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By Lyle Fitzsimmons - I miss Mike Tyson
Evander Holyfield fought for a title last week.
And while the “Real Deal’s” grab for a fifth heavyweight reign didn’t go as I’d hoped, it got me feeling sentimental and reflective toward a not-too-distant past when Holyfield, Lewis and Bowe were names of substance in boxing’s marquee division.
Maybe it’s a tangible lack of inspiration I get from the robot-like championship crop of Klitschko, Klitschko and Valuev. Maybe it’s yet another post-Sunday hangover from yet another disappointing end to yet another New York Jets football season.
Or maybe I’m just getting old.
Whatever the catalyst, the more I recall accomplished champions like Evander, Lennox and Rid****, the more I also ponder the “what might have been” exploits of the fourth and most viscerally dominant member of the era’s belt-copping quartet – Mike Tyson.
And with the harangue of Gainesville guru Marquis Richardson ringing in my ears – somehow insisting a prime Tyson would have beaten an equally prime Muhammad Ali – I’m reminded of a piece I wrote just more than a year ago when “Iron” Mike was pleading guilty to drug charges in Arizona.
At that point it seemed the hapless courtroom flameout would almost certainly result in jail time for the former champion, or at least an extended stay under lock and key at his local rehab center. [details]
Evander Holyfield fought for a title last week.
And while the “Real Deal’s” grab for a fifth heavyweight reign didn’t go as I’d hoped, it got me feeling sentimental and reflective toward a not-too-distant past when Holyfield, Lewis and Bowe were names of substance in boxing’s marquee division.
Maybe it’s a tangible lack of inspiration I get from the robot-like championship crop of Klitschko, Klitschko and Valuev. Maybe it’s yet another post-Sunday hangover from yet another disappointing end to yet another New York Jets football season.
Or maybe I’m just getting old.
Whatever the catalyst, the more I recall accomplished champions like Evander, Lennox and Rid****, the more I also ponder the “what might have been” exploits of the fourth and most viscerally dominant member of the era’s belt-copping quartet – Mike Tyson.
And with the harangue of Gainesville guru Marquis Richardson ringing in my ears – somehow insisting a prime Tyson would have beaten an equally prime Muhammad Ali – I’m reminded of a piece I wrote just more than a year ago when “Iron” Mike was pleading guilty to drug charges in Arizona.
At that point it seemed the hapless courtroom flameout would almost certainly result in jail time for the former champion, or at least an extended stay under lock and key at his local rehab center. [details]
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