Bruce Lee and Tyson are legends in the fighting world, one is smart and agile, the other is deadly. Both are the most important figures of the last century and are often compared to each other, but Tyson thinks he is superior.

After all, champion Tyson once said, "If boxing had no rules, I could kill him!"

The Legend of Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee's original name It's Li, his nickname is Sister Feng. Bruce Lee, a household name, was just his stage name. To be precise, he is a villager from Jun'an Town, Shunde District, Foshan City, Guangdong Province.

However, he was born in the United States and spent his childhood and teenage years in Hong Kong.

He has been exposed to the film and television industry since he was a child, but he did not start in the martial arts genre. In 1942, Bruce Lee, who was only three months old, starred in the local Cantonese film "Golden Gate Girl".

In 1948, 6-year-old Bruce Lee made a brief appearance under the stage name Li Xin in "Fu Guiyun" directed by Yu Liang at the time.

Considering that Bruce Lee was weak and not strong enough since he was a child, his father taught him Tai Chi in order to strengthen his body, which was considered an introduction to Bruce Lee's fighting skills.

From then on, he fell in love with the sport of martial arts. At the age of 13, he systematically learned Wing Chun from the famous teacher Ip Man.

However, because Bruce Lee was obsessed with fighting skills, he often fought with others in school, resulting in poor academic performance. After his family saw him, they sent him to the United States in the hope that he could start over in a new environment.

Due to exposure to the film and television industry since childhood, Bruce Lee was not only interested in martial arts but also in the film and television industry. So in 1960, he was admitted to the University of Washington in Seattle and began his college life majoring in drama. During this period, he also took courses in philosophy and psychology, which laid the foundation for him to create his own martial arts style.

While studying abroad, he did not forget to strengthen his skills. Through film shooting and daily training, his kung fu can be learned through continuous training, gradually becoming proficient and even breaking through bottlenecks, reaching a higher level than before.

Bruce Lee promoted the kick, inch punch, and dog-showing hands as Lee's special skills.

After being exposed to Wing Chun at the age of 13, Bruce Lee gradually felt dissatisfied and wanted more.

So he also searched for information and practiced Mantis Boxing, Hong Boxing, Shaolin Boxing, Boxing and Kicking, Solar Terms Boxing, White Crane Boxing and other boxing types. He even saved up money to sign up for a Western boxing training class and bought a boxing match documentary of the then world boxing champion Louis, from which he learned the boxing champion's footwork, posture, boxing techniques, and practice methods.

In addition to being good at various boxing techniques, Bruce Lee was also good at various weapons, including long sticks, short sticks and nunchucks. At the same time, he often participated in boxing matches inside and outside the school to gain experience.

After absorbing a variety of skills and sects, Bruce Lee was deeply attracted by the breadth and depth of Chinese skills and decided to promote Chinese skills to the world.

In his second year of college, Bruce Lee established the "Zhenfan National Art Museum". After falling in love and getting married to his wife Linda, they both dropped out of school. With the help of his wife, Bruce Lee was able to devote himself to practice, and the couple ran the art museum together.

At the beginning, Bruce Lee's martial arts gym was tepid and could only make ends meet. However, by chance, he successfully subdued four knife-wielding gangsters with his bare hands in Chinatown, Florida, using only his superb boxing skills. This made Bruce Lee famous and spread throughout the United States, and Chinese martial arts attracted the attention of people all over the world.

In 1965, Bruce Lee accepted Huang Zemin's challenge and won. In the same year, he successfully defeated Brazilian judo master Jenny Lebel and won the world jiu-jitsu championship.

The martial arts school gradually got on the right track because of Bruce Lee's fame. With the gradual filling of funds, the scale and measures within the martial arts coffin have further expanded. Many world-famous martial arts stars have made a special trip to the martial arts museum to learn from Bruce Lee.

In 1967, Bruce Lee founded Jeet Kune Do, a new martial arts school.

Jeet Kune Do is a free fighting technique created by Bruce Lee. It is based on Chinese fighting techniques and absorbs the essence of various fighting techniques in the world. Its central idea is very simple, which is to defeat the opponent through powerful and highly skilled interceptions and blocks, with a high degree of freedom and indulgence of instinct, exaggerating the inch punch from Wing Chun.

