Tyson vs. McBride

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At 38 years of age, Mike Tyson is no spring chicken in the boxing ring. So what keeps him going? Is it the thrill of fighting? Is it the need to go prove the critics wrong? Or does it have something to do with being $40 million in debt? Perhaps his $5 million paycheck for this fight will help? Not likely seeing as most of it will go to the IRS, his creditors, and his wife.

With 15,742 people at the MCI Center in Washington, DC cheering him on, Tyson looked good early on landing some big shots to the head and body of McBride. The Tyson power didn't seem to have much of an impact on the 6'5" 271 pound Irishman. The 8 inch reach advantage helped McBride keep Tyson at bay but Tyson still led the fight 57-55 on two score cards in the sixth round before the "new and improved" Tyson appeared.

Frustration once again got to Mike Tyson in the sixth round when he resorted to low blows and a crushing head-butt to try to bring McBride down. Despite a large gash under the eye of McBride he refused to let Tyson intimidate him and threw him to the ground at the end of the sixth round. A dejected Tyson sat on the mat with his head stuck between the ropes.

Tyson would bow out of the fight after the incident thus dropping his record to 50-6 while McBride improved to 33-4-1.

A typical "new" Tyson fight, I give it a rating of 7 based on it's entertainment value.

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Just found an article on the Tyson/McBride fight:

Boxer Kevin McBride says Mike Tyson tried to take a bite out of him during McBride's sixth-round TKO triumph over the former heavyweight champion last Saturday night, according to a report in the British newspaper The Sun.

"Tyson is crazy. He bit my nipple," McBride told the paper. "I didn't realize it at first but he had his teeth around it. I just felt a strange sensation and then realized what he'd done. He could not get up high enough to bite my ears — good job he wasn't a midget, otherwise he would have bitten something else."

Tyson also head-butted McBride during their bout, and the Irish heavyweight claims Iron Mike tried to break his arm while the two were in clinches.

"Tyson butted me, tried to break my arm," McBride told The Sun. "I screamed out in pain. He smashed my face with his forearm but I said to him, 'Is that all you have, Mike?' He was just so desperate to win but he is a (expletive) lunatic."

Tyson announced his retirement after the fight. He also tried to explain his actions during the bout.

"I was desperate," Tyson said. "I wanted to win."

In the sixth round, Tyson did get up, walking back to his corner and sitting on his stool. Referee Joe Cortez came by and Tyson told him he wasn't going to fight anymore.

"I didn't want to get up. I was tired," Tyson said.

Just like that, it was over.

"I'm not going to lie to myself," Tyson said. "I'm not going to embarrass this sport any more."

While McBride's corner celebrated, Tyson sat on his stool, a towel around his neck, and watched. He got up, went over and got a kiss on the cheek from McBride.

Tyson's loss to Danny Williams last year could be explained away by his supporters because he tore cartilage in his knee as Williams gave him a beating. This loss to a fighter who wasn't even as good as Williams, who was picked just because he looked like he would go down when hit by Tyson, couldn't be explained away.

McBride talked about how great it was to beat a legend and what the win would mean to Ireland. But the win was over a fighter whose skills were gone before Bill Clinton became president, no matter how much his promoters tried to convince the public otherwise.

"You're smart too late and old too soon," Tyson said. "I just got caught up in that suction cup. I feel like Rip Van Winkle right now."

Assuming Tyson does follow through on his statements and quit, he leaves the sport with 50 wins in his 56 fights, with three of his six defeats coming in his last four fights.

Also left behind are some other bizarre incidents inside the ring: Tyson bit off a portion of Evander Holyfield's ear during the third round of their 1997 fight. He also bit the leg of Lennox Lewis during a brawl at a press conference to announce their 2002 bout.