Tyson tried to fight Mathis on the night of Bowe-Holyfield III?!?!

KOTF · Jan 19, 2012

Who was the first to book the date?

Sadly, the lesson of Bowe and Holyfield is lost upon Tyson, potentially the most charismatic fighter of this generation, whose career continues to be arrested in a mythology that only his handlers seem to still enjoy. He was supposed to make his second comeback fight last Saturday night, hoping his bout with a light-hitting Buster Mathis Jr. would restore his reputation as the baddest man in America, in a way that his 89-second fight with pizza pitchman Peter McNeeley had not.

The dueling promotionsTyson's fight at the MGM Grand was to headline Fox TV's sweeps-month effort on free television, while TVKO was to show Bowe-Holyfield on pay-per-view half an hour laterwere a source of much conspiracy theory among the boxing community, a family that is inflamed by paranoia to begin with. It was Tyson promoter King against Bowe promoter Rock Newman, Caesars Palace vs. the MGM Grand, Fox against TVKO (the boxing pay-per-view-arm of HBO). The supposed provocations were various, but most observers believed that Tyson, with King's backing, simply wanted to put it to HBO in a continuation of a feud that, like the Hatfields and McCoys, no longer knows its own origins. For whatever reasons, the two promotions plodded stubbornly toward a showdown that both would lose. Gaming revenues in the casinos would be fragmented, even diminished, as many fight fans would simply stay home to watch Tyson on free TV and then buy the Bowe-Holyfield broadcast rather than descend on Las Vegas. Ticket sales were down, though the MGM's live gate seemed to be suffering the most. While Fox would surely score big ratings with a Tyson fight, TVKO would probably take it on the chin, losing some viewers who might think one fight is enough and a second at $39.95 is way too much.

SI November 15, 1995
Richard Hoffer
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Tyson tried to fight Mathis on the night of Bowe-Holyfield III?!?!

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Tyson tried to fight Mathis on the night of Bowe-Holyfield III?!?!

KOTF Bingooo Full Member