Tweet
By Lyle Fitzsimmons - When Carl Williams climbed the ring steps to face a prime, unbeaten Mike Tyson in July of 1989, I don’t recall a lot of people yelling that “The Truth” would put an end to what had been nearly a three-year heavyweight reign of menace.
In fact, I probably was the only one.
I’d just as soon chalk it up to the ignorance of youth, but back then, as best pal Rob Moody and I settled into his living room to catch the match on HBO, I wasn’t at all shy in explaining to my host why the chiseled 6-foot-4 challenger would do what 36 others had failed to accomplish.
He was a head taller than his pint-sized foe. He had a left jab that could burst a melon. And he had legs that could carry him through 45 minutes of hard combat, which he’d proven against a guy – albeit a declining Larry Holmes – I considered far superior to those I’d seen Tyson monotonously vanquish.
This was no terrified creampuff, I insisted. Iron Mike was in for a schooling.
Toward that end, the 93 seconds between bells that night were decidedly unfulfilling.
And even though there was some controversy over whether referee Randy Neumann gave Williams enough of a chance after he rose dull-eyed from a thudding left hook, I’d have had to stop Rob from laughing before I could have made much of a case for a rematch. [Click Here To Read More]
In fact, I probably was the only one.
I’d just as soon chalk it up to the ignorance of youth, but back then, as best pal Rob Moody and I settled into his living room to catch the match on HBO, I wasn’t at all shy in explaining to my host why the chiseled 6-foot-4 challenger would do what 36 others had failed to accomplish.
He was a head taller than his pint-sized foe. He had a left jab that could burst a melon. And he had legs that could carry him through 45 minutes of hard combat, which he’d proven against a guy – albeit a declining Larry Holmes – I considered far superior to those I’d seen Tyson monotonously vanquish.
This was no terrified creampuff, I insisted. Iron Mike was in for a schooling.
Toward that end, the 93 seconds between bells that night were decidedly unfulfilling.
And even though there was some controversy over whether referee Randy Neumann gave Williams enough of a chance after he rose dull-eyed from a thudding left hook, I’d have had to stop Rob from laughing before I could have made much of a case for a rematch. [Click Here To Read More]
Comment