Mike Tyson vs Kevin McBride on June 11

[H2O Man]

Mike Tyson will fight Irish heavyweight champion Kevin McBride in Washington DC on June 11, in a fight being dubbed as "Capital Punishment." The strange thing is that the Irish Echo has the story on page 10 this week, with the obituaries. Not sure what that means.

On the undercard, Laila Ali defends her IBA super middleweight crown against Erin Toughill.

McBride is coming off a 5th round TKO on a St. Patrick's Day card at Foxwoods, Connecticut. I saw the fight on tv, and thought there was a problem with the broadcast, because McBride moves in slow motion. He is a large fellow, at about 6'6" and 260 lbs.

Place your bets.

[smoogatz]

1. After that, he's taking on the late Ernest Borgnine

star of "McHale's Navy".

[H2O Man]

6. Don King is still

negotiating the price for re-runs.

[The_Counsel]

20. Um... Ernest Borgnine's Still Alive...

...he's 88 years old, but still kickin'.

That said: he could probably STILL beat Mike Tyson. Talk about your wasted talent. Tyson hasn't had a game plan since 1988...

[H2O Man]

21. Not necessarily.

You might be right if it were a 12-round fight; Ernest could take him into the late rounds, and stop him. But in a 3-round fight, I could see Tyson winning.

The minute Cus died, Mike's career was on a downhill slide. Don King hurt him, as did Robin & her mom.

[The_Counsel]

22. Yeah, But The Word Has Been Out On Tyson For A While...

"You might be right if it were a 12-round fight; Ernest could take him into the late rounds, and stop him. But in a 3-round fight, I could see Tyson winning."

That's exactly my point: all Borgnine would have to do is run around the ring for a few rounds and throw an occasional punch or two. If any of them lands, Borgnine stands a chance of scoring a stunning KO -- courtesy of "Iron" Mike's glass jaw. If none of them lands, Borgnine could at least look good on the scorecards if it goes 12 rounds.

Bottom line: my point is still valid. Anyone with a real game plan can beat Mike Tyson. Just fight smart and don't get hit... :P


"The minute Cus died, Mike's career was on a downhill slide. Don King hurt him, as did Robin & her mom."

I agree that Tyson's downward spiral began the moment Cus bit the Big One. I'll even concede that Don King had a lot to do with that downward spiral moving along that much quicker. I'm still not convinced Robin Givens meant the man any harm, though. Hell, besides Teddy Atlas, Robin was probably the one human being on the planet who even remotely understood Mike. Mike fired Teddy and divorced Robin. That right there tells you what kind of weird place he was in...

Also, if Bill Cayton had a little backbone, Don King doesn't get his grubby hands on Mike career. But that's another long, drawn-out story... :shrug:

[H2O Man]

23. He fired Kevin.

Mike fired Kevin Rooney. I think that was a serious mistake, but King fed him the line about "white people."

Teddy had parted ways before, I believe, from when Mike had messed with his young cousin. Teddy has held him in contempt ever since then.Kevin is a good man, but he never had the discipline of Teddy. Teddy Atlas is a Good man.

Cayton never had as good a relationship with Mike as Jimmy Jacobs had.

Years ago, I had a retired guy do some volunteer work in a program I ran. His name was Harold, and he had been at the last institution that Mike was at before Rose W. signed him over to Cus. Harold told me some stories about Mike, similar to what Teddy says these days. About character. And I remember him telling me that Tyson would win the title, but that his character disorder would cause him to self-destruct. Very true.

The truth is, even this McBride is a huge guy, with no fear of Tyson. My son keeps saying McBride is going to push Tyson backwards, and will beat him in six rounds. Mike can't fight anyway but forward. I don't think it is a given that Tyson can beat anyone over 235 pounds.

I enjoy talking with you.

[ClintonTyree]

2. Is this the "Senior's Tour" of boxing?

I know Tyson pissed away everything he ever earned, but come on, hang it up Mike. I imagine this is on pay-per-view and I imagine I won't be wasting my money watching this farce.

[H2O Man]

5. He has no choice.

He's doing exactly what Joe Louis did, trying to pay bills. (For $50, they had better have some other good fights on the card.)

[ucmike]

3. tyson could be a champion again

not that he's a worthy champion, but with the mess that is the heavy weigh division, its not unbeleivable that some sanctioning body could give him a title for ko'ing some victim.

despite the obvious mess that is mike tyson, he is still a ratings draw and people will pay to watch him fight.

[H2O Man]

4. Still the biggest draw in sports.

There are a few people who likely tune in with the hope of seeing a freak show. Mike has given them their money's worth over the years.

The heavyweight division is in a curious phase. The huge fellows tend to dominate, but are not especially talented. Smaller guys like Chris Byrd and even James Toney are by far the best stylists, but are not going to beat guys 50 lbs heavier. And the young crop is still a year and a half away from taking control of the division.

