After getting beat up and knocked out by Lennox Lewis on June 8, 2002, Mike Tyson made no plans to return to the ring until 2003. In November, he announced that he would return to the Pyramid in Memphis on February 22 to face Clifford Etienne on Showtime. Etienne had good success early in his career, but at 32 was now just a sitting duck being served to Tyson on a plate.
I had gone to Orlando to spend a few days with a friend of mine, and was forced to watch the fight on a scrambled version of Showtime, since he didn’t get it with his cable package. Cramped on the floor watching this crappy picture made me wish I had stayed home to watch the fight on my big screen TV, and sitting in my recliner. Since I was there already, I made the best of a bad situation, knowing the whole thing wouldn’t last very long. Sure enough, Mike knocked Clifford out with a powerful hand just 49 seconds into the opening round, and was back in the win column.
Speaking with Jim Gray afterwards, Tyson was erratic, and said he had a broken back from a recent motorcycle accident. He also was sporting a new tattoo on his face, and said he “Was all messed up and trying to get his life together.” When a rematch with Lewis was mentioned, Tyson said he needed two more fights before he could even think about that. He looked bewildered and lost, and I knew he would never fight Lennox Lewis again. Tyson didn’t appear in the ring again until July 30, 2004 in Louisville, Kentucky vs Danny Williams. The bout was on pay-per-view, and I had absolutely no interest in paying for the junk. I settled on the Showtime the following week, and could see how far Tyson was gone. After Mike had a decent start, Williams took over, knocking Tyson down and out in the fourth round. I had to wonder if he would continue to fight, and wished he would quit.
Unfortunately, ten months later Tyson returned to the MCI Center in Washington D.C. on June 11, 2005 face Kevin McBride on pay-per-view again. I passed once again, and a week later watched Tyson fight on the replay for the last time as a professional. He struggled, but was actually ahead on the cards against the 6′ 6″, 271 lb. McBride after six rounds. Exhausted and spent emotionally, he quit on his stool, failing to answer the bell for the seventh round. Admitting to Jim Gray afterwards, “I don’t have the heart for this anymore. I’m done.” My nature is to feel sorry for people, and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Mike. He was now almost 37 years old, and was losing to guys that couldn’t have carried his jockstrap in his prime. Retiring was the smartest move he could have ever made.
This is a blog, and I’m not here to write about Mike Tyson’s long personal and private history. As a heavyweight, he was one of the greatest punchers of all time, no doubt. For 3 1/2 years, from November of 1986 until February of 1990, he was as exciting a force in boxing as there every was, and is still one of the top heavyweights in boxing history. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011, an honor he truly earned and deserved.
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