Maori anger over Tyson tattoo
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Tyson says he 'didn't like the way my face was looking'
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WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- Former world heavyweight champion boxer Mike Tyson didn't like the way his face looked before he got his new tattoo. In New Zealand, an expert on indigenous Maori facial tattoos doesn't like the way Tyson looks now.
Pita Sharples, a Maori expert on his people's culture -- particularly their facial tattoos known as moko -- said he didn't like seeing a similar design on Tyson, a convicted rapist.
The tattoo was "definitely Maori, but stylized," Sharples told The Associated Press. "I just wish it was on somebody else."
Sharples said he was more disturbed by British rock star Robbie Williams' arm tattoo "because there are definitely Maori characters of moko on his."
Maori warriors' traditional full-face moko has a set format with specific designs for the forehead, cheek, lips and mouth, Sharples said.
Tyson's tattoo -- a swirling design around his left eye -- was the center of attention at a press conference in Mississippi on Thursday ahead of his planned weekend bout with Clifford Etienne.
The American boxer said he got the tattoo last week, and there would be more to come. "This isn't even halfway done," he said.
"I just wanted to put something on my face," Tyson added. "I didn't like the way my face was looking."
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