Upon Further Review: The world needs ‘no mas’ Tyson
The once mighty “Iron Mike” may have faded out of the boxing world after failing to come out for the seventh round during his bout against the little known Irish fighter Kevin McBride Saturday night.
Now I’m not sure how anyone could overlook someone the size of McBride, who stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 271 pounds. Especially when Tyson is 5-11 and 233 pounds. But it seems that’s exactly what happened, or else the 39-year old Tyson has finally lost what little common sense he had.
As soon as Tyson stepped into the ring, you could tell that was the last place he wanted to be.
It was the third loss in the last four fights for Tyson, who was trying to fight his way out of $40 million in debt and maybe even back into contention as the heavyweight field is wide open and there for the taking.
But if you look at Tyson’s last three or four fights, one would have to be under the assumption he’s not still fighting to win, but instead fighting just to get a paycheck.
He was paid $5 million for his six sluggish rounds, a mere drop in the bucket to what this former heavyweight champion once pocketed. After his creditors got $2 million, the IRS got its share and the ex-wife took home $750,000, he barely had enough change to buy a subway ticket.
In November of 1986 he knocked out Trevor Berbick in the second round to win the WBC heavyweight title to become the youngest heavyweight champion in history at the age of 20.
So where and when did Tyson’s fall from fame and fortune begin? His first mistake was marrying Robin Givens in 1988 — well, maybe that was her first big mistake. Givens went on a nationally televised interview and told the world Mike was a manic-depressive and she was afraid of him.
In 1990 Buster Douglas knocked out Tyson in the 10th round, taking the world heavyweight title.
In 1991 “Iron” Mike met Desiree Washington, a beauty pageant contestant. They went to Tyson’s motel room, and two months later a grand jury indicted him on rape and three other charges. In March of 1992 he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for rape.
In 1996 Evander Holyfield stopped Tyson in the 11th round for the WBA title. He married Monica Turner in 1997, and then two months later was disqualified after three rounds for biting Holyfield’s ears.
Seems like there’s a pattern here. Something bad always happens to Tyson after he gets married.
He then was sentenced to two concurrent two-year sentences for assaulting two motorists after a traffic accident.
In January of 2002 his wife sued for divorce and he lost his boxing license. The good old state of Tennessee granted Tyson his license in March of 2002, where was knocked out by Lennox Lewis in the eighth round with a record gate of $23 million.
And now his career is most likely over after he quit following six rounds against McBride.
The only other fighter I can recall trying to make more comebacks than Tyson is Roberto Duran, who bounced back and forth in and out of the ring until age 50. And he would still be trying to put on the gloves, if it wasn’t for a car crash in 2002. Like Tyson, he quit and will remain famous forever after saying “No mas, No Mas” during his fight with Sugar Ray Leonard in 1980.
Mike, do us all a favor and never put on a pair of boxing gloves again.