael Spinks, the undefeated champion for 12 years. Trump orchestrated the fight, which took place at the Atlantic City Convention Hall, near his own Trump Plaza, after reportedly paying $11 million to stage it. Tyson won, knocking out Spinks in 91 seconds.
Video footage of the fight announcement is played in the episode, with the announcement saying: "Naturally, a fight of this magnitude can only be brought together by guys like Donald Trump, who had the daring, the flair, and the cash to make it happen."
In a present-day interview, Trump said: "I paid a lot of money for that fight and it was worth it. He had the lens on him more than anybody in the world at the time. Only because he was winning."
Friendship and political appearances
Later in the episode, Trump gave his opinion on Tyson's fallout with boxing promoter and manager Bill Cayton, after Tyson asked Trump to be an advisor. Tyson sued Cayton in June 1988 to break his managerial contract. Trump said: "All I will say is if somebody is disloyal to you once, they will be disloyal to you again. So you can learn, the first time is a little bit tougher. But if you can find loyalty, those are the people you want."
Archive footage showed Trump declaring he was a "friend of the family". While their business relationship was short-lived, their friendship continued, with Tyson attending Trump's inaugural celebration in January 2025. Earlier in October, Tyson met Trump at the White House before accompanying him on a rally in New York.
Interviewed by Times Now, Trump said of his friendship with Tyson: "This is Iron Mike Tyson, I won't be fighting him today, but I have been his friend for a long time. We have been friends for a long time. Iron Mike, ain't nobody like him." The pair were then seen putting their arms around one another in support.
Trump had been in Syracuse to campaign for Bruce Blakeman, the Republican candidate for the state's gubernatorial election. Outkick Sports' Jackson Thompson reported Tyson as being the president's special guest for the day, with Tyson saying: "Thank you, thank you very much. I'm just happy to be up here with my president, President Trump. There's no way in the world I would ever be here if it wasn't for a president like Donald Trump."
