Former heavyweight champion says he and the actor are 'in discussion' about a proposed biopic, which would use the same CGI wizardry as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson has claimed that Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx is set to play him in a new biopic, through the magic of CGI. Tyson told the Daily Mirror that Foxx would portray him in different stages of his life, aided by the technology used for the David Fincher fantasy The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. He also claimed Martin Scorsese would be involved in the proposed biopic.

"Me and Jamie Foxx are in discussion, and we gonna do it," said Tyson, 48. "Within a year to 18 months, we're going to do the Mike Tyson story and he's going to portray me, and now they have this new animation; because you know Jamie's pretty much my age so he can't portray me but they have this new system."

Foxx, 46, has reportedly asked Tyson for help training for the role. Having previously impersonated Tyson, for comedy skits, he revealed an interest in portraying the boxer during an appearance on the US TV show Live with Kelly and Michael in May. "I got a chance to hang out with Mike when Mike was at his height," he said, "and I watched [him] go from his height to where he is now, and I talked to him about doing his story. I think that story would be fantastic … and I had my makeup artist dress me up as Mike Tyson … People were literally coming up asking for autographs. So hopefully, Mike, if you're listening, let's make history."

The Django Unchained actor won the best actor Oscar in 2005 for another biopic, Ray, about the musician Ray Charles.

Tyson became the youngest undisputed heavyweight champion of the world at 20, after uniting the WBC, WBA and IBF titles. In 1992 he was convicted of rape, and in 2003 he was declared bankruptcy, despite reported career earnings of more than $300m (£180m). He was the subject of sympathetic documentary, Tyson, directed by James Toback and released in 2008.

Fincher's Benjamin Button used CGI to show Brad Pitt as a man who ages backwards from a tiny old man to a strapping young 50-year-old and beyond. The film, based loosely on an F Scott Fitzgerald short story, was nominated for 13 Oscars in 2009 but won just three in art and technical categories.

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