Mike Tyson quit on his stool last night in his highly-touted bout with Kevin McBride — and he immediately said he might quit boxing.
Two things on that: (1)Tyson not only jumped the shark a long time ago, he jumped the whale (and probably took a bite of it, too). (2)He has been a truly sad figure, exploited by his associates, a convicted rapist — not exactly the best role model for youth. So you can’t say he’ll be missed if he leaves boxing, a sport that seems to be in a steady decline. Here are some details on last night’s fight — which won’t be considered an immortal one:
Mike Tyson’s career apparently ended in yet another shocker Saturday night when he quit on the stool after taking a beating in a foul-filled sixth round against unheralded Kevin McBride.
Tyson lost for the third time in his last four fights, and once again he faded badly as the rounds went on before deliberately head butting McBride in a desperate attempt to end the fight in the sixth round.
“I don’t have the stomach for this anymore,” Tyson said. “I most likely won’t fight anymore. I’m not going to disrespect the sport by losing to this caliber of fighters.”
He’d be wise to follow that inclination. At this point it’s hard to believe he can go anywhere but down — literally and figuratively. MORE:
Tyson was out of gas when he was pushed to the canvas as the sixth round ended, his head stuck between the first and second ropes. He stayed there for several seconds before finally untangling himself from the ropes and wobbling back to his corner.
When referee Joe Cortez came by to look at him, his corner told Cortez the fighter could not continue. Cortez then went over and raised McBride’s hand in victory while he still sat on his stool.
Tyson, meanwhile, just sat on his stool blankly watching McBride’s celebration, a white towel draped over his shoulder. When he got up to congratulate his opponent, McBride kissed him on the left cheek.
“I could have gone on but I thought I was getting beat,” Tyson said. “I don’t think I have it anymore.”
Tyson was winning, ahead 57-55 on two scorecards and behind by the same score on a third. But the fight had clearly changed and McBride had taken over and it only figured to get uglier as it went on.
The Associated Press had the fight even, 56-56.
Do you feel sorry for Mike Tyson? Weeellllllll:
Tyson was weary by the fifth round and, in the sixth round, he was penalized two points for deliberately head butting McBride and opening a cut over his left eye. The head butt came after Tyson appeared to try to break McBride’s arm in a clinch like he once did against Francois Botha and after he hit him with several low blows.
Cortez warned Tyson after he grabbed McBride’s arm, telling him “I don’t want any more fighting with the arms, understand?”
When the action resumed, Tyson then head-butted McBride, forcing Cortez to stop the fight briefly to allow McBride to recover and to penalize Tyson.
“He tried to break my arm and he butted me,” McBride said. “That’s the rough stuff in boxing.”
In a career filled with tremendous highs and terrible lows, Tyson may have reached a new low in the loss to McBride, an Irish journeyman who came into the fight with no credentials.
There’s more, but the point of this post isn’t to induge in blogging sadism. Suffice to say: it’s time, Mike, to move on…and not to another fight.
SOME OTHER TIDBITS ON THIS STORY:
–The Washington Times:” Some will say Irish Kevin ended the Tyson era for good last night when he beat a pathetic former world champion, but he just put another nail in the coffin. This career didn’t end in the ring. It ended in nightclubs and everyplace else where a man who should have known what it took to stay a champion ignored that knowledge and indulged himself in all manner of excesses that added up to more than $400 million in blown career earnings and the loss of a legacy.”
–The New York Times:“If this does not convince the public that Tyson (50-6) is washed up, perhaps nothing will. A crowd of 15,472 at the MCI Center could hardly believe what it witnessed as Tyson refused to come out for the beginning of the seventh round, and McBride (33-4-1) and his corner began a celebration that few people expected.”
—Herald Sun News (Australia):” MIKE Tyson’s controversial boxing career came to an inglorious end today when the former world heavyweight champion quit after the sixth round against journeyman Kevin McBride and ended his comeback.”
—Sportinglife.com:”Mike Tyson confirmed he will retire from boxing after a humiliating defeat by Irishman Kevin McBride in Washington DC. Tyson retired on his stool at the end of the sixth round at the MCI Center after a desperate performance against the Clones 32-year-old.”
—SaddoBoxing.com:”The destruction of the myth is complete. Or at least, it should be in the eyes of even those who dared to dream that there was anything resembling the greatness of old left in an aged Mike Tyson….Tyson is clearly a man with the weight of not merely a country, but the whole world upon his shoulders and it showed tonight as he walked away from the challenge of the most nondescript opponent imaginable.”
–The Washington Post’s account makes it clear that Tyson has not ended on a high note….more like on a middle finger:
In the end, one of the greatest heavyweights in boxing history quit because he didn’t want to get off his stool and fight anymore. Two-time heavyweight champion Mike Tyson lost to an unknown Irishman last night at MCI Center when referee Joe Cortez stopped the fight before the seventh round at the urging of Tyson’s corner…..
As he left the ring, Tyson was booed by many in the crowd of 15,732 for quitting, and one fan threw a cup of soda at him as he left the arena. Tyson responded by using his middle finger to express an obscenity.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.