Mike Tyson recalls prison visit from Tupac Shakur and meeting him before fame

Mike Tyson was visited by rap legend Tupac Shakur in prison while he was locked up following his 1992 rape conviction.

Tyson spoke about his relationship with the rap legend on his show Hot Boxin' with Mike Tyson. He revealed that he met the rapper before he became famous and got back in touch with him through his mother.

"One day me and a friend of mine was having a party and this young kid came up. I said, 'come on, let this kid in, man. You know how we was when we were kids they wouldn't let us in,' and the guy said 'yeah.' And he said 'one minute' and brought around twenty guys with him, so we said 'man, we gotta take you in the back.' One of those guys was Tupac and that's how I met him."

Mike Tyson then expanded, saying that Tupac's mother wrote him a letter when he was in prison and asked if Tupac could visit him. They became friends post that. The rapper was infamously killed in a still-unsolved drive-by shooting after leaving one of Tyson's fights in Las Vegas.

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Mike Tyson vs. Bruce Seldon and 2pac

Tupac Shakur was killed on September 7, 1996, after Mike Tyson's first-round knockout of Bruce Seldon. Tyson has since expressed a feeling of responsibility, as he invited the rapper to attend his fight.

Bruce Seldon was the WBA Heavyweight Champion at the time, having claimed the title by defeating Tony Tucker in 1995. He also stepped into the ring with Jose Ribalta, Tony Tubbs, Riddick Bowe and Oliver McCall. Tyson went on to fight Evander Holyfield two months later.

Shakur got into a fight with Orlando Anderson, a Crip, in the lobby of the MGM Grand following the fight. Anderson had previously attempted to rob one of Shakur's friends. After the fight, Shakur went back to his hotel. Shortly after, he was shot and killed while driving down Flamingo Road with Suge Knight. The murder remains unsolved, though he was being followed by the FBI at the time.