Bruce Lee's leg skills are particularly exciting. He can jump two to three meters in the air to complete a front kick. His strength can break light bulbs on the ceiling, and his side kick can shatter forty or fifty kilograms of sandbags.

In 1971, Chalfo challenged Bruce Lee on the set of "Big Brother" in Bangkok, Thailand, and was hit by Bruce Lee in the abdomen, face and temple, and fell to the ground.

In the same year, Bruce Lee was called the "Master of Jeet Kune Do" and was included in the Hall of Fame of the then internationally powerful martial arts magazine "Black Belt". This honor marks the recognition of Bruce Lee and Taekwondo by powerful foreign martial arts giants.

Brave Champion Tyson

In the 1980s, Mike Tyson was a popular heavyweight champion around the world. He is also the youngest millionaire on earth and has a legendary life.

Tyson was born in Brooklyn on June 30, 1966. He is the youngest child in the family, with an older brother and an older sister.

In the seven years after Tyson was born, his mother had been living a wandering life with her child due to poverty. After numerous moves, she finally vacationed in Brownsville, Brooklyn.

However, this borough is a typical Brooklyn slum, where crime, poverty and despair pervade Brownsville.

Tyson's body is very strong. In order to protect his family, he had to stand up. Soon he became the local bully and no one dared to speak ill of his family.

After going to school, Tyson's stubbornness got out of control. He stole things and gang fights. By the age of 12, he had been in police stations more than 40 times and been detained eight times.

Because Tyson's behavior was so bad, the court decided to send Tyson to the reformatory, where he met his boss: Stewart.

Stewart was a teacher in a reform school at the time. After many contacts with Tyson, he believed he was a promising kid. It would have been a waste of time for him to wander the streets, and he was first introduced to World Champion Cus D'Amato.

Tyson officially began his boxing career under the guidance of D'Amato. Under D'Amato's guidance, Tyson quickly began to stand out.

In 1986, at the age of 20, Tyson won the opportunity to compete for the world heavyweight boxing championship in 11 weeks. On November 22 of the same year, he faced the previous champion in less than two rounds. In the second round, he knocked out the champion Berbick and became the 20-year-old world champion.

On March 7, 1987, Tyson won the championship for the second time in four months after a 12-round match with "The King of Destruction" James Smith.

On October 6, 1987, Tyson faced the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic heavyweight gold medalist Biggs under the worst circumstances and defeated his opponent in 11 rounds.

At this point, Tyson was invincible and became the biggest money-making machine in the history of boxing at that time. His name became a household name around the world, and his fast and accurate iron fists frightened countless boxers.

Tyson was surrounded by beautiful women as he received honors in the boxing ring. However, his flash marriage to his girlfriend on February 7, 1988 shocked the world.

If Bruce Lee ruled the boxing world in the 1960s, then Tyson was the undisputed ruler of the boxing world in the 1980s.

The different endings of two martial arts stars

Tyson and Bruce Lee are both great fighters remembered by the times, but their endings are completely different.

At the peak of Bruce Lee's career, while filming "Game of Death" in Hong Kong in 1973, he died suddenly at the age of 33.

His death caused an uproar around the world, especially when the Hong Kong court gave an investigation result of "unknown cause of death", which made martial arts fans around the world filled with indignation.

There are still different opinions on the cause of Bruce Lee's death.

Although officials later claimed that Bruce Lee was allergic to aspirin that day, causing cerebral edema, so far, there has not been a case of death from aspirin allergy, so the cause of death is not convincing.

Although some voices say that Bruce Lee died of physical overexertion or dependence on euphoria, the most widely circulated theory is still murder:

One theory is that Bruce Lee was killed by The American billionaire Hugh Bobby killed Bruce Lee because the tycoon's only daughter fell in love with Bruce Lee at first sight but was rejected. After watching Bruce Lee's game on TV, she committed suicide by slitting her wrists. Hugh, who lost his daughter, blamed Bruce Lee.

By getting through the doctor in Bruce Lee's body, he injected vascular drugs into Bruce Lee's treatment, which eventually caused Bruce Lee's cerebral blood vessels to burst and die.

