The story of Mike Tyson‘s sparring partner Joe Egan who endured thousands of Tyson’s punches is little known despite his contribution to Mike’s success. However, Egan, who is branded the toughest white man on the planet by ‘Kid Dynamite’ himself, will certainly blow anyone’s mind who comes in contact with his stories of courage.
On the other hand, besides winning seven Irish titles and 80 US Golden Gloves boxing matches, Egan later appeared in Robert Downey Jr. starring Sherlock Holmes, Scott Adkins starring Avengement, and even Shah Rukh Khan starring RA. One. However, what deserves the greatest economy of attention is that Egan, a hero in real life, once took bullets for a World War II veteran in his own pub.
For 25 minutes, Joe Egan, sparring partner of Mike Tyson, fought a racketeering gang!
When Egan was only seven or eight, teenage boys would bully him. At this, to take a stand against bullying, Egan embraced boxing. In no time he developed a love for the sport and gradually joined the Irish Boxing Team. However, soon after Egan went pro in 1990, he met with a horrific car accident that uprooted his boxing career. But, determined not to give in, he opened the Lyndhurst pub in Birmingham. However, to add to his trouble, a racketeering gang demanded $630 a week as protection money.
However, since Egan’s response was negative, the gang in question attacked his pub. “After telling them no, the following week, on July 26, 1998, they attacked my pub. There were 37 of them armed with handguns, shotguns, [and] machetes. It was a horrific day,” recounted ‘Big Joe’.
“It was savage. I got shot twice while trying to help a man who had fought in World War II, only to get shot at in a pub in a Birmingham housing estate by scum. It was a nasty 25-minute experience,” he added. And as per Egan’s statements, soon after the incident, he was charged with attempted murder though he only defended himself. What happened after the charges?
Egan’s life after the charges
Former sparring partner of MIke Tyson, Joe spent a huge amount of money while fighting the charges. Finally, as fate would have it, he was found not guilty. But, his fiancee Lisa Murphy left him and began a new life with Michael Flatley. On the other hand, Egan had to go to jail in 2001 as he participated in a crime to pay his legal fees. However, soon, he made a comeback with Robert Downey Jr.’s Sherlock Holmes.
