Proving A Point

The Renaissance of Mike Tyson By James Blears If anyone can transform Mike Tyson back into Heavyweight Champion of the World, it’s Jeff Fenech. Jeff’s commitment to teak tough training and preparation is legendary both when he won world titles in three different weight divisions as a hands on participant, (although those powerful hands sometimes took a beating on a par with his opponents) and since he’s become a trainer. A few months after Mike Tyson’s eighth round knockout defeat at the hands of Lennox Lewis, Jeff was in Mexico City for a WBC Convention. It was there that the seeds of his most audacious challenge were taking root. He stated that if Mike Tyson could stand up for eight rounds against Lewis, unmotivated and under prepared, what could he achieve if he was in tip top shape, and it would be a fascinating challenge to help him climb back up the mountain. The two men have been friends for a number of years. When Jeff retired, Mike was one of the first to pull on his then fledgling line of clothing, which gave it a most welcome boost. But friendship has never got in the way of professionalism. Prior to the 2003 Clifford Etienne fight, Tyson was mostly larking around and not dedicating himself to training, and Jeff who was assisting Freddie Roach, had a bellyful. The writing was on the wall when Mike got himself a facial tattoo. That’s when Jeff marched. Jeff decided to come back after Mike lost to Danny Williams last July. The knee injury was a crucial factor, but so was Mike’s obvious lack of stamina and urgency to get it all over with at express speed, before he ran out of steam. Jeff has insisted that getting Mike Tyson properly fit and conditioned to go the full twelve if necessary is physically, but also tactically essential. It will enable him to exploit his opponent’s mistakes and flaws openings, rather than pressuring himself to find them. It will also give the Iron One an opportunity to relax and employ his under utilized boxing skills. But it had to be done properly so his friend did not embarrass himself and was able to display his hitherto cocooned abilities. The body of a 38 year old athlete- Mike will be 39 on June 30th, needs a different type of honing and refining to peak condition. It takes longer, the reflexes are slower, the work rate has to be more carefully measured, as the recovery time is inevitably not as rapid. And it takes appreciably longer to get a forty year old body back into fight shape, especially if that fighter has not done a lot of work in the downtime between fights. In the last few years, we’ve been seeing a Tyson who’s probably only thirty to forty percent prepared. None of us will ever be as vital as we were at twenty. But if Jeff can get Mike Tyson to sixty percent or more of what he once was, then the prospect of reaching the summit, is realistic. Jeff started slowly getting Mike to run and do a lot of walking. Mike’s appearance which he does bother about a lot, and is often trim, is actually misleading. He loves weight training and is always muscled, but that’s got nothing to do with boxing or stamina. This is what Jeff has been working on. Mike is now sparring eight rounds with confidence and is, as well as looks in competitive shape. Likeable Kevin McBride- all six feet six inches of him stands tall and is the first obstacle to be overcome. Slow moving and capable at best, it’ll be interesting if he withstands the mental pressure and gives a good account of himself on June 11th. Long ago Muhammad Ali psyched out even taller basketball player Wilt Chamberlain, who was scheduled to put aside his basketball and misguidedly fight him. The greatest just kept yelling TIMBER, and that was enough to bring Wilt to his senses. Kevin McBride is a boxer and has amassed a reasonably respectable 32-4-1 record with 27 knockouts, but he’s never faced anyone like Tyson. The current heavyweight division is in shambles. Jeff, and Freddie Roach before him, have said that a fine tuned Tyson could defeat any of the current champions. The X factor is whether Mike Tyson is prepared to punish, push and pull a protesting body back into pristine shape, to defy middle age, and win one, or more of the versions of the alphabet titles, almost twenty years after he stunned the world, and Trevor Berbick. If he follows Jeff Fenech’s advice and spartan training regime, I feel it’s a definite possibility. Jeez this is EXACTLY what the "Mike Tyson - Always One Sensational KO From Contention written by Frank Lotierzo" is talking about - except you kinda expect it from a deluded Tyson Nuthugger, but you certainly dont expect it on the same site 3 days later from a respected columnist.