“We’re really good friends,” Mike Tyson said of Donald Trump in January. “We go back to ’86, ’87. Most of my successful and best fights were at Trump’s hotels." | AP Photo Trump denies inviting Mike Tyson to speak at convention

Former heavyweight boxing champion and convicted rapist Mike Tyson has not been invited to speak at the Republican National Convention next month, Donald Trump tweeted late Tuesday night.

Bloomberg reported earlier in the evening that Tyson was among the sports stars who would have a speaking role at the Cleveland convention, a group that also reportedly includes Super Bowl-winning Chicago Bears head coach Mike Ditka and legendary Indiana University basketball coach Bobby Knight.


Tyson, who starred in the popular “Hangover” movie franchise, was perhaps the highest-profile member of that group — and given his criminal record, the Bloomberg report caused jaws to drop.

“Iron Mike Tyson was not asked to speak at the Convention though I'm sure he would do a good job if he was,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “The media makes everything up!”

Trump and Tyson have been friendly for years, dating back to the 1980s. After Tyson's conviction for rape in 1992, Trump defended the former heavyweight champ, saying he had been "railroaded."

“You have a young woman that was in his hotel room late in the evening at her own will. You have a young woman seen dancing for the beauty contest — dancing with a big smile on her face, looked happy as can be" Trump said of the case during an interview that year with NBC News.

“We’re really good friends,” Tyson told the Daily Beast in January. “We go back to ’86, ’87. Most of my successful and best fights were at Trump’s hotels. He didn’t manage me, though. He was just helping me with my court case.”

“We’re the same guy,” Tyson went on. “A thrust for power, a drive for power. Whatever field we’re in, we need power in that field. That’s just who we are.”

“Balls of energy," he continued. "We’re not even who we think we are. We’re fire. We’re made of this crap — water, motion, dirt, diamonds, emeralds. We’re made out of that stuff, can you believe it?”

Ahead of the Indiana Republican presidential primary in April, Trump boasted about Tyson's endorsement.

"Mike Tyson endorsed me," he said at a campaign rally in Indianapolis. "I love it. He sent out a tweet. Mike. Iron Mike. You know, all the tough guys endorse me. I like that, OK?

"But Mike said, 'I love Trump. I endorse Trump.' And that's the end. I'm sure he doesn't know about your economic situation in Indiana. But when I get endorsed by the tough ones, I like it, because you know what? We need toughness now. We need toughness."