Tyson just couldn't get a punch off after the second round. He looked old, slow, and he looked like his skills have completely evaporated. To top it off, Lewis is so much bigger than him, Lewis was able to hold him off with his jab and counter with the uppercut (the uppercut used to be Tyson's best punch...back in 1986!). Bottom line, it is time for Tyson to retire from boxing and either (1) become a casino greeter or (2) go into WWF so he can wrestle Dennis Rodman.
CHECK OUT THESE UK HEADLINES! TYSON SAVAGED IN UK PRESS Sun Jun 09 2002 21:24:14 ET Boxer Mike Tyson faces a national mauling on Monday in England's newspapers. I DID IT FOR THE QUEEN, declares top-seller THE SUN. "Boxing giant Lennox Lewis celebrates his demolition of Mike Tyson - then dedicates his stunning victory to the Queen." "DESTROYED: Mike Tyson's battered, bruised and bloodied face shows he has met his match in Lennox Lewis." "Lennox Lewis turned the man who threatened to kill him into a bloodied and pitiful wreck with the most merciless performance of his career," declared THE STAR. THE MIRROR headlines; "THE RAPIST, EAR-BITER, GOUGER.. REDUCED TO A WRECK BY A SOFTLY-SPOKEN BLOKE WHO LOVES HIS MUMMY: Mike Tyson lay flat on his back on the canvas. "THE FIST OF GOD: It came after 2mins 25 secs of the eighth round, a crushing righthander that left Mike Tyson on the canvas with blood seeping from his eyes and nose. " THE DAILY MAIL: "TYSON HUMBLED BY LIONHEART LENNOX: The pyramid stands now as a monument to the greatness of Lennox Lewis." "ALL HAIL KING LENNOX SIMPLY THE BEST: Only vanity can beat Lennox Lewis now and persuade him he can recreate over and over this night of crowning glory, this destruction of a one-time destroyer who masqueraded as someone invincible, " screamed THE EXPRESS. "GREATEST II: Lennox Lewis was hailed as the greatest heavyweight of all time after his ruthless demolition of Mike Tyson here." The GUARDIAN: "LEWIS TRIUMPHS OVER TYSON: Lennox Lewis made it a memorable weekend for Britain by beating the self styled "baddest man on the planet" Mike Tyson in the early hours of yesterday morning." INDEPENDENT: "FLOORED: 'THE BADDEST MAN ON THE PLANET: Lennox Lewis offered his knock-out victory over Mike Tyson in the small hours of yesterday morning as a jubilee gift to the Queen."
Tyson was way out of shape to fight Lewis. He looked tired and slow after the 3rd round, and it only got worse from there.
Are you kidding me? Tyson looked great laying there on his back on the canvas, right glove over his face. Beautiful.........
Tyson prepared for this fight but he was not ready mentally and physically. His reflexes have slowed down due to age, but I was shocked at his lack of skills and stamina. I still believe he's got the Kid Dynamite within him...he needs to go back to basics. His skills can be sharpened and his stamina can be built. He's getting up in age so his window of opportunity is closing fast. I think Tyson and his trainer underestimated Lewis. Whoever trained Tyson for this fight is an idiot. Once he saw his own blood, it was like he shut down. What happened to the "I'm ferocious. I want your heart" etc.? It's all talk. Tyson was scared as **** in the ring. In the pre-show, Tyson said he wants to be remembered. If he wants to be remembered as anything but a rapist, thug, *****, coward etc., he needs to want it bad. That means getting back the people who made him great in the 80's.
I respectfully disagree with you. The only "Kid Dynamite" Tyson has left are videotapes and fading memories from the 1980s. You also cannot blame his loss on his trainer. I watched the fight, and in between rounds, Ronnie Shields was pleading/begging with Tyson to "throw a damn punch". He would say things like "just give me one round". Tyson couldn't, because he can't, and he can't because his skills are gone. You can't blame it on the trainer, because the trainer isn't the one who is supposed to be throwing the punches.
You're right. I'm just hoping because I never saw Tyson in his prime, and as a casual fan Tyson is (now was) the only boxer I'd pay to see. Now, that his career is pretty much over its disappointing.
