Mike Tyson looks in good spirits as boxing icon, 55, sits courtside to watch LA Lakers NBA loss to New Orleans Pelicans

MIKE TYSON kept smiling despite the legendary boxer witnessing a mismatch between LA Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans.

Iron Mike’s courtside presence couldn’t inspire the dismal Lakers, who threw in the towel as they slipped to a fifth defeat in six NBA matches.

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Iron Mike took up his seat courtside at the Crypto.com Arena[/caption]

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The boxing legend looked in good spirits as the Lakers looked to end their losing run[/caption]

AP

But despite his encouragement, it was another L for LeBron’s side[/caption]

And they were seen off thanks to a slick combination of calm offense and defensive steel from New Orleans, who go 25-36 on the season.

The home side found themselves continually beaten to the ball and conceded 23 turnovers, while failing to get anything going offensively in or out of the paint.

LeBron James scored 32 points as they tried to stage a late comeback, but a shocking third quarter which the Pelicans took 44-25 all but decided the contest.

James said: “They beat the doors off us in that third quarter.

“I played pretty bad tonight. I had some horrible turnovers.

“I could have been a lot better for sure. The [injured] knee is not affecting my play.”

Tyson did his best to inspire the below-par Lakers from just behind the subs bench, cheering and clapping through an even first quarter.

But things continued to go south for LA who eventually crashed to the canvas, KO’d by a margin of 123-95.

Also in attendance was rapper Saweetie, courtside again after watching the Lakers take another L against the Clippers on Friday night.

Tyson is a big NBA fan but reportedly once had beef with basketball royalty in Michael Jordan.

The boxer’s former manager claimed in 2021 that Tyson once threatened to beat up Jordan over their romantic history with the same woman.

The former heavyweight champion of the world made his long-awaited comeback in an exhibition with Roy Jones Jr in November 2020.

‘THEY BEAT THE DOORS OFF US’

But SunSport revealed earlier this month how he hasofficially walked away from a money-spinning fight with YouTuber Jake Paul.

A source close to the former ‘Baddest Man on the Planet’ said: “Mike did not want to resume full-scale training to a level that the world would expect, unless he thought the money was right.

“But what seemed like a good idea at the turn of the year is now no longer a top priority.”

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Saweetie saw the Lakers lose again after attending LA-derby with the Clippers[/caption]

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LeBron scored 32 points in the loss which sends the Lakers 27-33[/caption]