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Former Boxer Mike Tyson to Join Union of Russian Writers

U.S. former boxer Mike Tyson may soon have another accolade to go alongside his heavyweight world boxing belt after being invited to join the Union of Russian Writers.

The athlete, who recently penned the autobiography "Tyson: Undisputed Truth," will be inducted in absentia into the writers' union ahead of a November visit to the Russian capital, promoter Vladimir Khryunov was cited as saying Wednesday by the TASS news agency.

Tyson, who is set to travel to Moscow to attend a fight by Russian boxer Ruxaslan Provodnikov, has yet to comment on his induction into the writer's union. The union allows both foreign and Russian authors.

The former boxer, who became the youngest-ever heavyweight champion in history at the age of 20, has something of a checkered past, having spent three years in prison on rape charges and having also filed for bankruptcy in 2003.

Tyson is also remembered for having bit off part of opponent Evander Holyfield's ear during a 1997 fight, for which his license was indefinitely suspended before being reinstated a year later.

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