Mike Tyson got face tattoo only a week before Clifford Etienne bout as he ‘didn’t want to fight in future’, says trainer

MIKE TYSON got the tribal tattoo on his face done only a week before his fight with Clifford Etienne because he didn’t want to compete, according to his former trainer.

The American, then 36, hadn’t fought since his loss to Lennox Lewis the previous summer.

And to the astonishment of his trainer Jeff Fenech, Tyson decided to ink up just days before the scheduled bout with Etienne.

Fenech has now revealed that he was left in TEARS after Tyson told him that he didn’t want to fight – then catching the first flight home from Las Vegas.

He told Fox Sports: “My first impression was that I’ve never had a tattoo in my life, but I thought we are fighting in a week and when you get a tattoo you can’t fight because they scab up and it wouldn’t be healthy to do that.

“We sat down and spoke and he didn’t really want to fight and he wasn’t prepared to and that was one of the reasons he got the tattoo.

“After a good hour talk I was in tears when I left the house that night. I went and stayed in a hotel because I was pretty despondent.

“I was away from home for eight weeks in Vegas getting him ready for the fight and I stayed in a hotel and got on the first flight back to my family because that was my priority.”

After performing a stunning U-turn, however, Tyson DID in fact take to the ring, alongside replacement trainer Freddie Roach.

The boxing legend knocked Etienne out in just 49 seconds – leaving Fenech with mixed emotions.

He continued: “A week later he fought and knocked out Clifford in one round and I was upset. I was happy for Mike that he won, but I was also upset that I had trained him for eight weeks and I wasn’t a part of that win.”

That was to be the 50th and final win of Tyson’s illustrious career – as he went on to lose his final two bouts – against Danny Williams and Kevin McBride respectively.

The 53-year-old is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time.

But after defeating Muhammad Ali on a virtual simulation recently – he revealed that he’d have never beaten him in a real fight.

Tyson told Yahoo Sports: “I know it’s a fantasy game. Most likely I would win the fantasy, I wouldn’t win the real fight.

“Ali’s the greatest there’s ever been.”