Mike Tyson, the former undisputed heavyweight boxing champion of the World, is in a £1.5million legal battle for refusing to appear in a commercial with a giant talking pigeon.
The claimant, Medier Ltd, which runs the Rabona online gambling brand, is suing Tyson and his promotional business, Tyrannic. Medier alleges breach of contract for a January 2024 sponsorship deal. Legal representatives for the firm argue Tyson “simply lost interest” after being presented with a lucrative crossover clash against Jek Paulin 2024.
However, Tyson and Tyrannic counter that Medier breached the contract first by requiring him to be in their “Talking Pigeons” promotional video. The concept called for Tyson to read scripts with four presenters—one wearing a pigeon suit— share childhood anecdotes, and give a boxing tutorial on a dummy with fierce rival Evander Holyfield’s face.
