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That Qawi piece is very good Mo, descriptive, informative. I enjoyed it :good

I've tweaked the Taylor and Tyson pieces a bit, nothing notable, but they've been refined, sharpened. Believe it or not, Tyson part 2 is on it's way. Maybe even part 3 :yep

 

Glad you liked it I'm looking forward to the next bit on Tyson

Qawi is one of my all time favourites, a great fighter & a fascinating character who has lead an amazing life.

 

Mike Tyson part 2.

After his shocking upset defeat at the hands of Buster Douglas, Tyson made it his perogative to bounce back as quickly and as devastatingly as possible. Iron Mike returned to the ring just 4 months after the Douglas loss, with his comeback bout scheduled against former Olympic rival Henry Tillman. Tillman, a fighter who's fine amateur skills had failed to translate into sustainable professional success, was brutally knocked out with a concussive right hand to the temple in the first round by the returning Tyson. Next on the comeback trail for Tyson was Alex Stewart, a durable contender who's sole loss had come at the hands of Evander Holyfield (7th round cut stoppage). Despite his reputation, the terrified Stewart was knocked down 3 times and subsequently stopped in the first by a mercilless Tyson. Mike was back.

Not feeling the need to participate in any more 'tune-up' fights, Tyson immediately thrust himself into a bouth with the highly rated and dangerous contender Donovan 'Razor' Ruddock, a rock hard puncher who had recently disposed of both Michael Dokes and Bonecrusher Smith with consumate ease. The 2 met in 1991, in a controversial encounter, where Ruddock was adjudged to have been dropped three times (1 was a slip) before being controversially stopped in the 7th round after being wobbled by a hard Tyson combination. Razor protested the stoppage, and a riot in the ring ensued. The controvery surrounding the abrupt ending of the bout meant an immediate rematch was on the cards

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gABSAe6HONM[/ame]


The return was scheduled for March of 1991. In a very gruelling encounter, Tyson emerged with the hard fought unanimous verdict. The fight was intensely fought, with neither fighter willing to give an inch as both shipped hard punches in an attempt to outlast the other. Ruddock was dropped twice in the bout, but this was almost cancelled out by Tyson having 2 points deducted for low blows. Tyson was victorious by a comfortable margin on the scorecards, having outlanded and outfought his highly competitive foe. The fight, to this day is regarded as one the hardest and most fiery encounters fought in the modern Heavyweight division.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSYVKsDcnPg[/ame] [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2n3zV4Wta8[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUH6IwI5NNA[/ame] [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH4PeCsVUBw[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vOvPWvUnTM[/ame] [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khYUSA0mFCM[/ame]


After his defeat of Ruddock, Tyson looked set to challenge undisputed champion Evander Holyfield for the Heavyweight championship. It was a mouth-watering match up in the eyes of boxing fans. After a brief cancellation due to an injury sustained by Tyson, it looked like the figth was on. However, in a shocking turn of events, Tyson was arrested in July 1991 for the **** of Desiree Washington. Despite protesting his innocence, in February 1992 he was sentenced to 10 years in prison and promptly incarcerated.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXpsjcw1O8M[/ame]


After serving just 3 years of his sentence, Tyson was released in March of 1995 and returned to the ring without hesitation. Hungrier than ever before, and looking bigger, stronger and more fearsome, despite aging and putting on a small amount of weight, Tyson returned with a bang when he stopped the horribly overmatched Peter Mcneeley in one round. A third round stoppage over the awkward but ultimately petrified Buster Mathis Jr put Tyson back on the Heavyweight map. Iron Mikes quest to regain the Heavyweight championship had began.

Tyson reclaimed the WBC title with a third round stoppage over old foe Frank Bruno. Bruno, who had asked questions of Tyson in their first bout served as little more than cannon fodder this time around as Tyson beat him to a pulp and took his title in 3 quick, non-competitive rounds. 6 months later, Tyson contested for the WBA title, owned by Bruce Seldon. In one of the most pathetic performances by a defending champion in Heavyweight title history, Seldon succumbed to Tyson inside the first round, hitting the canvas on 2 occasions without appearing taking clean punches. Seldon was deemed an embarrassment for his peformance, but Tyson cared little however, as the WBA title was his yet again and a Heavyweight superfight against Evander Holyfield was on the horizon

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlEu16xQgw4[/ame] [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcRXu8PyZe8[/ame]


