Boxing

 

TYSON SCORES SMASHING FIRST-ROUND KNOCKOUT OVER ETIENNE

Photos © Tom Casino / Showtime

The Telecast Will Be Replayed In Its Entirety On SHO2 On Tuesday, February 25, At 11 PM ET/PT

23.02 - Former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, who needed an impressive victory to secure a rematch with World Boxing Council (WBC) champion Lennox Lewis, scored a devastating first-round knockout over world-ranked Clifford "The Black Rhino" Etienne Saturday on SHOWTIME. The bout aired on SHOWTIME at 10 p.m. ET/PT from the Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tenn., and were co-promoted by Gary Shaw Productions, LLC, and Fight Night, Inc.

Tyson (50-4, 2 NC, 45 KOs), of Catskill, N.Y., floored Etienne in 49 seconds of the first round and the "Black Rhino" could not make it to his feet and was eventually helped up by Tyson as the fight ended. It was Tyson's first start since losing to Lewis on June 8, 2002, at the Pyramid Arena. In his first bout in eight months, and second outing in 20 months, Tyson saw his six-bout unbeaten streak (4-0-2) come to an end. Prior to the Lewis bout, Tyson dominated local favorite Brian Nielsen by registering an impressive seventh-round TKO Oct. 13, 2001, on SHOWTIME from Copenhagen, Denmark.

Tyson was the youngest man in history to capture the heavyweight championship when, at the age of 20, he knocked out Trevor Berbick on Nov. 22, 1986, to win his first WBC title. The following year in Las Vegas, he unified the heavyweight division by capturing both the World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) belts. He won the WBA crown with a 12-round decision over James "Bonecrusher" Smith on March 7 and the IBF belt with a 12-round decision over Tony Tucker the following Aug. 1.

Etienne (24-2-1, 17 KOs), of Baton Rouge, La., was rocked by a hard Tyson right hand. The World Boxing Organization (WBO) No. 3 and International Boxing Federation (IBF) No. 7 contender hit the canvas hard and was counted out by referee Bill Clancy of Pittsboro, NC. In his previous outing, Etienne fought Francois Botha to an exciting 10-round draw in his last start July 27, 2002, on SHOWTIME. A former International Boxing Association (IBA) Americas champion, the exciting Etienne captured that belt with a third-round knockout over Joey Guy on June 30, 2000. In his only title defense, Etienne scored a second-round TKO over Dan Ward on Dec. 8, 2001, in Biloxi, Miss. After winning his first 19 bouts, including 13 by knockout, the "Black Rhino" made his SHOWTIME debut on March 23, 2001, and was stopped by Fres Oquendo in the eighth round. Prior to the draw with Botha, Etienne had scored knockouts in four of his previous five contests against opponents who shared a combined record of 113-37-3. In his second bout of 2002, Etienne earned a hard-fought 10-round unanimous decision over Terrance Lewis April 27 on SHOWTIME.

SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING's Steve Albert and SHOBOX commentator Steve Farhood called the action from ringside with Jim Gray serving as roving reporter and Nick Charles as host. The executive producer of the SHOWTIME telecast was Jay Larkin with David Dinkins producing and Bob Dunphy directing.

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