American boxing legendary Mike Tyson paid a courtesy call to Kenyan and World Boxing Commission (WBC) champion Fatuma Zarika at her training site last week.

The visit comes a few days to her crunch WBC Super Bantamweight title defense battle against Jamaican Alicia Ashley on June 30, in Dallas.

“I was more than pleased to have met Tyson, one of the celebrated boxers in the game’s history whom I have only been watching on television. We had a lengthy talk, but he promised to visit me in the gym this week before the fight. It was really motivating and I am looking forward to meeting him again,” Zarika said.

The 31-year-old mother of two, who has been in Las Vegas on a six-week long training, however expressed caution ahead of the bout with regard to the fact that her opponent will also be out for a revenge.

“Of course this is going to be a very tough fight for both of us, but a great fight for the fans. Both of us have different targets. While I am focusing on defending the title, Alicia will be out to revenge last year’s defeat,” said Zarika from her training base at Berry’s Boxing Gym, Las Vegas.

Zarika is sponsored by betting firm SportPesa.