Mike Tyson continues to plead his case as the baddest man on the planet.
The former two-tour heavyweight titlist punched his ticket into the eWBSS (World Boxing Super Series) Heavyweight Legends Tournament finale following a 4th round knockout of George Foreman. Three knockdowns paved the way for Tyson’s second straight knockout win which took place Saturday afternoon at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Foreman was dropped in round three and twice in round four, the final one for the count.
The pairing of two of the most explosive knockout artists in history saw Tyson with the early power surge. The compact heavyweight worked his way inside, scoring with uppercuts and left hooks which Foreman managed to absorb. Tyson was by far the busier of the two, but also left himself open for a counter left hook from Foreman in the final minute of the frame.
Still, the matchup—despite being competitive one on paper—proved every bit as one-sided as Tyson’s two-round destruction of Eric ‘Butterbean’ Esch in their quarterfinal bout earlier this week.
Foreman—a former two-time World heavyweight king whose 20 years between title remains a divisional record likely to never be matched—sought to take the initiative in round two but wasn’t prepared to keep pace with the more active Tyson who was all too willing to exchange. Foreman managed to remain upright despite absorbing a frightening number of power shots, still coming forward in hopes of establishing his long jab. Tyson was able to punch around Foreman’s high crossarm defense, landing wide right hands and left hooks while also working the body in hopes of getting his Texas-bred foe to drop his guard.
Action was non-stop in round three, with Foreman enjoying middling success including a jarring uppercut. Tyson walked through the incoming, continuing to come forward and eventually putting enough on a right hand to send Foreman to the canvas for the first time in the bout.
Just as he did two day ago versus England’s David Haye, Foreman managed to rise from the canvas. Whereas he rallied to knock out the former two-division champ, no such reversal of fortunes would occur this time around as he merely prolonged the inevitable. Tyson went to the body once action resumed, ending the frame with a left hook which had Foreman wobbly at the bell.
Tyson opened round four with a straight right hand upstairs before returning to the body. Foreman was forced to play defense, but not well enough to fend off a crushing right hook which put him face first on the deck. He once again beat the count, but lack the neutralizer to keep Tyson at bay. A left uppercut by Tyson put Foreman down for the second time in the round and the third time overall.
This time, it was enough to end the fight.
Tyson led 30-26 on all three scorecards at the time of the stoppage.
The picture-perfect ending sets up a heavyweight dream match for the ages. Tyson storms into the final, where he faces Muhammad Ali whom advanced following a one-sided 5th round stoppage of late tournament replacement Sonny Liston on Friday. Their eWBSS (World Boxing Super Series) Heavyweight Legends Tournament championship bout takes place Sunday, beginning at 3:00pm ET on WBSS’ social media channels which has carried the entire simulated tournament.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
