10.08.04 – By Bert Randolph Sugar, Sr. Boxing Analyst at-large for www.CMXsports.com: It wasn’t supposed to have happened this way. What had been planned as a hollow formality, one almost as carefully planned as a 10-word Western Union telegram, had gone terribly wrong. It was to have been Mike Tyson’s triumphant comeback after 17 months of inactivity, a comeback that would have guided him on a path into the heavyweight rankings and a title shot and out of hock. And against an opponent as unknown as Whistler’s father named Danny Williams–who, for all the average boxing fan knew, was either a member of the Brady Bunch or sang “Moon River.”
At least that was the plan. But, as wee Bobby Burns was wont to say, those plans, both fistically and financially, had “gone aglea.”
For in a mere 11 minutes and 52 seconds the once “Baddest Man on the Planet” wasn’t even the baddest man in the ring in Freedom Hall in Louisville, Ky., but instead a tim’rous beastie, the victim of 21 unanswered–or “lucky,” if you will–punches from the aforementioned Mr. Williams, which nailed him to the canvas like a proverbial two penny.
As he sat there, comfortably lounging against the ropes, his right arm resting leisurely on the mid-strand, his left on his flexed knee, Tyson looked for all the world like a man who had just said to himself, “Ah, hell, let’s go fishing,” his mind having given up and now reduced to watching his fistic life flash before his eyes.
And what to his wondering inner eyes should he see but a talent wasted, a potential all-time great who had landed punches sounding like they could fell six or seven bystanders, winner of his first 37 fights, 33 of those by KO, and in the process becoming at age 20 the youngest heavyweight champion in history. But after ascending to the top of boxing’s mountain, suddenly Mike’s life, both in and out of the ring, began unraveling like a ball of yarn, starting with becoming the youngest heavyweight champion ever to lose his title, that coming during a 1990 knockout loss to 42-1 underdog Buster Douglas at the less than ripe old age of 23.
From there it was a quick slide down the razor blade of life as he went through, at warp speed, two marriages; two divorces; two jail sentences; numerous handlers, managers, promoters and assorted hangers-on; and, oh yes, millions upon millions of dollars.
Throw in an ear-biting incident during his second fight with Evander Holyfield, the hitting of a referee in the Lou Savarese bout, an attempt to break the arm of Franz Botha in their fight, a late hit in his bout with Orlin Norris, a suspension from the all-powerful State of Nevada, the mother of all personal bankruptcies and more comebacks than any touring pop star ever attempted, and you have a reality show that even television can’t touch.
And then there was this…being knocked out by Danny Williams in the fourth round of a fight that was supposed to mark the successful return of the once and future champ, (Granted, Tyson wrenched his knee during the first round, tearing his cartilage in four places and reducing his vaunted, kudo-eliciting punching prowess.)
So, what went wrong? Well, as former heavyweight world champion Larry Holmes theorizes, Tyson’s advisors shouldn’t have brought him back after a 17-month absence against an opponent who is three-plus inches taller, outweighs him by some 30-plus pounds and has more than 20 knockouts. But instead, as Holmes suggests, “Tyson should have fought a coupla cream puffs, as I did before my fight with Ray Mercer, sharpening my skills after a long layoff.” And, added Holmes, Tyson should have trained more to conquer what “The Easton Assassin” sees as “Iron” Mike’s “lack of stamina” after the early rounds.
Whatever. But now what? Will we ever see the likes of Tyson in the ring again?
The answer is a definite maybe. Definite because Tyson still is in a financial bind that runs somewhere up into the cheap seats and needs to dig himself out by the only means he knows how. After all, when he was interviewed while still in prison and asked, “What are you going to do now?” he answered: “I ain’t gonna be no nuclear physicist.” The same holds true today.
Maybe because at the advanced boxing age of 38 he still possesses power in each hand, as witnessed by his staggering Williams mightily in the first round with a bodacious uppercut. And Mike Tyson, no matter what you may think of him, still generates eyeballs. Perhaps the answer is one that promoter Bob Arum suggested: that Tyson take the route George Foreman took in his comeback, that of fighting for $250,000 purses in small arenas against opponents of lesser quality than Williams until he regains up his once-golden and now tarnished skills and confidence.
Mike Tyson needs the ring. It is the only place he can find peace…and success…and financial salvation. Ironically, the heavyweight division needs him as well, for he is the only immediately identifiable name in an almost anonymous division. He alone can bring instant interest to not only the division but to the sport itself.
So, at least for now, hold off on those pre-mature fistic obituaries. There’ll be no Auld Land Synes here. For Mike Tyson is not ready yet to pack away his career in lavender and moth balls, He will be back.
Bert Randolph Sugar, CMXsports’ Sr. Analyst At-Large, called “ The Guru of Boxing,” has a new book Bert Sugar On Boxing,” (or “The Best of Bert Sugar, The Worst of Bert Sugar, What the Hell’s the Difference?”), published by The Lyon Press and currently available at Border’s, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com
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BERT RANDOLPH SUGAR’S latest weekly column –“Sugar ‘N Spice” — can be read EXCLUSIVELY at www.CMXsports.com: . Sugar, the world-famous boxing historian and sports bon vivant, is the Senior Boxing Analyst at-large for CMXsports, where he is also part of the new Latin boxing broadcast series, “CMX Boxeo de Campeones,” which made its debut, May 28. Presented by CMXsports and promoted by Guilty Boxing, “CMX Boxeo de Campeones” allows boxing fans from around the world to catch all the action via a live internet stream, and access the replay, at www.cmxsports.com for a monthly subscription fee of just $4.95. The series airs Friday nights, beginning at 11 P.M. ET / 8 P.M. PT. Subscribers can also access archived fight footage and get behind-the-scenes interviews, previews and articles. The broadcasts are available in English and Spanish.
The Runyonesque Sugar, a former editor of The Ring, and Boxing Illustrated magazines and the author of over 50 sports books, lends his world-renowned knowledge and razor-sharp wit to his weekly column which will be dedicated to the hot topics facing boxing today, as well as contrasting and comparing today’s boxing scene to the historic eras of the past. This week, Bert plants his tongue firmly in cheek with his look on Mike Tyson’s unsuccessful return to the ring against Danny Williams.