Botha knockout proves Tyson remains on top of boxing world

Thursday, January 21, 1999

Botha knockout proves Tyson remains on top of boxing world

COLUMN: No other boxer has as much raw power, fan appeal as Iron
Mike

With a thundering right hand to the head of Francois Botha, Mike
Tyson announced to the world that he has returned.

Was the "Iron" rusty? Maybe. Was he a little slower than the
Mike Tyson of old? Without a doubt. Less intimidating? Perhaps.

But Tyson did show the one thing that makes him the most feared
man in boxing, in or out of the ring.

When Botha collapsed like his spine had been yanked out of his
body 2:59 into the fifth round on Saturday night, the sheer power
of Tyson was as evident as it has ever been.

And he justified the exorbitant fees that fans paid to watch
this fight. There were 12,000 fans who shelled out at least $200 to
see the fight at the MGM Grand, and another million or so who
bought the pay-per-view feed at $46.

Yet critics of Tyson say that he has lost his luster, that he is
no longer the Mike Tyson people want to see. His fights have been
labeled as "freak shows," and some have said that they only want to
watch Tyson fight to see him freak out or "snap."

Tyson has become the man that people love to hate. People want
to see him lose. But I’ll tell you what – he’s not going to be
defeated.

Once Tyson has a couple more preliminary fights, he will be back
to form. He won’t be as good as the Tony Tucker-pummeling, Larry
Holmes-thrashing, Michael Spinks-annihilating destroyer of the late
’80s, but he’ll still be better than anybody else in the
heavyweight division.

Evander Holyfield may have had Tyson’s number, but this time
it’s different. The mere mention of Holyfield’s name sends Tyson
into a full-throttle rage. Believe it or not, this is actually
beneficial for Tyson.

He needs to regain the passion for mindless ass-whooping that
possessed him at age 20 and 21. Holyfield puts him into that
mindset, and with Holyfield being the only fighter that used to be
able to handle Tyson, his time is up and Mike will regain the
belt.

George Foreman may be the only fighter capable of withstanding a
Tyson blow without losing consciousness, but Tyson still has too
much speed and quickness to be defeated by a 50-year-old, one-punch
fighter.

Michael Moorer and Lennox Lewis are both overrated, weak-chinned
and scared. Neither one of them has had a legitimate victory over a
name-brand opponent, and Tyson could easily knock either of those
guys out of the ring.

Perhaps Axel Schulz could do Tyson in. Yeah, right. He doesn’t
have a shot, even in the farthest reaches of hell. He may have
manhandled Riddick Bowe, but Bowe lost all interest in fighting
about a year before the two ever met in the ring.

Henry Okiwande? Orlin Norris? Herbie Hide? No way. These guys
are just beneficiaries of the alphabet soup organization’s ratings
systems.

Maybe Lance Whitaker and Michael Grant could vie for Tyson’s
throne, but both are young and untested. Though each is undefeated,
neither youngster has fought anybody who can knock an African
elephant on his back with one punch.

The only person that leaves to challenge for the title is Roy
Jones Jr., who is currently fighting as a blown-up cruiserweight.
Though Jones is the best fighter in the world without question, his
natural weight is 160 pounds and he wants to fight at 205.

So by default, Tyson will once again be the man that runs the
ring, fortunately without Don King at his side this time.

Now I am aware of Tyson’s problems in and outside of the ring.
The rape conviction, the fight after the car accident, the cursing
tirades and – of course – the ear biting incident have all helped
to irreversibly taint the Tyson image.

All is forgotten (not forgiven), however, when Tyson steps into
the ring. The aura of Mike Tyson is alive and well.

On Saturday night, people all over the world cancelled plans
just to watch the first step on a long road back to respectability.
The atmosphere, tension and excitement of a Tyson fight is greater
than any spectacle in the world. It is greater than the Super Bowl,
World Cup or State of the Union address.

Everybody knows what is going to happen, yet everybody is still
in awe when it actually occurs. There is no more intense feeling in
the world of sports than staring Mike Tyson in the eye and going
toe to toe with him, and people realize this.

So regardless of Tyson’s exploits outside of the ring, I will be
a staunch supporter of Tyson the boxer for as long as he is capable
of ending careers with one punch.

The Botha knockout proved that Tyson is back, and he is once
again "the baddest man on the planet."

Evan Lovett is currently lifting cars, wrestling grizzly bears
and running marathons in an effort to prepare for the Tyson-Lovett
extravaganza on Sept. 2 of this year. He can be reached during non
training hours at [email protected]

Comments, feedback, problems?

© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]