"Iron Mike" to play boxer in Bollywood film

Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson has signed up to a second Bollywood film where he would play a boxer after a dance number he did in an earlier movie was a hit with audiences, a newspaper report said on Tuesday. Titled "Licence to Kill", the action thriller would see the U.S. boxer, Tyson imitate real life, the Mumbai Mirror said.

The former heavyweight champion featured in a promotional music video of newly released Bollywood film "Fool and Final", but the cameo received such a positive response from viewers that the director incorporated the number in the film. "I had decided to make a film with him later but after the promos featuring him received a great response, I decided to start the film sooner," said producer Firoz Nadiadwala, who produced "Fool and Final". "Tyson has a huge fan base and I want to tap that," Nadiadwala was quoted as saying.

The daily said Tyson is getting a "huge price" for the new film -- which will feature three top actors and be directed by a renowned filmmaker -- but did not give any figure. Known as "Iron Mike" and born in 1966, Tyson became the youngest world heavyweight champion in 1986 but was later banned from fighting for a year and fined $2.85 million after he bit off a part of an opponent's ear during a bout in 1997.

Tyson served three years in an Indiana prison following a 1992 rape conviction and was sentenced in 1999 to a year in prison after pleading no contest to two misdemeanor assault charges in Maryland. Tyson retired from professional boxing last year, with a 50-6 record that included 44 knockouts.