One Night in Vegas

On the evening of Sept. 7, 1996, Mike Tyson, the WBC heavyweight champion, attempted to take Bruce Seldon’s WBA title at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. At this point in his career, Tyson’s fights had become somewhat of a cultural phenomenon, where the ever present hype of the professional boxing scene would come face to face with the worlds of big business, Hollywood, and hip hop. Sitting ringside was controversial rapper Tupac Shakur. Shakur and Tyson were friends, a feeling of kinship linked them as each rose to stardom from poverty only to be thrown in prison. Following Tyson’s victory, Shakur and “Iron Mike” were to celebrate at an after party, but the rap star never arrived. Shakur was brutally gunned down later that night, and the scene in Las Vegas quickly turned from would-be celebratory revelry to ill fated and inopportune tragedy.

Top Cast

Mike Tyson

Self

Ernest R. Dickerson

Self

Nas

Self

Mickey Rourke

Self

N/A

Mopreme Shakur

Self

Tupac Shakur

Self (archive footage)

Chris Connelly

Self

Suge Knight

Self

Eric Adams

Self (as Senator Eric Adams)

Maya Angelou

Self

Michael Eric Dyson

Self

N/A

Jamal Joseph

Self

Al Sharpton

Self