Ringside Rewind: Mike Tyson's fight against Julius Francis

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We remember one of Mike Tyson's notorious visits to England, when he fought Julius Francis.

Manchester was the location back in 2000 when Julius Francis stepped into the ring with 'Iron Mike' - and it would be a short, brutal evening.

Click play in the video at the top to remember what happened when Tyson fought Francis.

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Kovalev v Pascal: Undercard press conference round-up

Dmitry “The Mechanic” Mikhaylenko
“I would like to welcome everybody here. I want to thank HBO and Main Events for this opportunity. I like it here in Canada. It is my second time fighting here. It was just a year ago when I was here in the back row for this press conference and now I am in the front row. I thank Karim Mayfield for taking this fight on the short notice. Now my dream has come true and I am fighting on HBO. I don’t like to talk much before the bout. I am 100% ready and I want to give the best show to our fans. The victory goes to the strongest guy.”

Karim “Hard Hitta” Mayfield
“I am happy to be able to have this opportunity. It was short notice but as a professional you have to be prepared for these types of opportunities. I am always ready. I have a lot of power and speed. I am ready to win this [USBA Welterweight] Title on January 30. After this fight, the winner, which will be me, will have better opportunities available to them after this fight. January 30 I look forward to capitalizing on his punch count.”

Kathy Duva, CEO of Main Events
“Today 33 years ago, my husband was discussing Roberto Duran with the doctor as I was giving birth to my beautiful daughter, Nicole. I am immensely proud of her. Happy Birthday, Nicole. It is a pleasure to work with Interbox again. Our staffs work very well together. Tomorrow night we get on opposite sides but everything leading up to that point has been a pleasure. Tune in at 9:45 PM on HBO. Making his first appearance on HBO will be Dmitry Mikhaylenko against Karim Mayfield in 10 rounds for the USBA Welterweight Title. He told us yesterday his hobbies are women and beer, so I know he will be loved by the fans here in Canada. I want to thank our Russian Sponsors Rosneft and Myakhov Vodka. They provide good solid support for us. This is our first time with Rosneft; we want to welcome them. We have a wonderful event for you on Saturday. I love coming to Quebec. They are people who take boxing seriously as a major sport. Thank you for having me again. Thank you to Pierre and Jean Bedard and the team from Interbox. Be there at 6:30. The fans here in Canada are in for a treat with our two great fighters Cassius Chaney and Virgilijus Stapulionis.”

Pierre Duc, Vice President of Interbox
“Once again it has been a tremendous pleasure to work with Main Events. We have learned to work together as a team and it is just getting better. We are competitors once our guys get in the ring, but during the planning we have been a team. Thank you so much and do not miss the gala on Saturday.”

Egis Klimas, Manager of Mikhaylenko
“Thank you. I don’t have to tell how happy we are to be here. Feels like we are at home. We like it here. Want to thank HBO for giving us this opportunity. They are wonderful people. I want to thank Team Mayfield. At one point, several years ago, me and Karim were in LA were talking about possibly working together. Ultimately it didn’t work out, but I know he is a good warrior. I have nothing negative to say about him. He is a really good fighter. He has speed in his hands. Dmitry has speed and a lot of punches. It is going to be a tremendous fight. I can’t predict a victory. It is going to be a really good competition. Also fighting on Saturday is Virgilis Stapulionis, who is my countryman, he is going to be on the undercard. I represent him too.”

Greg Cohen, Promoter of Mayfield
“It is really terrific to be here. I want to thank Kathy and Main Events. We have worked together many times. They are always a pleasure to work with. When Ray Robinson dropped out, I called Jolene [Mizzone, Main Events’ matchmaker] because I thought Karim would make a great replacement. I hadn’t even mentioned it to Karim. When Jolene said she thought we could make this fight happen, I called Karim and he didn’t even hesitate. He is in fighting shape 365 days a year. That is what you want as a promoter. That is what you want from your fighters and you seldom get it. Come Saturday night Karim Mayfield will be 100% and I firmly believe he will come out of the ring wearing the USBA belt.”

Francis Lafrenière
“I've never felt so much support before a fight. The city, my family and everyone close to me is behind me. I'm getting messages every day on the web or my voice mail, including those from my 4-year-old son, wishing me good luck for this bout and that gives me great motivation. Every day I train hard, I give it 100%, I'm all in for this fight. I think this will be the greatest night of my life, and I can say that you are in for a tremendous and explosive show.”

Renan St-Juste
“Saturday evening, you will see a good fight between two opponents who deserve to be at this level. This 10-round bout will be up to the public's expectations because it will be very intense. The best boxer will win.”

Steven Butler
“Thanks a million to Antonio Hoffmann for having agreed to this fight, to my trainers Rénald and Claudio as well as to my manager Camille Estephan for their wonderful work. We have a good challenge ahead of us on Saturday, against an undefeated opponent who has a record that is very similar to mine, with 13 wins including nine by K.O. There are going to be fireworks on Saturday and I'm convinced I will leave the ring still undefeated.”

David Théroux
“I would first like to thank InterBox and Main Events for offering me this opportunity. As usual, I had a great camp. I'm in great shape mentally and physically, and I am greatly looking forward to Saturday.”

Joel Diaz
“I want to thank everybody for coming out here. I want to thank my team, Chris Byrd former heavyweight champion. I want to thank everybody at Main Events and Jean Pascal for putting me on the card. I want to thank Abraham Gomez for taking the fight. You have to have a pair of balls to get in the ring. 2016 is going to be a hell of a year for us.”