Boxing
legend Mike Tyson is keen to up his profile in China but is struggling to get
to grips with the country’s sardonic sense of humour, judging by his online
“weibo” debut.
The former
world heavyweight champion opened a verified account on the Twitter-like Sina
Weibo service on Monday, and asked in his second posting: “Who’s the best
fighter in China?”
A popular
response was “chengguan”, China’s widely despised enforcers of urban
regulations, who have a reputation for brutality.
But the
boxer, who retired in 2005 after a career noted for controversy inside and
outside the ring including a rape conviction, replied: “Who is Chengguan? A
tough man? I’ve never heard it.”
“Many guys
talking about cheng guan as a great fighter? still not a clue about him...” he
added later.
Tyson was
following celebrities including Brad Pitt and David Beckham on to Sina Weibo,
and had 75,000 followers by Tuesday afternoon.
Tyson’s
posts quickly became among the most reposted on Sina, with tens of thousands of
followers commenting on a potential fight.
“They will
be the ones biting your ear,” said one poster Tuesday, referring to the 1997
WBA heavyweight championship bout which was stopped after Tyson bit Evander
Holyfield.
“You fight
others in the ring legally in US Chengguan fight others in the street legally
in China,” said another sarcastic comment.
Excessive
zeal from chengguan enforcers regularly attracts media attention in China. Last
month Deng Zhengjia, a 56-year-old watermelon stallholder, died in an encounter
with them in the central province of Hunan.
Media
reports citing his wife said an officer smashed Deng’s head with a metal measuring
weight, although the county government denied the allegation.
Another
poster told Tyson: “If you really want to challenge our chengguan, just sell
your American hamburgers in our Chinese streets.”
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