Mike Tyson Receives Invitation From Heavyweight Samuel Peter

Undefeated Nigerian heavyweight Samuel Peter, who defends his NABF and USBA titles against once-beaten NABA titleholder Taurus Sykes on Saturday, July 2, on SHOWTIME (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) in Reno, Nev., would like to extend an invitation to recently retired Mike Tyson to accompany him on a humanitarian mission to Africa.

“It would be an honor for me to bring one of the greatest champions in history to Africa where I know we could raise people's awareness of the many problems of the area, Peter said.

Peter, who says he has always had tremendous respect for “Iron” Mike, was impressed to hear the former champion reveal his goal of doing missionary work in his post-boxing life. “Mike Tyson is like a God to people in my country and all over the continent. For him to go there and meet the people would be a dream for everyone.”

“People all over the world still love Mike Tyson,” added Peter's promoter, Dino Duva. “For the hardest-punching heavyweight of the past 20 years to accompany boxing's new knockout king to a region so desperately in need of assistance would be a tremendous help. Just having them there would lift a lot of spirits and bring much-needed attention to a continent that has been devastated by war, famine, and aids.”

Duva says that Peter is serious about the idea and is hoping Tyson will agree. “Sam has always been a huge fan of Mike's and when he announced he was retiring to do humanitarian work, Sam called me right away to see what I thought of the trip. I think it's a great idea and I think they could do a lot of good. We're hoping Mike will call us and make it happen.  This is not about  fighting in the ring; its about fighting together for good things outside the ring.”