Mike Tyson turning back the Clock & the Roy Jones – Bernard Hopkins PPV Sham
By Geno McGahee
Mike Tyson on Holyfield/Botha
Mike Tyson has a couple of fights on his mind as of late. The first is with PETA, a fanatical group that have jumped on Tyson’s reality show because he is racing pigeons, something he has been doing since he was a child. PETA versus Tyson and Animal Planet, the network airing the show, should be an interesting battle…one that Tyson hasn’t concerned himself with too much.
The other fight is Evander Holyfield – Frans Botha this Saturday night in Vegas. Vegas is a place that Tyson is very familiar with and so too are the two combatants going to war this Saturday night. According to a source close to the former champion, Tyson is becoming more and more receptive to the idea of facing Holyfield. Don King is pushing very hard for the Tyson comeback to begin, possibly coinciding with the pigeon show which is set to begin airing next year. Tyson is not getting any younger and that may be too long of a wait. The most likely scenario is that Tyson will be in the ring later this year or early 2011 at the latest.
Evander Holyfield has made it clear both to Don King and to the public through various interviews that he wants Iron Mike. He has stated that “Tyson could only make money” against him, an absurd statement, but one that shows the interest of the “Real Deal” in a third encounter. Should Holyfield get through Botha, expect the wheels to turn for the third match. Should Holyfield lose, it is still a possibility. Either way, the most interested spectator this Saturday night will be Iron Mike.
The Return of Antonio Margarito
Bob Arum said that what Luis Resto did was unforgivable and that he should be banned for life, but when his fighter does nearly the same thing, it wasn’t his fault. Antonio Margarito, proven to have used plaster of Paris in his hand wraps, leading to victories over many opponents that he probably would have lost to had the playing field been even, will return to the ring in Mexico on May 8th in “Latin Fury 14.”
You cannot blame Bob Arum for wanting his fighter to get in there, especially now. The discovery of his cheating ways may actually make him more of an attraction. The boxing bad boys always sell well. Look at Mike Tyson. When his skills diminished and he began becoming more and more unpredictable, people watched. His fight with Lennox Lewis was incredibly successful because of that factor, and now Margarito, the known cheater, comes back to boxing and it will only be a matter of time before he makes his way to the states again.
Money talks and it will scream for him to return. The commission will have to keep a close eye on him, but after time, it may not be as stringent, and we could see him return to the loaded gloves. Remember, for those of you that may dispute the chances of him doing it again, that boxing is a sport where you can make a lot of money. One victory can mean millions upon millions of dollars. Margarito cheated for the money, plain and simple, and he made a boatload, risking the lives of many an opponent and ruining Miguel Cotto in the process.
The PPV buys for this event will tell us something about the future of Margarito. If it sells well, it will be more incentive for Arum to get him back to the states, and with Floyd Mayweather taking on Shane Mosley, and Manny Pacquiao waiting in the wings, there is plenty of money to go around, especially with the hands of plaster, Margarito.
Roy Jones – Bernard Hopkins II: As Advertised
Roy Jones, JR., went to war in an incredibly ugly match with Bernard Hopkins, a rematch 17 years in the making. My prediction was Hopkins by UD in what I called a “no brainer,” and it was Hopkins by UD…a no brainer. I thought it was amusing that the promotion announced that there would be no replay and that anyone streaming it live via the Internet would be punished to the full extent of the law. They knew that this was a bomb and did whatever they could to get people to lay down the 50 dollars to buy it.
The problem with the fight is that it was meaningless and predictable. Jones, JR., had zero left going into it. He was stopped in one round by Danny Green, and pummeled twelve rounds by Joe Calzaghe in recent outings. He beat a bloated Felix Trinidad and a shot Jeff Lacy, names that on paper, impress, but when you see exactly what they have left, you realize that the victories were misleading.
Hopkins has not been in an exciting fight since 2001 when he knocked out Felix Trinidad. His mauling, ugly style is effective, but it isn’t what fans want to see. The bad blood between the fighters, whether real or manufactured to sell the fight, did not do anything to make the PPV any more worthy of the price tag.
This was a business deal. When Green won via first round stoppage, damage control went into effect and suddenly, Green wore illegal hand wraps. It was a pathetic charge, but Jones planted the seed in the public’s mind. Now there was doubt. On top of that, Hopkins chimed in, stating that it was quick stoppage. When you compile the two allegations, some may be duped into believing that Jones was jobbed and therefore you can erase the defeat. In all actuality, he lost fair and square.
Where do the fighters go from here? Jones – Hopkins III? They are tied 1-1 at this point and why not fleece the public for another 50 bucks? Then again, if I’m correct, they will not be in a position to when the PPV rentals come very low. Hopkins will move on and Jones, JR., will regroup and find boxers more shot then he is to beat up and attempt to fool the public into thinking he’s back on his game. Unfortunately for Jones, he built his career on reflexes and they are the first thing to go and they have gone.