Former boxing champion Mike Tyson is developing a television sitcom based on his life as a cannabis grower and entrepreneur, according to a report from Page Six of the New York Post. Production has already begun on “Rolling With the Punches” at the office for Tyson Ranch near Los Angeles in El Segundo, California. The show stars Tyson, his bodyguard Chuck Zito, and Russell Peters as his “useless best friend.”
Tyson explained the premise of the show, which is loosely based on the former boxer’s real life.
“It’s simple. I’m playing a retired boxer who is growing marijuana,” Tyson said. “It’s basically me acting like me, so people can get a look at what my life could be like in different scenarios.”
Rob Hickman, a former top executive at Walt Disney Studios and 20th Century Fox, is Tyson’s partner in the television venture. Promotional videos have already been sent to television networks and Hickman, who is producing the show, said he expects it to begin airing in five months.
Tyson said that he is an advocate for the medicinal use of cannabis and that 85 percent of professional athletes use it to treat pain, inflammation, and anxiety.
“I smoke it all day, every day,” Tyson said.
In October 2000, Tyson’s technical knockout win in a bout with Andrew Golota was later changed to “no contest” after Iron Mike tested positive for cannabis use.
Art Imitates Life
Late last year, just days before California legalized recreational cannabis sales, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for Tyson Ranch in California City, California, about 110 miles north of Los Angeles in the Mojave Desert. Jennifer Wood, California City’s Mayor, said that the cannabis resort envisioned for the site could help spur an economic