By Mike Parrott
Australian Boxer, Billy Dib has recalled his first meetings with Mike Tyson, including how their friendship blossomed over the years, even after Tyson wanting to 'kill him' after their first meeting.
The former IBF Featherweight and IBO Super-Featherweight champions, Billy Dib was once on top of the world and seen as the next big thing in Boxing. In 2006, Dib boasted a 13-0 record and met Iron Mike Tyson for the first time.
Advert
Only 21 at the time, Dib was introduced to the 'baddest man on the planet' by former trainer, Jeff Fenech whilst on a trip to Las Vegas. Dib recalled the meeting.
"We walk into this restaurant and Jeff walks up to Mike and gives him a big hug. Jeff says 'Mike, I just want to introduce you to a good friend of mine. This kid's going to be champion of the world one day. His name's Billy Dib and he's 13-0."
Tyson however at the time was known for his blunt and cold first impressions.
Advert
"I thought Mike was going to high-five me or give me a hug or something, right? Mike just stood off me. Stared me down and looked back at Jeff and said 'Jeffrey, I don't give a f**k.'"
Even after their first meeting, Tyson was still quite cold towards Dib, even though Fenech had warned Dib of this being the usual Mike Tyson.
"I was at Mike's house, and he was like 'sit down, Billy' and he put this video on. He put this video on of these massacres, and I was mortified. Mortified. We were just hanging out, and Mike just goes 'this is the real world' and he puts this video on and the headline was 'real life massacres.Mike was getting upset with me because I didn't want to watch it."
Advert
This meeting at Tyson's house also led to Fenech saying that Tyson would want to kill him after knowing that Billy the Kid had fleed the Tyson house after being mortified by the videos Tyson was watching.
"Then the doorbell rang and Mike goes 'go get the doorbell, Billy and make sure you come back. I went and answered the door and it was Jeff and his exact words to me were: 'you look like you've seen a ghost.'"
"I was just like, 'Jeff, I've gotta go, man,' and I took off. Later on, Jeff came back, knocked on my door and said 'oh, brother, when Mike sees you, you're dead. He's gonna kill ya. He told you to come back and you ran off.'"
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Mike Tyson, Boxing
