After serving jail time again, Mike Tyson was released on May 24, 1999. Don King signed Orlin Norris to be his next opponent on October 23rd back at the MGM in Las Vegas. When I sat in my recliner to watch the bout on Showtime, I figured that the crafty Norris could last into the later rounds against Tyson, and use his boxing skills to win some rounds. Unfortunately for Orlin, Tyson knocked him down with a left hand just after the bell for the first round ended. Orlin got up, but wobbled back to his corner. He complained to his corner that his knee had twisted, and he couldn’t continue. The whole mess was ruled a no-contest, and Tyson had to be restrained from attacking Norris after it was stopped. Norris did in fact require knee surgery after the bout, proving he was seriously injured.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission pretty much told Tyson to take his skills elsewhere, and that he wasn’t wanted in Nevada anymore. Don King decided to ship his prize money maker to England in January to fight a stiff named Julius Francis. I watched the two round knockout on Showtime, and then was forced to listen to a psychotic Tyson rant to Jim Gray in his post-fight interview. This win proved nothing, and his next fight proved even less.
On June 24, 2000, Tyson traveled to Glasgow, Scotland to face a petrified Lou Savarese. The whole thing lasted all of 38 seconds, and had some Tyson fanatics drooling over his knockout power. To me, it meant nothing until he fought someone who actually had a chance to win.
It was back to the States in October to face another real prize of an opponent, in the ‘mental hospital escapee’ Andrew Golota. Golota had such a history of quitting and bizarre behavior, I don’t know why he even agreed to face Tyson in the first place. There was no way in hell I was going to spend my hard earned money on this pay-per-view crap, and settled on watched the replay on Showtime a week later.
The October 20, 2000 bout was held at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The first round was fairly competitive until Tyson dropped Golota with a tremendous right hand hand late in the round. He arose, but twice asked his corner to stop the fight between rounds. They forced him to continue, but after a second round that he showed signs of life in, Andrew returned to his corner, and refused to sit down. He demanded that his corner stop the fight, and would not let them put his mouthpiece back in. With no other choice, referee Frank Garza called a halt to the action.
It was another pathetic display of cowardice by Golota, and the best part of the night is when the crowd threw stuff at him on his retreat back to the dressing room. My favorite moment is when red punch landed all over him as he marched back, and his lack of effort proved what I new all along. He was not mentally stable enough to fight, and remains the biggest crackpot to ever masquerade as a prize-fighter.
Tyson had his knockout, and talked of wanted to challenge Lennox Lewis for the title. I figured the two would eventually meet, and if they did, Lennox would knock Tyson out, and end his career for once and for all.
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