{"id":1852,"date":"2010-03-29T00:01:48","date_gmt":"2010-03-29T05:01:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ringsidereport.com\/?p=1852"},"modified":"2010-03-29T00:01:48","modified_gmt":"2010-03-29T05:01:48","slug":"the-return-of-mike-tyson-what-will-it-mean-for-boxing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=1852","title":{"rendered":"The Return of Mike Tyson: What Will it Mean for Boxing?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Joe Wilson<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the last several years, the heavyweight division has taken a back seat in the sport of boxing. In my lifetime, I don\u2019t ever remember the division being in the shape it\u2019s in today. It has clearly gone on vacation. Many fight fans are puzzled about what\u2019s happening to the heavyweights.<\/p>\n

There has not been a good heavyweight fight since World Heavyweight Champion Lennox Lewis stopped Vitali Klitschko in round six, after a bad cut to Klitschko\u2019s left eye. That fight was very exciting. All three judges had Klitschko ahead before the stoppage. Those two fighters battled it out in the center of the ring.<\/p>\n

Lennox Lewis retired shortly after that fight; that was June 21, 2003. Since then, there has been other heavyweight fights, but none of them really worth talking about. Maybe, the 2004 WBO heavyweight title fight, when Lamon Brewster knocked out Wladimir Klitschko in round six, after coming off the canvas himself in round two from a knockdown. Klitschko later won a rematch against Brewster.<\/p>\n

Here recently there have been rumors of a Mike Tyson comeback. RSR\u2019s very own, Managing Editor, Geno McGahee, launched a story on Tyson\u2019s return that was picked up by several major Sports News Medias; USA Today, Detroit Free Press, Fox News and ESPN 2 to name a few.<\/p>\n

RSR thanked other publications for their professionalism. However, it was shame on Brian Kenny and Dan Rafael for the way they handled the report on ESPN 2 Friday Nights Fights a couple weeks ago. They misrepresented the story published on RSR, claiming to have investigated the story when in fact based their entire report on speculations and one interview were the subject said very little, according to McGahee.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Back on October 31, 2009, Don King let the \u201ccat out of the bag\u201d when he made it known to everyone that his relationship with \u201cIron Man\u201d Mike Tyson has been renewed. King had a scheduled boxing event at Treasure Island Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Before the start of the event King put on a \u201cmarketing extravaganza\u201d with Mike Tyson.<\/p>\n

King traveled all through the casino with Tyson at his side; shouting, \u201cHe\u2019s back, Mike Tyson everybody, he\u2019s back,\u201d over and over again. They both stopped in the main lobby of the hotel & casino. There was an entourage with people following all around them flashing cameras and getting autographs.<\/p>\n

That was the evening Don King started to promote Mike Tyson all over again. I had never seen King look so excited. He acted, as if Tyson was 20 years old, all over again. I must admit at that moment, it looked really nice. After all these years and setbacks of Mike Tyson, he and King could still attract attention. People were watching!<\/p>\n

That night King had Tyson as a surprise commentator for his Showtime telecast. Not long ago Tyson released a documentary of his life. He had very harsh words to say about Don King, but that night it was much love between the two. Both Tyson and King acted as if there has never been a falling out between them.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s on record of Tyson saying \u201call things pass and he felt it was time to just mend fences with Don.\u201d As of late, he has taken on a much kinder and gentler approach when dealing with others. He says \u201che has gratitude in his life now, and that he\u2019s taken so much from others, and now it\u2019s time to start giving back.\u201d Tyson says \u201che never thought he would live to see 43 yrs. old, and he just wants to give back.\u201d<\/p>\n

King said, \u201cHe never said anything bad about Mike Tyson after all those years, because he knew one day, they would be back together again.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cReunited and it feels so good\u201d sings King\u2026 It had been four years since Don King put on a boxing event in Las Vegas. Having Tyson at his side is what made the evening so great!<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Mike is one of the greatest fighters that ever lived,\u201d said King. He also feels that Tyson can still be a fighter if he wants to be one. Any time Don King start saying things like, \u201cMike needs vitamins; he needs tender loving care, dedication and discipline.\u201d\u00a0 There are definitely plans for Mike Tyson\u2019s return to the ring.<\/p>\n

I agree with Managing Editor, Geno McGahee in regards to the five years Tyson has had away from boxing. Being away from the sport has allowed him to put a lot of things back in proper order. He seems to be focused.<\/p>\n

Lately, Tyson seems to be very comfortable with himself. Anyone who has watched Mike fight during the prime of his career knows he can beat anybody who stands in front of him when he\u2019s focused. He seems to have his head \u201cscrewed on pretty tight these days.\u201d All he needs to do is get in top shape and spend time at the gym. Then, leave all the rest up to his promoter Don King.<\/p>\n

The return of \u201cIron Man\u201d Mike Tyson would be just the cylinder the heavyweight division needs. I don\u2019t believe age would be a big factor, if he decides to come back. Tyson knows the dedication it will take to become champion again. George Foreman has definitely laid out the blueprint on how it can be done, even when you are past your prime.<\/p>\n

There is a flip side to this coin and that is; Mike Tyson has to comeback, because Mike Tyson has that desire to fight again, not me or Don King or anyone else can place that in him. It totally has to be Mike. If he chooses to do so, the sport would gladly have him back!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Joe Wilson For the last several years, the heavyweight division has taken a back seat in the sport of boxing. In my lifetime, I don\u2019t ever remember the division being in the shape it\u2019s in today. It has clearly gone on vacation. Many fight fans are puzzled about what\u2019s happening to the heavyweights.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[84,293,321,503,604],"class_list":["post-1852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-big-news","tag-geno-mcgahee","tag-heavyweight-champion","tag-mike-tyson","tag-return-to-boxing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1852\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}