TYSON KO’ED BY WILLIAMS– WHAT OPTIONS DOES HE HAVE NOW?
By Ron Brashear
Inside Boxing Writer/Columnist
(IB – August 2, 2004) – Now that the after shock of Danny Williams (32-3, 27KOs)
knocking out “Iron” Mike Tyson (50-5-2 NCs, 44 KOs) in the 4th round in
Louisville, Kentucky this past Friday night has settled in everyone’s mind, its
time for many to wonder what will Tyson do now?
Based on what I observed, Mike doesn’t have many options, yet he may have a few
left. After all, surely we are not going to just turn our backs on Mike and
write him off as done – are we? In case you didn’t get a chance to see what
happened last Friday, you are encouraged to tune into Showtime Championship
boxing Saturday August 7th for the re-broadcast. The rebroadcast will be part of
the Freitas vs. Corrales card.
If you watch it with an open mind, you just might be able to key in on the
following:
1. How well Mr. Danny Williams is able to take a punch?
2. How physically strong Danny Williams is?
3. How well Danny can throw punches?
4. Then ask yourself, why haven’t I heard of Danny Williams?
If you too happen to take note of these attributes that were demonstrated by
Williams, you then can start looking at whether or not Tyson is finished or just
needs to get into better shape? Let’s overlook the part of the left knee
twisting for a moment and just focus on Tyson’s punching, and his
all-too-familiar bobbing and getting under William’s
punches and making him miss prior to fading in the 4th round. Again, is Tyson
finished or does he just need to get into better shape if he is going to
continue?
Here is something to think about as possible options if Mike were to continue.
Since this four-round bout was one of the most exciting and intense heavyweight
exchanges witnessed of late, Tyson should demand an immediate re-match! I would
love to see Tyson get his weight down to around 225 lbs and go at again with
Danny Williams. Just maybe, Tyson will pace himself and not empty his gas tank
so rapidly. That would be a great fight! Hey, if Tyson were to win and Danny put
up an effort similar to last Friday’s performance, they could have a rubber
match in London. Hey – that’s 3 out of his needed 7 fights to settle his debts
right there. It sure beats seeing Tyson take on another opponent with lesser
“apparent” skills than Danny Williams. Who is going to pay to see that?
If not, and Tyson decides to hang up the gloves, I can only hope the boxing
community doesn’t turn its back on “Iron Mike”. While he may not be quote “the
model citizen”, he rescued Heavyweight Boxing in the mid-to-late 80’s and made
this great sport of boxing more DRAMATIC than practically all that came before
him except for the Greatest himself – Muhammad Ali. For this alone, hopefully
there will always be a place for Mike Tyson in the boxing family. With all the
talk about how much money he has blown, we could also look at the sport itself
and say, “Where is the pension plan, similar to other professional sports, which
ensure Millionaire athletes continue to sustain a certain level of income once
their career has ended. Then, maybe we will not have to see Tyson take on an
Evander Holyfield in a 3rd fight and watch these two boxing legends inflict
further damage upon each other’s brain and body.
So Mike still has some options available to him. Whatever Mike Tyson decides to
do, I personally wish him well at it. If it happens to be the last time he is
seen in the ring, here is my public THANK YOU MIKE in advance for delivering the
thrills and excitement in the sport of boxing over the past 20 years! I doubt
you will ever be forgotten, and whether certain people like it or not, you have
your place preserved in boxing history and no one can take that away from you.
Not bad for 13 year old juvenile delinquent rescued out of a boy’s home…
You have just gone InsideBoxing.com
Ron Brashear can be contacted at brashear@insideboxing.com,
ron@brasheargear.com