One Night in Vegas, an ESPN 30 for 30 Film, Profiled Mike Tyson, Tupac Shakur Friendship

One Night in Vegas, a film about Mike Tyson and Tupac Shakur, was the latest ESPN 30 for 30 film to air, which did Tuesday night on the sports network. This movie, about an hour long, is the creation of Reggie Rock Bythewood. The events of September 7, 1996 were zeroed in on One Night in Vegas, the night of Mike Tyson's September 7, 1996 WBA title fight with Bruce Seldon and the shooting of Tupac Shakur (in which he would die six days later). The film uses some "poetry slam" performances to lay out the events surrounding these two men.

The ESPN 30 for 30 Film One Night in Vegas Wraps Mike Tyson and Tupac Shakur in Mythology

The film starts out with some melodramatic prose screamed out by two poets concerning the events of September 7, 1996. The film then shows Mike Tyson winning a title match and then warmly embracing Tupac Shakur. Tyson shares the memory of his first meeting with the late rapper, which from that time on, Shakur made a lasting impression on him. Mythology was built around both men during the ESPN 30 for 30 film, which used facets of both men's lives via comic book-like graphics.

Mike Tyson shares his thoughts about the impact he had on boxing on One Night in Vegas, and past interviews and highlights of his boxing career are shown. Other notable personalities like Al Sharpton are interviewed, many who basically glorified the man and his accomplishments in the ring, basically calling him a cross between Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali.

Mixed in were clips of Tupac Shakur as well as people who knew and worked with him as well as admired his artistic work. This included Maya Angelou, who recounted a time when a conversation with the rapper about his use of bad language brought Shakur to tears. Many of those interviewed see a connection between the rapper/actor and Mike Tyson: that they are geniuses in their own way, but which the world doesn't quite understand.

One Night in Vegas Recalls the Events of September 7, 1996, on the ESPN 30 for 30 Film featuring Mike Tyson and Tupac Shakur

Yet as the ESPN 30 for 30 film One Night in Vegas progressed, the alleged darker side of both men began to be featured, including Mike Tyson's trial, which ultimately got him convicted of sexually assaulting Desiree Washington in 1992. Tyson speaks of the times when Tupac Shakur visited him in prison. But Shakur would have his own legal issues involving being accused of sex crimes against a woman, for which he'd also serve jail time in the mid-1990s, according to Wikipedia.

Nonetheless, Mike Tyson would make a comeback after being released from prison, where he'd eventually get to face WBA Heavyweight Champion Bruce Seldon on September 7,1996. Tupac Shakur cut a song on behalf of "Iron Mike" in less than 20 minutes, but even though he was partisan for Tyson, Seldon recalls the rapper even acknowledging him before the fight. But the fight was over very quick and one-sided in favor of "Iron Mike."

It seemed like a night of total celebration. But after the fight, Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight were in the casino, and got into an altercation with Orlando Anderson. It was the beginning of the end for Shakur, as his associates and loved ones recall for the rest of One Night in Vegas, an ESPN 30 for 30 film. Gunshots later hit the rapper. When Mike Tyson found out, he recalls feeling despair, guilt, and numbness.

For those of you who want to catch repeats of the ESPN 30 for 30 film, find out more at the ESPN 30 for 30 website.

Sources:

"One Night in Vegas", ESPN 30 for 30, September 7, 2010, ESPN

Mike Tyson: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Tyson, Wikipedia

Tupac Shakur: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupac_Shakur, Wikipedia