‘Iron’ Mike Tyson returned to Atlantic City Convention Hall on July 21, 1989 to face Carl ‘The Truth’ Williams on HBO. Tyson dropped Williams with a left hook in the opening round, but referee Randy Neumann stopped the fight prematurely when Williams was more than able to continue. It ruined the fight for me personally, and I drove home from my sister’s house in a bad mood.
When a bout with Razor Ruddock fell through in the fall, Tyson agreed to fight James ‘Buster’ Douglas on February 11, 1990 in Tokyo, Japan. Douglas was listed as a 42-1 underdog in just one Vegas casino, since the others wouldn’t even post odds on the supposed mismatch. By this time in his career, I was anything but a Tyson fan, and when I went to my sister’s apartment to watch the fight on HBO, I took a new VHS tape to record it, telling my mother before I left, “You just never know what might happen.”
Sure enough, Douglas shocked the world with his stunning 10th round knockout of Tyson, and I was as thrilled as could be. I couldn’t wait to brag to all the guys I worked with at my part-time mall security guard that their hero had fallen, as I had predicted for months. I often said that “Tyson is going to lose sooner or later, and that no one is invincible.”
Despite Don King’s complaints of a long-count, Douglas took the belts back to America. Tyson returned to action on June 16, 1990 at Caesar’s Palace as part of a doubleheader billing with George Foreman. Mike easily disposed of his 1984 Olympic nemesis Henry Tillman with a single blow in the opening round, which hardly came as a shock to anyone. Tillman had about as much a chance as I did, and was so scared that he ran until Tyson cornered him and knocked him out.
In December, Tyson traveled back to Atlantic City to take on Alex ‘The Destroyer’ Stewart at Convention Hall. Mike easily knocked out the weak-chinned Steward in one round, in what would be his last fight ever on HBO.
Don King had secured Tyson a lucrative contract with Showtime, and his first fight with them was scheduled for March 19, 1991 vs. Razor Ruddock at the Mirage in Las Vegas. I had just returned from a vacation in Vegas, and had tried to see the fighters in public workouts, but they weren’t holding them. At home, I traveled the 7 or 8 mile distance to the Pavilion in Cherry Hill, New Jersey to catch the action on closed-circuit. The fight itself was exciting and fast-paced, with both men landing huge punches. Unfortunately, Richard Steele stopped the fight in the 7th round with Ruddock on the ropes, but ready to continue. The quick stoppage called a riot between the fighter’s camps to ensue, and was the fuel necessary to call for a rematch.
The rematch took place some three months later, on June 28th back at the same Mirage. For me, it was back to the Pavilion for another closed-circuit bout, which I knew was soon going to be a thing of the past. This time the brawl went the full 12 rounds, and it was a pleasure to see referee Mills Lane in the ring instead of Steele. Both sluggers landed huge punches all night, and it the end Tyson was awarded the decision, which he fully deserved. Both guys were gracious after the fight, and in the post-fight interview, Don King was vague in who he wanted Tyson to fight next. What he didn’t know at the time was Tyson’s victory over Ruddock would be his last appearance in the ring for over 4 years.
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