Maybe China should put Mike Tyson on the 500 kuai note

Or, maybe not. At the risk of pissing off a commenter, we are posting about Mike Tyson yet again. (This is probably the last time, so it should be safe to check back tomorrow.) We didn't realize that Tyson made a side trip to Beijing during his recent stay in Shanghai. Danwei did, however.

On April Fool's Day (fittingly?), Tyson, two days after celebrating the opening of a Shanghai night club called Snatch, made a pilgrimage to see the bright orange Mao-o-lantern in Tiananmen Square. Tyson, famous for his sense of humor, has called Mao a "great man" and has Mao's face tattooed on his right bicep (pictured). (His other tattoos include ex-wife Monica Turner, Che Guevara, Arthur Ashe and Der Drachon.)

Here is what Xinhua had to say about Tyson's visit to the mausoleum (translated by Danwei):

Former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson had originally planned only to visit Shanghai, but unexpectedly arrived in Beijing on April 1, visiting the Chairman Mao Memorial Mausoleum to pay his respects to the great man whom he has admired his whole life.

At the conclusion of his trip to Beijing, Tyson said, "In front of Chairman Mao's body, I felt very small. It is an incomparably great honor to be able to visit his mausoleum. I hope that soon I will be able to return to China and have a match here."

The Beijing News also chimed in (again, translated by Danwei):

[Tyson] stood before the Chairman's body for a long time, with an air of sincere devotion. Upon leaving [the mausoleum], he bought three commemorative books, and was interested in buying posters of Chairman Mao and several other founding fathers but was forced to abandon attempts to purchase them because of the overwhelming number of tourists. ...

Tyson has never concealed his love of Chairman Mao. He had once said in the past that "Chairman Mao was a strong, great man." Tyson has a tattoo of the Chairman on his right arm, and has read the Selected Quotations of Chairman Mao.

The scariest part of both of those blurbs? "I hope that soon I will be able to return to China and have a match here."

Mike, give it up. It's over.

Also on Shanghaiist:
No honorary citizenship for Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson touches down in Shanghai
The latest on Mike Tyson's visit to Shanghai
Mike Tyson? Shanghai?! What?!?