After his easy one round knockout of tomato can Peter McNeeley on August 19, 1995, Mike Tyson agreed to face Buster Mathis, Jr. on November 4 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Don King had scheduled it for the same day that Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield were to meet for the third time at Caesar’s Palace, a fight I attended in person myself. Tyson suffered a broken thumb 3 weeks before his fight, but didn’t announce it until November 1st. It eventually wound up in Philadelphia at the Spectrum, on December 16. Live on Fox TV, it would be the last time a fight was broadcast for free on network television in prime time.
I was in Vegas when the Mathis Jr. bout took place, and had bet a substantial amount on Mike to cover the under prop of 3 1/2 rounds. As I sat in my hotel room on the strip, I almost hyperventilated when Tyson struggled with the crafty Mathis Jr., slipping Mike’s blows, and avoiding getting hurt. Thankfully, Tyson pivoted off of the ropes, and dropped Buster with a quick right hand that knocked him out in the 3rd. I went home to Jersey, knowing I could enjoy Christmas a whole let better with a win.
Frank Bruno was chosen as Tyson’s next opponent, and it would be for Bruno’s WBC World Heavyweight Championship. My parents were on vacation in Vegas that week, so I booked a flight out, and slept on the couch at the Jockey Club for nothing. It would be a chance to bet a few bucks on Tyson, and my last bit of fun before the landscaping season in south Jersey began.
I paid to watch it on closed-circuit at the MGM Grand, knowing Tyson would easily run through Bruno. The Brit was lucky to have won a title, especially since he won the belt over Oliver McCall the previous September, a boxer with a known drug problem, and fought like he was high that night. The chances that Bruno could win should have been 1000-1, but I was able to win about $700 on a straight win, not the over-under. Mike easily knocked out Bruno in 3 rounds and had his title back around his waist. At just 29 years old, he still had a bright future ahead of him.
The buffoons Rory Holloway and John Horne that Don King had signed as puppet ‘managers’ for Tyson, were a joke. The two combined couldn’t run a popsicle stand, let alone Tyson’s career. King controlled Tyson, manipulated his every move, and had gotten what he wanted all along. A piece of the heavyweight championship. and a chance to make huge money. He is the single most sickening figure in the history of boxing to me, and history bears me out. The ultimate con-man would wind up robbing Tyson of most of his fortune before his career was through, which came as no surprise to me.
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