The legend took the stage at the 2026 ESPY Awards on Tuesday night to do one job: hand out a trophy. Mike Tyson couldn’t even get through that.
Once upon a time, “The Baddest Man on the Planet” was the most feared athlete on Earth. Now he’s the guy who doesn’t know who Shohei Ohtani is — and apparently wasn’t sure about his gender either.
Tyson, 60, co-presented the ESPY for Best Single-Game Performance alongside internet personality Jake Paul and music mogul DJ Khaled. The honor went to Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani for his absolutely historic playoff performance in Game 4 of the 2025 NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers, where he struck out 10 batters and launched three home runs in one unforgettable evening.
But as the trio prepared to exit the stage after the announcement, a hot mic caught something wild. Tyson turned to Paul and whispered loud enough for everyone to hear: “Shohei’s a guy?”
That’s right. A four-time MVP. A global superstar whose dominance spans both the mound and the plate. A player millions of people across the world know by name. And the legendary boxer apparently had no clue who he was — or at least wasn’t convinced about the fact that Ohtani is, indeed, a man.
The moment went viral instantly. Fans rewound it five times. Sports Twitter lost it. Because this wasn’t some obscure bench player or a rookie nobody—this is the most recognizable baseball superstar on the planet right now. Ohtani’s impact on American baseball in just a few seasons has been seismic. He’s won the hearts of LA, dominated SportsCenter, and basically become the face of the sport for global audiences.
Some observers tried to give Tyson grace—maybe he was making a colloquial “that guy” comment, like how you’d hype up a teammate. But the confusion on his face says otherwise. The 60-year-old genuinely appeared not to recognize Ohtani at all, even though the image of the Japanese legend was literally being displayed on screens throughout the theater both before and during the presentation.
It’s a wild L to take. Not because there’s shame in not following baseball closely—boxing and baseball circles don’t always overlap. But because Ohtani isn’t just a baseball player anymore. He’s a global phenomenon. He hit 300 career home runs faster than nearly anyone in MLB history (only 1,102 games), and Topps collector cards commemorating the milestone recorded the highest print run of the entire 2026 season. His Dodgers are chasing a third consecutive World Series title. He’s been named Best MLB Player at the same award show. The man is everywhere.
Meanwhile, Ohtani was probably somewhere getting his knee drained to prepare for the second half of the season. He’d skipped the All-Star Game due to left knee irritation—a choice the Dodgers made to protect their franchise player for October. Even in his absence, his absence was felt.
Conversely, Tyson’s moment was all too present. For someone who once commanded every room he entered, he just became the punchline of the entire sports entertainment world.
The 16BARS take: In 2026, not knowing who Shohei Ohtani is doesn’t make you cool—it makes you out of touch. Even legends have to stay woke to the culture.