It is said that Hugh Bobby did not want to hide the matter, but recorded the implementation process and prepared to make it public at the appropriate time.

The second theory is that Bruce Lee was killed by the Japanese underworld. Because Bruce Lee defeated Japanese samurai many times on the screen, it caused strong dissatisfaction in the Japanese martial arts community.

Coincidentally, in the contest between Bruce Lee and the Japanese karate champion at the time, Bruce Lee easily defeated the two Japanese masters with his "Jet Kune Do", which not only caused an uproar in the public opinion circle, but also caused gambling among the Japanese underworld. The company lost nearly 10 million US dollars, deepening the resentment of the Japanese underworld against Bruce Lee.

Later, in order to increase muscle strength, Bruce Lee imported a batch of "muscle vibration machines" from Japan for use by himself and his disciples.

According to Bruce Lee's disciples, he had no problems using his machine. After using the master's machine, he developed dizziness and nausea.

Moreover, after Bruce Lee passed away, this machine and his fitness coach also disappeared inexplicably, which inevitably aroused people's endless speculation.

Even Bruce Lee's son, Li Guohao, died during filming at the age of 28.

Compared with Bruce Lee, Tyson was much luckier.

In his early years, Tyson's reputation was prematurely eroded by money, and his perverse character was further enhanced by the star-studded environment. After becoming the youngest champion, he quickly degenerated, immersed in the world of vanity, and even stopped practicing in the past.

Such behavior caused a sharp decline in his physical condition. After being knocked down against Douglas in Tokyo in 1990, he fell from the altar and lost his position.

This gave him a heavy blow, and he was later exposed to have a chaotic private life, domestic violence against his wife, and fights everywhere. After that, his once enviable marriage came to an end.

That's not all. Later it was revealed that he raped a blind date girl. The facts were beyond doubt and Tyson was imprisoned for three years.

In prison, Tyson suffered even more cynicism. The former championship glory is gone, and his character is getting worse and worse.

After being released from prison, Tyson tried to return to the place of honor through boxing, but he neglected his physical fitness. The new boxers were younger, faster, and more scientific in their practices, and Tyson was left far behind.

After the game, Tyson suffered repeated setbacks and lost to Holyfield in 1996. When they fought him again in 1997, Tyson was so angry that he bit off a piece of Field's ear.

Such a farce ruined Tyson’s reputation and he has never recovered from it.

Tyson, who suffered repeated defeats in the boxing ring, also inherited the luxury in his life. In 2005, he not only lost nearly US$400 million in family property, but also owed huge foreign debt. For this reason, he also wanted to repay his debt through boxing, but he suffered a complete defeat in subsequent games.

After realizing that he could no longer engage in boxing, Tyson finally gave up and announced his retirement that same year.

Until 2006, the 40-year-old Tyson suddenly repented and wanted to change his mind and start a new life. He kept his word, curbed the edge in his department, and began to make a living by commentating on games.

Later, like Bruce Lee, Tyson began to get involved in the film and television industry as a martial arts actor, and participated in the filming of "Ip Man 3" in 2019. While promoting the film in China, he said in an interview:

"Bruce Lee has a great philosophy of life that I firmly believe in. He is a powerful martial artist and he will always give you Surprise, causing you unbearable huge harm."

This shows that Tyson has full respect for Bruce Lee. However, when asked if he could beat Bruce Lee, Tyson wittily said that Bruce Lee should not beat himself.

Despite the ups and downs of Tyson's life, it is undeniable that Tyson still plays an important role in the hearts of boxing fans.

In March 2021, Holyfield’s team was still discussing a third fight with Tyson. Although the negotiation ended in failure, it still caused a huge response from the public opinion circle.

In September of the same year, the famous Chinese movie star Donnie Yen also said in an interview that Tyson was his idol when he was a child, so filming "Ip Man 3" was the most nervous moment for Tyson at that time.

Today, the two brilliant martial arts superstars of the era have left behind their glorious moments, but their martial arts images at their peak are still an eternal topic that today’s martial arts fans talk about. Of course there is no way to compare which one is weaker than which one. One is a boxing sport full of wildness and power, and the other is a deft and Chinese-style aesthetic attack. Tyson and Bruce Lee may have nothing in common except that they are both kung fu masters.