Drederick Tatum



Drederick Tatum is a former boxer who resides in Springfield. Tatum is known for his extremely large size, his success at boxing (former World Heavyweight Champion) and his history of violent outbursts. He seems to have quit boxing in recent years.

Career
Drederick Tatum was a former Olympic Gold medalist, first became World Heavyweight Champion after defeating Watson in the heavily promoted "Bout to Knock the Other Guy Out!" He grew up in Springfield, recalling that that town was a dump (since he once said this: "If you ever see me there again you'll know I really [bleeped]-up bad"). He later served time in prison after pushing his mother down the stairs.

Prison
While serving time in prison, he was apparently intimidating to the other prisoners and guards, as evidenced by the fact that he managed to quell a prison riot simply by telling them to say "Hey guys, come on! Shut up!" without even leaving his cell. In a parole hearing, he admits he has regrets about pushing his mother down the stairs, and if he had an opportunity to go back in time, he'd "certainly reconsider it."

Match against Homer
Upon his release, he was booked for a match against Homer, during Homer's brief stint as a boxer who had never been knocked out. Drederick was managed during this time by Lucius Sweet, a vicious boxing promoter. Tatum stated that he thought Homer Simpson, his opponent, was a good man, although he still planned to make orphans of his children. He didn't seem upset at all that Homer was saved by Moe by the latter airlifting him out of the ring, and in fact expressed that it showed how much Moe cared for Homer as his promoter.

Lisa's experiment
He also visited the school to make a speech; however, Lisa ended up using him to test her hypothesis that bullies tend to attack nerds due to a certain chemical in their sweat; Lisa's hypothesis proved to be true as Nelson reacted unwillingly but instinctively to the chemical by trying to punch Tatum, who only warned him quietly to stop or he would kick him.

He was also a friend of Carl (they met at a party held by Dr. Hibbert), which proved beneficial to have Homer help Marge train in the mixed fighting tournament to end it. His house also has a few exotic animals.

Behind the Laughter

 * Drederick Tatum is a direct parody of Mike Tyson, right down to his violent criminal record, high-pitched, lisping voice and his mansion full of exotic animals.
 * In Tatum's first few appearances he looked a lot different than he does now. (E.g. he had no beard, a more snout-ish nose (like Chief Wiggum) and his hair was more flat.)