After Tyson was disqualified for biting both of Evander Holyfield’s ears on June 28, 1997, he was fined $3 million, and his boxing license was revoked. That ban would last a little over 15 months, before it was lifted on October 18, 1998. The opponent Don King chose for him next was Francois Botha, the former IBF Heavyweight Champion on January 16, 1999. The MGM Grand Hotel would be the site, and I was as curious as ever to see how much Tyson had left in the tank.
After getting off my weekend gig of delivering pizzas, I settled into my recliner to catch the action on pay-per-view. I was always sure to tape the fights on the best quality VHS tape, and over the years, I had build up a huge library of fights to watch at leisure, or when working out.
Botha certainly impressed me in the first four rounds when he out-boxed and out-jabbed Tyson, winning all rounds in my book. Tyson also tried to break Botha’s arm at the end of the first round, and was reverting to dirty tactics again to win. He seemed like a pathetic version of his former self., and I realized how much I didn’t miss him at all in the ring.
In the fifth round, after Botha got off to a good start, Tyson landed a perfect right hand that knocked him out. He was quite frankly lucky in my book, and I found it sickening to listen to his psychotic rants in interviews, spouting out profanities, and acting like the loose cannon he was.
Less than a month after this win, Tyson was arrested again, this time in Maryland for assaulting two motorists. He served 3 1/2 months in jail, before being released on May 24, 1999. His act had gotten old with me, and if you look at his boxing record after his two losses to Evander Holyfield, his only wins were against mediocre and overmatched victims.
The myth of ‘Iron Mike Tyson’ was just that-a myth. He had his reign of terror for 3 1/2 years from late 1986 until February of 1990, when Buster Douglas ended it. His former trainer Teddy Atlas describes Tyson perfectly. “He was exciting, but he was never great.” Many still claim him to be what they want him to be, but the reality is he’s overrated. History and the facts bear me out, if people are willing to look at them.
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