RETIRED U.S. professional boxer, Mike Tyson, has launched a Sina Weibo account, the largest twitter-like microblog in China, to communicate with Chinese netizens.

    The 47-year-old Tyson posted his first Weibo message Monday, saying “who is the best fighter in China?”

    The Weibo attracted more than 73,000 replies with many netizens suggesting he should have a fight against Donnie Yen, a Hong Kong-based award-winning martial artist, film director, producer, and action choreographer.

    “I’ve heard about this guy, Ye Wen! Always wanna meet him in person some day and have a real talk on fighting,” Tyson replied on Weibo.

    Yen also took to Weibo to express his excitement about meeting Tyson, and invited him to join the sequel of his new movie, “Special ID.” “I hope you can show your talents and skills in the movie,” Yen said on his Sino Weibo in response to Tyson.

    Some netizens mischievously suggested Tyson fight against the “best fighters in China” — chengguan, urban management departments’ law enforcement teams.

    “Who is that guy? Is he a good fighter? I’ve never heard of him before,” Tyson said.

    However, this reply was deleted later.

    Chinese media said that launching a Weibo account was the first way for Tyson to step into the Chinese market. It is said that he is looking to appear in Chinese movies, and also cooperate with top Chinese martial artists to present big fights between the sports of boxing and martial art.

    In fact, Tyson has already had experience in the entertainment business. He performed as himself in the hit movie, “The Hangover,” in 2009. The movie made US$500 million, becoming a worldwide critical and commercial success. He also featured in a documentary of himself, “Mike Tyson,” in his earlier days.

    “Tyson hopes to repay his Chinese fans’ love through Weibo and have a better connection with fans and the martial-art circle over the platform,” an insider said.

    A staff member from the publicity team of Yen told Chinese media that Yen was extremely excited after discovering that Tyson wanted to meet and talk to him in person. “Yen has admired Tyson for years. When he heard that Tyson wanted to feature in a Chinese movie, he hoped that he could invite Tyson to join in his sequel,” the staff member said.

    Yen’s new movie, “Special ID,” has performed outstandingly in the overseas presale market, and to capitalize on that success he plans to start shooting the sequel immediately. “He is very sincere in his invitation to Tyson,” the staff member added.

    Born into a well-known martial-art family in 1963, Yen is credited for contributing to the popularization of the traditional martial-art style known as Wing Chun. He played Wing Chun grandmaster Ip Man in the 2008 film “Ip Man,” which was a box office success. A well-known film and television actor in Hong Kong, Yen has also gained international recognition for appearing in many films together with other prominent and internationally-known actors such as Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh.

    (Wang Yuanyuan)