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.

6.3

53 min

Cast

Mike Tyson

as Self

Ernest R. Dickerson

as Self

Nas

as Self

Mickey Rourke

as Self

Mopreme Shakur

as Self

Tupac Shakur

as Self (archive footage)

Chris Connelly

as Self

Suge Knight

as Self

Eric Adams

as Self (as Senator Eric Adams)

Maya Angelou

as Self

Michael Eric Dyson

as Self

Jamal Joseph

as Self

Al Sharpton

as Self

Director

Reggie Rock Bythewood