Tyson and Holyfield finally met in November 1996. And in Ring Magazines 'Fight of the Year', Holyfield stopped Tyson in the 11th round of a savage encounter, taking his title and handing Mike his second professional defeat. In a fight fought largely on the inside, where both fighters toiled and grappled in an attempt to gain the upper hand, Holyfield emerged the victor as his athleticism, class and ability shone through against the suprisingly one-geared Tyson. After appearing to gain the upper hand on Tyson in the later rounds of the fight, Holyfield had a lead entering the championship length. After hurting a tired Mike with a pair of hard left hooks and an uppercut in the 11th, Holyfield drove Tyson to the ropes and preceeded to batter him with punches, where the referee promptly jumped in to bring an end to the fight. It was such a closely contested and entertaining encounter, that both fighters sought a rematch.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAm5UblVqZ8[/ame]


Tyson and Holyfield met again in 1997, in a fight that is to this day regarded as one of the most shocking and controversial encounters of all time. After a couple of close rounds including a good 3rd for the challenger, Tyson had 2 points by referee Mills Lane for attempting to bite Holyfields ear. The deduction did little to deter Tyson however, as he attacked Holyfield again, this time biting with enough force to remove a portion of the champions ear. Tyson was immediately disqualified, and an altercation ensued in the ring, with a riot nearly breaking out. Tyson blamed Holyfields reckless use of the head as motive for his actions, but this did not change the fact that Tyson's actions had disgraced the sport of boxing and further marred his already rocky reputation, and he had slipped further in the estimations of fans and critics around the world. The bout is known as 'The Bite fight', for obvious reasons.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZxsqfVajMY[/ame]


After being subsequently banned from the sport for 1 year, following the biting debacle, Tyson returned in 1999 against a string of sub-par opponents. Tyson had appeared to lose his edge a bit and looked nowhere near as dynamic as he had in past bouts. Age, combined with wear and tear from a number of hard fights had appeared to catch up with Tyson. However he soldiered on and in his first fight since his ban, he took on contender Frans Botha. Botha appeared to outbox Tyson clearly over the first 4 rounds of their bout, but his lead did not last as Tyson knocked him out with an enourmous straight right hand in the 5th. After remaining unbeaten over the course of his next 5 fights, which included 3 wins and 2 no contests over several fringe contenders, Tyson was primed for yet another shot at the Heavyweight title, this time against reigning champion Lennox Lewis.

Despite Lewis being the older man, Tyson was much further detached from his prime than the late bloomer Lennox, and was consequently beaten to a pulp and knocked out cold by the bigger, stronger champion. Tyson's aggression appeared to give Lewis some problems early on in the fight, but he quickly acclimitised to Tyson and preceeded to find his range and punish Tyson with huge right hands over the course of the bout. The exhausted, swollen and beaten Tyson was finally put out for the count in the 8th round. It appeared as though the Mike Tyson express train had finally come to a halt.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QF72g6mtkko[/ame] [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLCsRVkQCHE[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08RXtZ_Skv0[/ame]


Never to be deterred, Tyson again returned to the ring just a year later, this time defeating Clifford Etienne in 1 swift round. If nothing else, Tyson had appeared to hold on to the devastating power which had carried him throughout the late portion of his career. However his comeback attempts were quickly silenced by Englishman Danny Williams, who upset Tyson knocked him out in 5 hard-fought rounds. Despite the defeat, Tyson, still clamouring for another shot at the Heavyweight crown, decided to give it one last hurrah, in this instance against Irish journeyman Kevin McBride. McBride brought Tyson's career to an end in 6 rounds, stopping him and finally retiring the man who had kept the entire boxing world on it's toes for the last 20 years.

To this day, the name 'Mike Tyson' is known known globally. Everybody and their mother knows who Mike Tyson is, and it is this kind of household recognition that allowed Tyson to act as the catalyst as the sport of boxing accelerated into the mainstream. It's a name that resonates power, aggresion, drive, and the primal instinct that has kept boxing fans around the world in awe of 'The Baddest man on the planet'. Through the highs and the lows, the controversy and the successes, Tyson has emerged as a household figure who embodies both the good and bad side of the sport. At the end of the day, even if Tyson did underachieve in some aspects, he is an all time great heavyweight figher with a body of wins rivalled by very few in the divisions history.

 

:happy good post mate

My favourite Tyson moment, 4.35 at the McBride press conference
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU-1MO3VnCM[/ame]

 

What a legend.

 

:happy at last

 

Anyone watch Georgie Benton?!?!

 

I didn't Flea Man, but now that I'm finished with Holmes (entry might be in tonight ) there's a vacancy and I've been meaning to get round to watching the rest of Benton since the Carter fight.

 

Big Larry :happy

 

I´ll add more stuff on Eder Jofre this weekend.....

 

:happy I love this thread!

 

I might do a Penalosa one. If I can clear some space in my busy schedule of sitting down, that is.

Post it then.:twisted:

 

Holmes is coming along nicely, chill your beans!

 

Maybe I can do one about Medel this weekend as well....

 

Canto is finally coming along nicely too.