In Chinese social media circles, at least, Mike Tyson is a real heavyweight.
The retired boxing legend, whose fight for sobriety has made him a talk-show fixture in the U.S., joined Chinese social media site Weibo, amassing roughly 60,000 followers in his first day. (The agency that represents Tyson confirms that his account is official.) He now has more than a million followers, and he follows 70 people, including Paris Hilton, Carmelo Anthony, Michael Jordan’s son Marcus Jordan and Dennis Rodman.
The culture gap can be unkind. In one of his first posts, Tyson asked, “Who is the best fighter in China?” Within a day, he received more than 15,000 responses. One Weibo user answered “chengguan.” Tyson responded earnestly: “Who is chengguan? A tough man? I’ve never heard it.”
You won’t be seeing chengguan on ESPN anytime soon, though. A simple Google search reveals that the term refers to members of the City Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau in China, notorious for their violence. In July, for instance, Deng Zhengjia, a 56-year-old fruit vendor, was killed by the chengguan in the central province of Hunan—his wife said an officer smashed his head in with a metal measuring weight.
Weibo users were not unamused. ”They will be the ones biting your ear,” one user helpfully explained. ”You fight others in the ring legally in U.S. chengguan fight others in the street legally in China,” said another.
“Welcome to China’s side of the internet, Mike,” Anthony Tao wrote in a post on the Chinese blog Beijing Cream, where he expressed hope that the American fighter would take on the chengguan with his fists. “We really hope, in real life, you’ll cross paths someday with a chengguan.”
Tyson deleted his initial question about the best fighter in China, as well as his inquiry about the chengguan. He has posted six more times on Weibo since then. Today, he encouraged followers to check out his new Chinese video game.
Yesterday, Tyson posted a video addressing his Chinese fans, in which he attempts to speak their language, and professes his love for “the home of Bruce Lee and kung fu movies.”
Here’s to hoping a clean and sober Tyson takes on the chengguan—or at least keeps posting on Weibo.
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