12/21/24
June 06, 2002
Tyson fit as a butchers dog,: apparently. If it's true we could be in for an absolute classic on Saturday night. Despite serious ethical misgivings about boxing I might be tempted to shell out for ppv for the first time. There are a couple of good, if irritatingly written articles at the HBO site. Lewis seems calmness itself and claims he is seeking only for respect and dignity. Talking of which, this article is old but good, and puts things in a little perspective.
posted by Fat Buddha to boxing at 02:33 PM - 13 comments
jacknose , that's what makes this fight so fascinating.
posted by Fat Buddha at 05:11 PM on June 06, 2002
It makes it fascinating, but do you really want to pay to see if Tyson will box all twelve rounds? The last few championship bouts seem to have been a ripoff to those who paid the $$$ in hopes of seeing some classic fight. The honest truth is, I would love to see the fight. I just don't want to shell out the money, and it's just stinking inconvenient.
posted by jacknose at 05:29 PM on June 06, 2002
Tyson weighed in at 234 today, 16 more than he did for the Holyfield fight. I think the fight is going to suck monsters, there is no way it will last 4 rounds.
posted by corpse at 05:37 PM on June 06, 2002
Prediction: Tyson eats Lewis's head early in the fifth round.
posted by Samsonov14 at 06:52 PM on June 06, 2002
I know that Tyson is washed up and that Lewis is likely to win early ... but I'm still tempted to get the PPV. I get sucked in by the spectacle of the whole thing.
posted by maurice at 08:04 AM on June 07, 2002
If Tyson does not do anything illegal, he will go down in 7. If it goes the distance, Tyson will lose. There is no way Tyson will win this fight, unless Lewis forgets how to box and is struck with fear--and that won't happen. I used to think Tyson was one of the great heavyweight champions, but I realize now that I rarely saw him box more than a few rounds. Tyson is not a very skilled boxer. Ali would have made him look silly in his prime, not to mention Joe Frazier. I think that debate is over (that is, the Ali v. Tyson debate).
posted by jacknose at 12:51 PM on June 07, 2002
I'm so looking forward to this fight. I say that, but I am not going to watch it, I'll be at MeFiSea. I don't know, Tyson may be insane, dangerously unstable, whatever, he is still an exciting boxer to watch, just from a pure power standpoint.
posted by patrickje at 01:15 PM on June 07, 2002
In his pomp, Tyson had a punch that was unbelievable - put me in mind of Liston leaving those dents in his punching bag. If he's done a good amount of training and is fit again, this fight will be very, very interesting indeed. Still won't pay to watch it though, highlights will do me fine :)
posted by Mossy at 01:49 PM on June 07, 2002
I'll definitely be watching, but probably more out of morbid curiosity than anything else. For some reason, I always hope that Tyson will rediscover himself and fight like he did when he was young. I know all about the rape convictions, other rape reports, ear-biting, road rage, etc., but Tyson intrigues me. I really can't think of a less intriguing athelete than Lewis. Call me an idiot, but I think Tyson has a decent chance. If the training reports are correct and not just hype, he may have found some of his old speed. I think it will be hard for Lewis not to be scared. I would be scared just being in the same room with the man. That insane unpredictability makes him pretty intimidating. I don't think that you can ever count Tyson out. Any man that possesses that much brute force always has a chance. One lottery punch is enough to put Lewis down. Plus, Lewis was knocked out by Rahman, who just last Saturday was getting beat up pretty good by a near-40 Holyfield before the headbutting incident. The interesting thing about this fight is that if Lewis wins, Lewis might retire with the 2 belts. I can't see Tyson fighting again if he loses. On the other hand, If Tyson wins, both will probably keep fighting, even if only for a rematch. Tyson would walk away with two belts and the heavyweight boxing world will be turned upside-down.
posted by ttrendel at 03:40 PM on June 07, 2002
Personally, I don't care who wins, but a Tyson win would probably shake up the boxing world more than a Lewis win. What I think boxing needs to happen is that whoever is the heavyweight champ eventually retires as the champ. Then they can hold one of those old-time elimination tournaments on network TV. All three (six? 20?) boxing federations decide on the top 16 heavyweights, and then set up a single elimination bracket and have a fight every month. After a year (12 bouts) you'd be down to a final 4 boxers. Then you can resort to pay-per-view to show the final three fights over the span of the next year (two in the first 6 months and the last one 6 months later). You'd draw interest back to boxing by promoting it as a tournament and letting people watch it for free...at first. People will start to follow a specific boxer they saw on TV and maybe want to see if he can make it to the top. But that's just my opinion and I have no idea if it would work.
posted by grum@work at 04:12 PM on June 07, 2002
That's brilliant. But Don King would either need to be the commissioner or be put out of commission.
posted by jacknose at 04:30 PM on June 07, 2002
Jacknose, nice call! Only one round off. I hope you had money on it.
posted by Samsonov14 at 12:25 AM on June 09, 2002
It's tempting, but to pay for the fight somehow feels wrong (guilt by association and financial support). I long for the days of championship boxing on network television. (I have such fond memories of watching Muhammad Ali with my dad and brother.) Regarding the fight, the real question is, will Tyson allow himself to lose fair and square? If he feels that Lewis is going to win the fight, will Tyson accept the defeat or do something to be disqualified (a bite of Lewis with some Chianti)? The other question is, and something that I think Lewis is counting on, will Tyson cower and fade if Lewis does not back down? Or put more simply, does Tyson know how to box 12 rounds?