Mickey Rourke was a gorgeous man once upon a time, but then the allure of a return to the ring (he was an amateur boxer before making it) tore him asunder — like Gollum.
Alright, “tore asunder” may be a little strong, but Rourke had to have six surgeries to repair a twice broken nose and he had to have a shattered cheekbone repaired. Why the Sin City actor would want to get back into the ring again is beyond me, especially since he’s actually looking pretty good lately, but apparently that’s exactly what Rourke is planning on doing. Against someone who is about half his age.
Mickey Rourke will revive his boxing career at the age of 62 and take to the ring with a US professional boxer in Moscow this month, Sovetsky Sport sports website reported Wednesday, citing the promoters.
The American actor was quoted as saying by promoters: “Boxing is a serious part of my life. It taught me respect and determination, patience and concentration. I always dreamed of fighting a match in Russia.”
Rourke is set to fight 29-year-old Elliot Seymour on November 28.
I still don’t understand the desire, but for what it’s worth, Rourke was actually a pretty good boxer despite his injuries, going 6-0 with two draws while fighting as a light heavyweight in the US, Japan, Spain, and Germany.
Here’s a video of Rourke from a 1993 bout in Germany.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF3XB8QsV_4
Damn. Rourke hit that man in his face with a gloved hand like he had sat on his cockatoo. Rourke’s also rocking a Rowdy Roddy Piper-esque kilt. With his experience filming The Wrestler and in-ring showmanship like that, I don’t get why Rourke doesn’t give the WWE a shot before exposing himself to the fists of a 29-year-old.
He could even call himself Whiplash and bust out his Iron Man 2 persona. I’m sure Marvel wouldn’t mind. All publicity is good publicity, as they say.
Anyway, I imagine that we’ll let you know if Rourke’s eye falls out or if something else happens with this match besides two guys hugging and occasionally jabbing, so stay tuned.
Source: Yahoo