Former professional boxer Mike Tyson, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, has also starred in several movies.

He appeared as Kabbah in director Tan Bing’s 2017 movie, China Salesman. Not many people know about this movie as it suffered a massive loss at the global box office and is one of the worst movies in Tyson’s filmography.

Mike Tyson appeared in China Salesman (2017)

Former boxer Mike Tyson has starred in several TV shows and movies. In most of them, he appeared as himself but there was a Chinese movie, China Salesman (2017), in which he played the role of a former general, Kabbah. T he movie also featured actor/martial artist Steven Seagal as Lauder.

Tyson has also starred in many movies including Ip Man 3 (2015), Kickboxer: Retaliation (2018), Vendetta (2022), and Girls 2 (2018). Apart from this, he has made countless cameos in many other movies. His most popular cameo was in The Hangover (2009). In 2010, Tyson told a Las Vegas radio station that he agreed to do that cameo because he wanted money to “supply his drug habit.”

Mike Tyson worked hard to prepare for his role

Since Tyson was playing the role of a former general, he was required to get into the appropriate shape. Being a disciplined athlete, he then managed to lose roughly 25 pounds. He was also required to perfect his African accent as his character is an African in the movie. The former American boxer then spent a significant amount of time mastering the accent.

Tyson wasn’t the only one working hard for his role as Steven Seagal also gained 25 pounds in order to prepare for his role as Lauder.

China Salesman was a disaster

All that hard work was wasted as China Salesman was a failure. On a production budget of $20 million, the film only grossed about $1.5 million around the world. Filmmakers heavily focused on Mike Tyson and Steven Seagal’s “conflict,” however, they shared a frame only during one short fight at the beginning of the movie. So, obviously, it was very disappointing for the audience.

The movie was reportedly shot in Dandenong, Australia, using refugees from South Sudan. The entire project was a terrible idea and undoubtedly, a complete waste of time for Mike Tyson.