Funny thing is, you'd think he didn't train very hard. I thought he won round one, then looked winded and flat, not sharp at all, after about round 3. Ugly performance by Tyson.
Great article. --- Last hope for Tyson lies with ex-trainer By Terrance Harris, ARIZONA DAILY STAR June 10, 2002 I'm not sure what was the sadder moment on Saturday night. First, there was Mike Tyson flattened - bleeding from both eyes and his nostrils - as a result of an overhand right from Lennox Lewis in the eighth round of their heavyweight title fight. But then there was Tyson minutes later, wiping blood from Lewis' face and literally begging the champion for another payday. I was one of the 1 million pay-per-view watchers thinking, 'Please.' There is no way I would invest another nickel in seeing Tyson step into the ring. My inclination from the second round on was that the once unstoppable 'Iron' Mike Tyson is only a shell of his former self and that this should be it. But then I started posing scenarios that would make another Tyson-Lewis fight compelling and I came up with only one. What if Tyson's first trainer - and without question his best - Kevin Rooney returned to his corner? The two have been estranged for 14 years. And Mike Tyson hasn't been the same since. Tyson's post-Rooney trainers have been nothing more than yes men, unable to bring out the ferociousness that once made Tyson the most feared man in boxing. If Tyson has any chance left he must swallow his pride and do business with a man he has reason not to trust. I'm not sure how you get past a man basically equating you to a slave as Rooney did in his lawsuit during the mid-1990s. Here is how their first meeting might go: Tyson: Kevin, we need to (expletive) talk. Rooney: I have nothing to say to you. Tyson: Then just let me do the (expletive) talkin' here. I need you. I need you back in my corner. See, I have these images in my brain of being a once-vicious hitter, a prolific fighter, a heavyweight champion. But all I have are memories. I can't make it work in the ring anymore. I'm all messed up. Rooney: Yeah, that was obvious on Saturday night, Mike. But it's really been that way for much longer. You should have been the greatest. You could have easily surpassed Rocky Marciano's 49-0 record. Tyson: And that's why I was thinking that if you and me got back together, that I could return to the fighter I used to be. Remember that last time you were in my corner when I unleashed that massive force of destruction on Michael Spinks on June 27, 1988? I put him away in 91 seconds? I've never been greater. Rooney: But a lot has changed. And I'm not just talking about the years you spent in prison for rape. You've been knocked out cold three times. And I don't want to talk about the cannibalism. You are not the same fighter. You don't have the head movement you had with me and you've turned into a one-punch fighter. Tyson: I know. But it's these guys who've been in my corner. I don't respect them. They don't inspire me the way you did. That's why I'm willing to forget the hurt you put me through by talking to the media about my divorce to Robin (Givens) and then that ludicrous lawsuit. Rooney: Cus (D'Amato) made an agreement. He promised me before he died that I would be your trainer for as long as you fought professionally, which in turn entitled me to 10 percent of all of your earnings. Tyson: Don't get me wrong. I love Cus like a father, but he had no right to make a lifetime contract on my behalf. My people were emancipated back in the 1800s, so the only shackles I've ever known are the prison-issued ones. Rooney: Yeah, but I still won a sizable chunk of your money in the lawsuit. Tyson: And for that, I should break your (expletive) head! Wait. I've made millions more and I've lost them all. Money doesn't matter to me. I just long to be that vicious fighter that I once was when we were together. I need you to beat Lewis. Rooney: OK, I will help you. But first thing, I want you to forget about Lewis for now. For the next year, we are about to line up Hassim Rahman, WBA champ John Ruiz and Evander Holyfield. And if you get through them then we'll talk abut Lewis. When we get to Lewis, it's going to be just like it is 1988 all over again. Tyson: Yes, sir. link
Kevin Rooney, Tyson's former trainer: "Tyson wins. By KO or decision, either way, it won’t matter. Mike is such a much better puncher, and he has more big fight experience than Lewis. Mike won’t have trouble with the Lewis reach. The media has made way too much about Mike struggling against bigger fighters. It’s just a myth." link --- Only one way to find out if Mike isn't washed up, train him!
