Mike Tyson's Cannabis Advocacy Fuels Emergence Of Thailand's 'Weed Boxing Championship'

Koh Samui, Thailand’s second largest island, is set to host the Weed Boxing Championship in which participants will be required to smoke a bong or a joint before participating. Spectators will also be encouraged to do the same. Seriously.

Remind You Of Anyone?

If you said Mike Tyson, go to the head of the class. The former heavyweight world champion is boxing’s most high-profile stoner.

Tyson has proudly admitted that he smokes every day and that he wishes he’d consumed his entire boxing career.  

Tyson and his pal Ric Flair unforgettably lit up on the stage of Benzinga's Cannabis Capital Conference in Chicago last September. 

Meanwhile, Weed Reigns Among Boxers And Fighters

Boxers and mixed martial artists (MMA), thanks in great part to Mike Tyson’s brutal honesty, consume cannabis for all that ails them. 

When asked on rapper TIP’s podcast if he ever fought while under the influence of cannabis, Tyson was brutally honest.

“Once, once in my life. I got fined $250,000 though,” Tyson replied. And the rest is history.

Among boxers and MMA fighters whose cannabis consumption has come to light include Nate Diaz who served several bans during his UFC career and even had a submission win overturned after testing positive.

World Boxing Organization super flyweight champ Kazuto Ioka tested positive for marijuana ahead of a title fight last year though the Japanese Boxing Commission cleared him after discovering errors in its handling of the situation.

Newly crowned UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has made no secret of the fact that he consumes.

Changes In Attitudes And Restrictions

Las Vegas, an important venue for boxing and MMA recently decided to no longer regard cannabis as a performance-enhancing substance. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which oversees drug testing for the Olympics as well as boxing and MMA fights,  has essentially done the same.  

Prompted by world champion sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson who was banned from competing at the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for cannabis in 2021, WADA increased the threshold for marijuana testing from the previous limit of 15 ng/mL to 150 ng/mL. 

Tyson Taking His Weed Products To Mississippi

Mike Tyson’s 2.0 cannabis brand is now available in Mississippi as part of a partnership with Southern Sky Brands. Mississippians can indulge in the Champ's premium eighths of flower (3.5g) and one-gram pre-rolls of "Knockout OG" and "Pound for Pound Cake" for the first phase of the partnership, with more strains on the way.

Want to talk more about sports and cannabis as well as dozens of other important topics, join us at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Chicago on Sept. 27-28.