Today at the Don Best Sports offices in Las Vegas, it was announced that Mike Tyson will be an ambassador to China for the sport of boxing. Tyson was joined on the elevated stage with his business partner Sterling McPherson, president of Sterling Promotions of Las Vegas, and Qing Yu and Gary Yang of Tianjin International Sports Development (TIS). Tyson was admittedly a little shaky on what his role would be in the alliance, other than he was going to be an ambassador. Tyson joked that up until recently he wasn’t sure what an ambassador did at all, explaining that he thought ambassadors “lived off of government money and go off jet-setting with their girlfriends.”

While Tyson wasn’t exactly sure of the details, his business partner McPherson has a better grasp of the situation, as he had been the one dealing with Yu and Yang for the past seven months getting the plan off the ground. Tyson and McPherson will go to China on December 1, where they will be ringside for an amateur show. Tyson will also be shown around the city of Tianjin, and other parts of the country, a country he says he has had a fascination with since he first saw a documentary about it 20 years ago. McPherson said, “If Mike likes what he sees, then we will proceed with other plans.”

Those other plans include having up to seven fight cards in China next year. McPherson pointed out that professional boxing is in its infancy in China, so many of the fighters will have to be brought in from around the world until some of the Chinese professionals develop into main event fighters. McPherson stated that the boxing shows will be aired by ESPN International and CCTV, and that one part of the deal may even include Tyson giving commentary during the telecasts, but that it is still being discussed. It was also noted that many people in boxing think Tyson has a great mind for boxing, and if he was interested in it he would have a lot to offer as a color commentator. It seems like he may finally get that outlet.

It was also acknowledged that as part of his travels around China he would visit some of the boxing gyms. While China doesn’t have a long history of professional boxing, they are gaining a reputation as being a force to reckon with in the amateurs, as shown by their recent success in the Olympics and other World Championship events. As part of his travels to the boxing gyms Tyson could actually work with some fighters one-on-one, giving them some of the pointers that helped him rise to the top.

While Tyson may not have been totally up to date on what his role would be as an ambassador, he did give some opinions on the current state of boxing. He thinks champions should defend their titles “at least 3 or 4 times a year. Once a year isn’t enough.” He also shared some past memories, saying there was a time in Las Vegas you had to decide what fight you were going to go to, as there were multiple fights a night, but now he says there are hardly any.

Tyson also said that he would like to know what the Chinese find entertaining, so he can incorporate that into the boxing matches in their country. “In the MMA they have a fight, then music starts right after, the party starts and continues until the next guy is coming down the aisle for the fight. In boxing you can sometimes sit there for an hour, no music playing, just sitting there.”

Tyson said he hoped that he could play up the rivalry between China and Japan, likening it to a reality television show. “You can have all the big and bad Japanese fighters come over to China thinking they are going to beat your guys, and then your guys will knock them all out.” This brought laughter throughout the studio.

Again, while the details are sketchy, it sure seems like they are onto something. If boxing can be successfully promoted in China, it will give another outlet for great fights for fans to watch all over the world. Tyson will not only help by giving advice to novice fighters and providing commentary, but also by being a massive star in China. Yu and Yang both pointed out that Tyson is the second or third most popular sports figure in China, just behind Yao Ming, but even before Muhammad Ali.

If the December 1 trip is successful, the first scheduled fight card of Tyson’s ambassadorship will be in the first quarter of 2011.