It has been over two decades since the death of rap legend 2Pac Shakur but conversations about him are still very much ongoing.
Rare footage of 2Pac and boxing legend Mike Tyson just hours before the rapper was shot dead in Las Vegas has emerged.
In the clip, Tyson who had just won his TKO victory over Bruce Seldon at legendary boxing venue the MGM Grand Garden Arena on 7 September 1996 can be seen embracing 2Pac.
Tyson embraced Tupac after winning the WBA title.
The video that was shared by Gloves Up Global’s Instagram page also shows Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight.
All these went down hours before Tupac and his posse – some of whom had links to Los Angeles gang the Bloods – attacked Orlando ‘Baby Lane’ Anderson from their rival Crips gang.
Hours after the fight, 2Pac was shot in a drive-by shooting. Knight was driving with Tupac in the front seat when an unknown gunman pulled up alongside the pair and opened fire.
Knight survived the shooting but 2Pac who was struck by four bullets died six days after the shooting.
Anderson was the main suspect in the resulting murder investigation.
Watch the rare footage below:
There was a close bond between the late rapper and boxing champion as 2Pac visited Tyson in prison after a rape conviction in 1992.
Tyson recalls that 2Pac’s visits had the biggest impact on his fellow inmate although many celebrities came to visit him while he was behind bars at the Indiana Youth Center.
“The guards didn’t like him, the inmates got rowdy and pumped up when he came which is a safety concern,” Tyson told rapper TI.
“He was a bolt of energy there. When he came in everybody knew him, he had mad respect. That’s how he lived his life, he had mad respect.”
Following 2Pac’s death, Tyson lost his two next fights – both to Evander Holyfield – and fought another 10 more times before retiring in 2005.
The boxing icon has since announced that he is gearing to come out of retirement.
