Stacy McKinley, one of Tyson’s co-trainers, was given a microphone and a moment in the spotlight where he ranted about how Lewis, “Has a lot of bitch in him. He’s a real bitch!” said McKinley. Wow, that’s a lot of bad karma, I thought. Considering that Max Kellerman, of ESPN 2 predicted Lewis would win, I figured McKinley’s bad karma had nullified Kellerman’s usual jinxed prediction. Whew.
“Iron” Mike Tyson was polite when interviewed before the fight, even lightheartedly joked with reporters. There was a certain eerie calm about Tyson that was uncharacteristic of the man who recently said he wanted to eat Lewis’ children and once upon a time branded himself, “The Baddest man on the planet.” Now he’s just one of the baldest.
Lennox Lewis was ‘no frills,’ he looked serious and focused. Like he’s said many times before, “Mike Tyson has never seen a fighter like Lennox Lewis.”
Ringside seats went for $2400.
The Fight
Round 1
Tyson starts in his famous, fast and furious manner, throwing lots of punches, going for the quick knockout. Lewis holds his own, clinching whenever Tyson gets too close. Lewis lands big shots to Tyson’s head and body after warding off a barrage of Tyson leather. Lewis landed the cleaner punches but Tyson may have thrown more as he dictated the initial pace of the fight. Lewis did more holding than Tyson. I scored round one for Iron Mike, just barely.
Round 2
Seconds into the round, referee Eddie Cotton sternly warns Lennox about holding. Tyson still comes forward with bad intentions. Forced by Cotton to stay off of Tyson, Lewis finds his jab and the range to throw it. Both fighters later clinch and Cotton angrily warns Lewis again about holding. I thought both guys were holding in spots. Apparently Cotton was looking for reasons to take a point from Lewis. Both fighters were fighting a clean fight. It’s a known and proven strategy to clinch with Tyson when he comes in close so as to neutralize his power punches. Cotton looked like he was rooting for Tyson and couldn’t stand to see what was unveiling before him. Lewis gets the better of the exchanges and wins the round.
Between the rounds, Tyson’s trainer Ronnie Shields tells Mike, “you got to make this a very ugly fight…NOW!”
In Lewis’ corner, Emanuel Steward tells Lennox, “He’s slowing down real bad now. Work your jab. Your jab is pumping. You’re on your way baby!”
Round 3
Lewis establishes his range and catches Mike on almost every try. Although Tyson is frustrated, he continues to fight cleanly, except for hitting on the break. Cotton said nothing to Tyson. Mike gets cut above his right eye. Tyson catches Lewis with a big left uppercut. Lewis’ chin holds firm as he returns the favor with a solid right hand. Tyson’s chin is like a rock. Lewis battles both Tyson and Cotton. He controls the tempo and wins the round, wary of the biased referee who stalks him in another angle of the fight. After the round, Tyson looks bloodied and tired. In Lewis’ corner, Steward implores Lennox to, “shoot that damn uppercut some, the man is tired!”
Round 4
Lewis is in control of the fight. Tyson lunges on occasion but mostly misses,
usually throwing only one punch at a time. Lewis pops Tyson with multiple shots.
Tyson is dazed. Working the jab, Lennox dominates Tyson, whose confide Stocking Stuffers!" border="0" src="http://www.sharperimagespecials.com/banners/CategoryImages/Special1_125x125.gif">
Mike Tyson shocked the security forces who, “ooh’d and aah’d” as he made his way over to Lewis and hugged him in a show of good sportsmanship. Tyson was gracious in defeat. He was humbled before Lewis, whom he praised as the greatest fighter. He thanked Lewis for the opportunity and the great payday. Lewis smiled.
Later in the interview, Tyson reached over and wiped the sweat off Lewis’ face while he was answering a question by Jim Grey. He even kissed Lewis’ mother on the cheek as she stood by her son in the ring surrounded by a swarm of people.
With all the niceties going on, Jim Grey sort of instigated bad blood by reviving questions of the nasty things they said about each other in the moments leading up to the fight. Tyson admitted that he’s known Lewis since he was 16 years old and their old trainers were friends and that he knows that Lewis knows that he has nothing but respect for him. Lewis didn’t deny this. Tyson also admitted that the trash talk was all in line with promoting the fight.
Although Lennox Lewis sought to humiliate Hasim Rahman after their last fight, which he won by knockout, he was almost friendly with Mike Tyson when after their fight. And Lewis never mentioned anything about Ruiz or Johnson, as Czyz had predicted. (So much for the prediction powers of Bobby Czyz.)
With his legacy secured, Lennox Lewis has got to be satisfied with Boxing. He has made lots of money and has been disciplined, so he must be very wealthy. It could be said that he has nothing left to prove. Yet, of the four most recognized Alphabets soup organizations (the IBF, WBA, WBC and the WBO), Lewis might want to capture the WBO title, which is better regarded in Europe, where Lewis is from. After all, he may be Jamaican, but he’s from England, which is in Europe.
Wladimir Klitschko, a 6’5”, 250-pound, athletic Heavyweight owns the WBO title but may not be ready for the likes of Lewis just yet. Wladimir is still young and being carefully managed. It would make for an interesting fight though. The winner of Ruiz Johnson would seem like a walk in the park for Lennox, who has once again shown the world that he is the best Heavyweight in the World. A rematch with Tyson would be looked at as a fight just for the money. Can the hype machine reinvent Tyson again? If so, you never know.
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