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The great thing about sports writing, and especially being a columnist, is the right to be opinionated, and this week’s edition of Fighting Words is full of attitude and opinion, from start to finish, concerning Mike Tyson, The Contender and the odds and ends that will make up this week’s The Ten Count segment.
Fading Into “Bolivion,” Invading Washington, D.C.
Rather than fading into “bolivion,” like he told an interviewer he would do just after being impaled by Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson has decided to embark on another comeback, making the count on his returns now exceed the record set by another man whose return brought him to D.C., Michael Jordan. At this rate, Tyson will have more comebacks than Cher has had farewell tours, and now that I think about it, it’s quite sad to realize that the Cosmetic Crooner has a deeper voice than Iron Mike.
It will be Tyson’s first fight in our Nation’s Capitol since knocking out an elderly beltway motorist in August 1998, but Mike Tyson will still pack crowds into the MCI Center in the District of Columbia to see him fight Kevin McBride on June 11. The reasoning behind the hype, ticket sales and attention is both obvious and maddening.
Just like British royalty or Paris Hilton’s American ho-yalty, Mike Tyson is now famous for being famous, a celebrity, an attraction and a sideshow. Nearly two decades removed from the days in which he ruled the heavyweight division, and ten years after his post-incarceration comeback at least seemed feasible, there is absolutely no chance that the squeaky squirt can regain a title.
Bankrupt and desperate to cover his debts, Tyson needs fights, especially the pay-per-view proceeds that come along with them. His last fight, last year against Danny Williams, ended with a fourth-round knockout loss and an injured knee, but the cash helped, especially as a good amount of people watched.
With Kevin McBride, Iron Mike is up against a much lowlier pugilist than the British Williams, but the caliber of opposition is of much less consequence than the spectrum of catastrophes that can ensue. Tyson could wallop the much-taller McBride in impressively destructive fashion, the preferred result to the cheering throngs, but the other possibilities are nearly as attractive or intriguing.
Tyson could lose to his limited foe, making his need to continue to fight and raise money more desperately dramatic. Like a certain blonde socialite’s absurdly air-headed attitude, sex tapes and inane reality show, segments of the viewing population enjoy rubbernecking as somebody famous but ultimately unworthy of attention publicly leads a train wreck of a life (Fittingly, Tyson promised that the June 11 fight would be a “train wreck”).
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Fading Into “Bolivion,” Invading Washington, D.C.
Rather than fading into “bolivion,” like he told an interviewer he would do just after being impaled by Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson has decided to embark on another comeback, making the count on his returns now exceed the record set by another man whose return brought him to D.C., Michael Jordan. At this rate, Tyson will have more comebacks than Cher has had farewell tours, and now that I think about it, it’s quite sad to realize that the Cosmetic Crooner has a deeper voice than Iron Mike.
It will be Tyson’s first fight in our Nation’s Capitol since knocking out an elderly beltway motorist in August 1998, but Mike Tyson will still pack crowds into the MCI Center in the District of Columbia to see him fight Kevin McBride on June 11. The reasoning behind the hype, ticket sales and attention is both obvious and maddening.
Just like British royalty or Paris Hilton’s American ho-yalty, Mike Tyson is now famous for being famous, a celebrity, an attraction and a sideshow. Nearly two decades removed from the days in which he ruled the heavyweight division, and ten years after his post-incarceration comeback at least seemed feasible, there is absolutely no chance that the squeaky squirt can regain a title.
Bankrupt and desperate to cover his debts, Tyson needs fights, especially the pay-per-view proceeds that come along with them. His last fight, last year against Danny Williams, ended with a fourth-round knockout loss and an injured knee, but the cash helped, especially as a good amount of people watched.
With Kevin McBride, Iron Mike is up against a much lowlier pugilist than the British Williams, but the caliber of opposition is of much less consequence than the spectrum of catastrophes that can ensue. Tyson could wallop the much-taller McBride in impressively destructive fashion, the preferred result to the cheering throngs, but the other possibilities are nearly as attractive or intriguing.
Tyson could lose to his limited foe, making his need to continue to fight and raise money more desperately dramatic. Like a certain blonde socialite’s absurdly air-headed attitude, sex tapes and inane reality show, segments of the viewing population enjoy rubbernecking as somebody famous but ultimately unworthy of attention publicly leads a train wreck of a life (Fittingly, Tyson promised that the June 11 fight would be a “train wreck”).
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