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Just as Danny Williams and perhaps Father Time were delivering Mike Tyson his final blow I took a brief second to reflect on what Mike Tyson has given to me and all his fans.
When boxing needed it most, a brash, young man stepped up and resurrected this sport from the ashes. Cleaning out a division riddled with B-class fighters and over-the-hill greats, Mike Tyson brought back the luster that the golden division had lost.
But it wasn’t so much the order he restored but the fashion of which he delivered it. With unprecedented ferocity and power, lightning quick combinations and an aura of invincibility, he didn’t just defeat his opponents, he destroyed them.
Mike Tyson has been defeated more than he’s disappointed. I’ve always said that Tony Tucker and ‘Bonecrusher’ Smith were the most talented fighters he’s ever faced. They were the only two men that turned bombs into yawns.
And despite taking some losses in and out of the ring, his power to entertain never eroded like his once great skills. Even at the age of 38, the name Mike Tyson still held immense gravity over the public’s mind as well as the box office.
Browse any website dedicated to the sweet science and you will see countless articles written about him. That number will double or even triple within days of his scheduled fight. This is a fighter that hasn’t fought anyone substantial in over eight years. How can someone hold the public’s interest for so long while remaining so inactive? Because sports is about entertainment, and nobody is more entertaining than Mike Tyson.
My heart still aches over the loss he sustained last night. I’ve been a fan of Iron Mike’s when he still entered the ring sans his trademark black trunks and boots. It’s a pain sustained not from this loss but from the final blow that reality has driven into my chest. Mike Tyson’s career is over. There will be no more resurrections. No more ‘last chances’ to regain what he once restored.
After the final count had been delivered, Tyson told his trainer, Freddie Roach, that he was sorry. That he was disappointed.
“You don’t have to be sorry with me,” Roach replied. Nor with I, Mike.
Thank you for the great memories. Good luck in whatever path you choose.
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© Copyright / All Rights reserved: Doghouse Boxing 1998-2004
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By Henry Dyck (August 1, 2004)
