Happy Boxing Day!

When I first told my boys that the day after Christmas Day is called Boxing Day in some countries, they got really excited. The questions came fast and furious: "Really? A day reserved just for boxing?" "Who gets to punch first?" "Do we get to box each other?"

Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December and is observed in Australia, Austria, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and in some Commonwealth of Nations that have a mainly Christian population. In South Africa, the public holiday 26 December is called Day of Goodwill, in Ireland St Stephen's Day or Lá an Dreoilín, and in continental European countries the "Second Christmas Day." [source: wiki]

Traditionally, 26 December was the day to open the Christmas Box to share the contents with the poor. An 'Alms Box' was placed in every church on Christmas Day, into which worshippers placed a gift for the poor of the parish. These boxes were always opened the day after Christmas, which is why that day became know as Boxing Day.

Well, pictures have been circulating of a BOXING figure by Storm Toys - "Champion Tyson"

American boxer Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson (born June 30, 1966) was the undisputed heavyweight champion and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles. He won the WBC title when he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old, after defeating Trevor Berbick by a TKO in the second round. Throughout his career, Tyson became well-known for his ferocious and intimidating boxing style as well as his controversial behavior both inside and outside the ring.

Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson won his first 19 professional bouts by knockout, with twelve of them occurring in the first round. He unified the belts in the splintered heavyweight division in the late 1980s to become undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Tyson became the lineal champion when he knocked out Michael Spinks in the first 91 seconds of the fight.

Tyson lost his titles to 42-to-1 underdog Buster Douglas on February 11, 1990, in Tokyo, Japan, by a knockout in round 10. In 1992, Tyson was convicted of sexually assaulting Desiree Washington, for which he served three years in prison. He was never the same after that. Tyson was disqualified for biting off part of Evander Holyfield's ear during their 1997 fight.