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Mike Tyson might not know who Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani is
Boxer Mike Tyson presented the ESPY award for best single-game performance to Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani on July 15. Just don’t ask him who Shohei Ohtani plays for, what sport he plays, or even apparently what gender Shohei Ohtani is.
After (somewhat) correctly pronouncing Ohtani’s name, Tyson turned to co-presented Logan Paul to make sure he got it right.
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“Shohei could not be here tonight,” Tyson said. “He sends his gratitude and appreciation to ESPN and everyone who voted for him,” Paul said.
“Shohei’s a guy?” Tyson said, turning to Paul.
Tyson, 60, certainly would be forgiven for not following MLB on a regular basis. He sparred with Ted Barrett before Barrett became a major league umpire. Other than that, the Tyson/MLB concentric circles are separate.
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It’s at least somewhat surprising that Ohtani’s name never reached Tyson’s ears. Ohtani is at least the game’s best player today, if not ever. His single-game performance against the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of the 2025 National League Championship Series was one for the ages.
Ohtani threw six shutout innings against the Brewers as the Dodgers’ starting pitcher, and went 3 for 3 with three home runs at the plate. Tyson said it himself: it was an award-winning performance.
The game basically clinched the NLCS MVP Award for Ohtani. Now it’s been honored across multiple sports.
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Ohtani was also nominated for the ESPY award for best male athlete, an honor which might convince Tyson of Ohtani’s gender once and for all.
Baseball players rarely attend the ESPYs ceremony to receive their awards in person. The ceremony is traditionally held during MLB’s All-Star break, giving ESPN the night’s major live sports programming all to itself, but making it hard for the top MLB stars to attend.
Ohtani at least had no obvious prior obligations. He did not attend All-Star festivities in Philadelphia because of a irritation in his left knee. Perhaps he and Tyson can schedule a gentleman’s handshake down the road.