In theory, if Mike pulled it together, he could beat most of the current contenders. The good 240 lb- plus guys are too large for him at this point in his career.

McBride is far too slow, and too easy to hit. Mike still has power.

I'm not a big fan of women's boxing, but Laila Ali is actually quite an athlete. She has been developing boxing skills.

[rinsd]

7. I'll be tuning in for the freak show....

As I explained to my roommate justifying the cost, what if something crazy happens? I've missed too many crazy ass Tyson bouts.

[H2O Man]

8. I think it may be on Showtime....

They are in on the promotion. Some fights on pay-per-view are free to those who get Showtime. I have it, because they tend to have better fights than HBO.

And I've always enjoyed watching Mike fight.

[redsoxliberal]

9. BITE BITE BITE!

shit I meant fight.

[H2O Man]

10. Mike Tyson, Yankee fan

is accused of doing one little thing wrong, and some people never forget or forgive. (grin)

[redsoxliberal]

11. heheh

[Stephist]

12. Mike Tyson Fight

Don't Blink :)
McBride is soooooo slow.

[H2O Man]

14. Last night on ESPN

Teddy Atlas said that when McBride starts throwing a punch, you have time to go out for a sandwich before it lands. He suggested that to make it more interesting, Tyson take part in a hot dog eating contest during the only round the fight should last.

[WilliamPitt]

13. Goddam circus

I love boxing. Ali is a personal hero.

I hope McBride smacks the tattoo right off Tyson's face.

Won't happen, but I hope.

[H2O Man]

15. Have you read

Ali's book, "The Soul of a Butterfly"? The guy is intense.

Looking at McBride and Tyson standing side by side, one is reminded that the Irishman is way bigger than the ex-champion. Mike had problems with tall opponents when he was in his prime -- "Bonecrusher" Smith and Mitch "Blood" Green both went the distance with him when he was at his best. Anytime there is a guy 6'6" and 265 pounds, who is confident that he can kick the stuffing out of a smaller opponent in the ring, anything can happen.

[CroixRoussienne]

16. Buster Douglas!

I tuned in to that fight in Tokyo around round 5. Douglas was on fire for perhaps the only time in his career. Tyson didn't lay down, he just got beat down by a bigger guy who had the fight of his life.

[H2O Man]

17. He sure did!

As you know, Buster's mother had recently passed away. He was motivated. Without question, it was the fight of his career.

Don King was furious, and tried some bullshit protests, saying there had been a "long count" when Tyson decked Douglas earlier. Mike had enough class to say he had been knocked out.

Douglas' next fight was the defense against Holyfield. My brother spent time in Buster's training camp. He told me that there was zero chance of him winning. I felt he had the skills to make it a fight. My brother told me that he heard King saying, "We're fattening the calf!" He had Douglas invited out almost every night. My brother said the size of Buster's meals meant he would definitely loose. He said that Holyfield was in his usual top shape, and was focused on the fight. Douglas was not in great shape, and spent more time talking about having kicked Tyson's ass than thinking about Evander. And his focus was on that last piece of pie .....

[Awsi Dooger]

26. A true story from the Holyfield/Douglas weigh-in

The Mirage had just opened and Steve Wynn signed Douglas to a huge multi-fight contract. There was plenty of disagreement regarding the likely outcome of the fight. Like you say, Douglas at his best had plenty of talent to give Holyfield a battle if not beat him.

I attended the weigh-in and have never seen anything like it. When Douglas took off his rope, dozens of local wise guys literally turned around and ran toward the exit. They didn't even wait for Douglas' weight to be announced. He was so soft and out of shape they sprinted to the sportsbook to wager on Holyfield! The odds were less than 1/2 in Holyfield's favor before the weigh-in, but reached 1/3 very soon in some sportsbooks, a huge change for a major fight.

I'm glad that happened before the height of the cell phone era. Now it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun.

[H2O Man]

27. Ha! Confirmation!

Buster was, much like Buster Mathis a generation earlier, a talented big man who rarely lived up to his potential. Had he trained, Douglas could have beat most of the top men in his day.

[northzax]

18. heck, we were so impressed

my AP bio partner and I named our Fetal pig carcass "Buster"

[H2O Man]

19. I had a rooster

that my son named "Mike Tyson." Mean, very mean.

[MrSlayer]

24. Tyson is nothing but a freak show.

But you always watch, hoping he'll do something crazy.

[H2O Man]

25. He's had a few good fights

in the past few years. When he fought the "Black Rhino" two fights ago, it was an impressive victory. Against any heavyweight his size, he is still a dangerous man. He will always have power. When he is properly trained, he has the speed and delivery that allows him to take anyone his size out.

The Mike Tyson that bobs and weaves, moves side-to-side, and starts combinations from the body up, is a very capable fighter. The Mike that walks straight forward, standing straight up, only throwing head shots, is not.