I watched Tyson work the heavy bag in the summer of 96' at Paco's in Vegas. Saw him work for 6-8 rounds.
Listen and listen good; nobody on this site would have stepped in the ring with that man (you may have wanted to, but your legs would not have carried you through the ropes when the time came). He had a 110 pound heavy bag rockin' & reelin' like a feather pillow. From across the gym, it sounded like someone was hitting the bag with a sledge hammer. When you stood 10-12' away, you felt the ground shake and thunderous vibration actually drove you away from the area. Insane.
In 2006... who knows.
Tommy's one of the only replies that make sense. How many of you have been in a prize fighting ring? That's what I thought. I boxed armature and even though that was many years ago, I still know how dangerous a trained boxer is. Anyone who's never boxed, and you don't play boxing, you play football, basketball, but you don't play boxing. Alexx, don't talk nonsense. 1 short hook to the liver and you wouldn't know if you should shit or go blind. Go to a boxing gym and spar a few rounds, make that 1 session with a trained fighter. It will be the biggest mistake you will ever make. Your Hollywood carrear would be gone and you would be in a wheel chair. You got balls, but your brains are in the wrong place. And Tyson is even talking of fighting women. Anne Wolfe for 1 and she's kick anyone's ass, short of a seasoned pro.
GETTING OLD IN YOUNGSTOWN
Just when we thought Mike Tyson had thrown his last punch in anger, along comes the “world tour” he is launching on Oct. 20 – in Youngstown, Ohio, of all places.
Nothing against Youngstown, which I’m sure is a very nice place, but the rust-belt city hardly conjures images of jet-setting excitement usually associated with boxing superstardom. What’s next? Tyson appearances in Dubuque, Iowa, and Fort Smith, Ark.?
Then again, maybe the Tyson that now exists is no longer capable of pulling in the high rollers and beautiful people who flocked to his fights in glitzy casino venues when he was on top. The tired, poorly conditioned and unmotivated Tyson who announced his retirement after quitting on his stool against Irish journeyman Kevin McBride 16 months ago apparently still is tired, poorly conditioned and unmotivated.
In announcing his participation in the series of exhibition bouts being put together by longtime confidante Sterling McPherson, Tyson gets high marks for honesty, if nothing else.
“I think I’m useless to society,” Rusted-Iron Mike replied when asked if he is still relevant at age 40. “I don’t think I’m worthy of the people who come out to see me, but they do.”
Tyson also told The Associated Press in August that “I truly hate fighting” and that “the best decision I ever made was to retire from boxing,” statements which are sure to cause Sterling McPherson, who is promoting the series of exhibition bouts, to blanch.
As a selling point for those exhibitions, the first of which pits Tyson against a onetime sparring partner, Corey “T-Rex” Sanders, the former heavyweight champion’s pronouncements are akin to a restaurateur taking out ads to alert the public about the rat droppings the health department discovered in his pantry.
Tyson will be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, probably on the first ballot, and I’ll vote for him on the basis of his accomplishments when he still gave a damn. But he pretty much stopped caring 10 or 12 years ago, and the fact that he can draw attention for bogus mini-bouts such as the one against Sanders – who is 6-foot-6 and listed at 300 pounds, although his actual weight is probably closer to that of a small SUV – is either an indication of his fans’ refusal to let go of the past, or an indictment of the current crop of heavyweights.
More’s the pity, but I’m thinking it’s probably a little bit of both.
