Fast-forward to 2019, 28 years after Balrog’s debut, when a retired Mike Tyson sat down for an interview with ESPN. After a chilled session playing Mario Kart 8 — an absolute must-watch in itself — presenter Arda Ocal decided to ask Tyson if he was aware of the story of Street Fighter II and M Bison. “No, I have no idea,” Tyson responded to Ocal, before the presenter whipped out photos of Balrog from Street Fighter II.
Unsurprisingly, Tyson was left stunned at what he had seen. “Holy moly,” he said, before adding: “Does he look like me?” Ocal then went on to explain the name change for Balrog when Street Fighter II was localised for its western release.
Tyson claimed that he had never seen the character — or at least Balrog’s sprite from Street Fighter II — at that time, despite the game’s immense popularity since it was released. When asked if he had seen the character before, Tyson replied: “Never in a million years.” Tyson, on the other hand, candidly admitted that he was “honoured” with Capcom’s homage to him with Balrog. “I’m really honoured with that impersonation of me,” he added.
There were some boxing fans who were surprised to learn of the resemblance between Tyson and Balrog and of the name change from the Japanese release of Street Fighter II.
One fan said: “I’m in shock that Tyson wasn’t aware of Balrog or the name incident with him! After all these years, I assumed he knew from the start! It’s cool to see his live reaction and that he is perfectly fine with it!” Someone else added: “Dude, I’ve played Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat for over 20 years and I didn’t know this. This is crazy!” A third posted: “He actually says he is honoured that he is immortalised in a video game, which is a good thing because [the] next generation will look up Mike Tyson knowing Balrog is based on a real-life person.” While another wrote: “I [have] been wanting to see Mike Tyson himself react to Balrog for years […].” And a fifth commented: “Imagine, Mike just learnt that we have always played using Balrog with the essence of Mike Tyson for nearly three decades!”
Here’s @MikeTyson seeing Balrog from Street Fighter II for the first time 🤣
(via @Arda | @ESPN_Esports) pic.twitter.com/CGRFvyK6Rj
— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) May 23, 2020