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The man who retired Mike Tyson wants to fight again
Mike Tyson sat slumped, desire and stamina finally gone. In the end, it was finally over.
Tyson’s final fight is one of boxing’s most heartbreaking moments – for so many years the former heavyweight has walked a tightrope of disaster and decay until his 58th time in the ring ended with a shocking admission that he was no longer the ‘Iron Mike’ of old.
“It was sad,” sighs the man who retired Tyson in 2005 by inflicting his sixth defeat, Kevin McBride.
Tyson’s career in crisis was about to end
McBride admits that Tyson still retained his power
But 15 years later Tyson is back. Well, more or less. At 54, he will face legend Roy Jones Jr, 51, on Saturday night in a bout where knockouts are not allowed and no winner will be announced.
“Imagine that?”
McBride, now 47, said Sky Sports: “I’d like to see him knock out Jones and then say, ‘I want to fight the last man who beat me!’
“Obviously I’d like to mix it again with Tyson.
“I would definitely give him a rematch and fight him again.
“I would like an opportunity to finish the job.”
McBride thought he ended Tyson-mania once and for all in 2005. Both men have battled their separate demons ever since, and perhaps as kindred spirits, McBride feels part of Tyson’s story.
“It’s very weird, but Tyson is a mega-star, everyone is interested,” McBride said Sky Sports. “It’s still dangerous.
“Everyone wants to know what kind of fighter he will be.
“He tried to bite my nipple so maybe he’ll try to bite Jones Jr’s nose!
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, no. But the thing about us fighters? We want to fight.”
Tyson had lost his intimidation factor, says McBride
McBride was hypnotized before fighting Tyson
The Tyson who lost his last fight so grimly was a shell of “The Baddest Man on the Planet” as he had once been known.
“Let’s be honest – Tyson wasn’t the same as he was 15 or 20 years ago,” McBride admits.
The youngest world heavyweight champion had been in and out of prison, filed for bankruptcy, caused chaos before the fights in Glasgow and Manchester and had lost five times: he bit Evander Holyfield’s ear, was dismantled by Lennox Lewis and an irreparable downward curve against Danny Williams.
Now 38 having lost two of his last three, Tyson was paired up against McBride, an Irishman with a humble record and no elite level experience.
“It was a dream for me to fight Tyson,” McBride said. “But beat him?
“He had power and he was durable. George Foreman knocked out Michael Moore at 44 – the last thing he leaves you is power.
“Tyson is always dangerous, no matter his age. He will always be able to knock you out.
“It hit so hard I can still feel the punch today!
“It hit me in the body and I felt something move on the other side.
“Then he hit me with a good right hand on top of my head and I saw the leprechauns for a while!
“He tried to break my arm. He tried to bite me.
“But I leaned on him, pushed him around, used my weight. I always think a big strong man will beat a small strong man.
“He hit me with good uppercuts but I felt the energy drain, I felt his will to leave him.
“In the sixth round he hit me with a good shot but I said, ‘Is that all you’ve got? You’re in trouble …’
“In the back of my mind I was hoping it was all he had!”
McBride says Tyson’s willpower slowly left him
McBride claims Tyson tried to illegally injure him
During a chaotic sixth round, Tyson was warned by referee Joe Cortez for violently twisting McBride’s arm, then hooked two points for an intentional header.
What followed before the seventh round was the moment when Tyson’s fierce aura was finally replaced by the vulnerable soul he had become.
It was such a heartbreaking moment for anyone who idolized Tyson’s in-ring successes, including the man who inflicted it.
“He just left,” McBride sighs.
“He stopped on his stool. He had the opportunity to get out in the middle of the round, but he didn’t.
“This he will experience for the rest of his life, as far as boxing is concerned, because he stopped on the stool.
“I was a little disappointed. I was a little sad. It’s a legend.
“A man of his pedigree has just left.”
Tyson reportedly pocketed $ 5 million for his final bout and McBride insists he only made $ 150,000 in comparison.
Tyson said salary is the only reason he got into the ring.
But for McBride? The Irishman who ultimately ended his career with 35 wins, 10 losses and a draw enjoyed his most glorious moment in finalizing Tyson’s downfall.
He would never have challenged for a world title, but he will never be allowed to forget this night in Washington DC.
“The best part wasn’t beating Tyson, it was meeting Muhammad Ali at ringside,” he recalls. “His daughter was fighting on the undercard.
“I hugged Ali and said, ‘This is the best night of my life’.
“He said: ‘I am the best, you are the last!’
“People said I couldn’t beat Tyson but I had other plans, you know?
“It’s an Irish Cinderella story.”
Ali congratulated McBride at ringside
Kevin McBride celebrates his biggest night
The intimidating factor that remains so synonymous with Tyson (and returned via social media prior to his performance against Jones Jr on Saturday night) was absent when he fought McBride.
“I had a hypnotist,” McBride giggles now.
“I have left no stone unturned.
“My coach Packie Collins brother Steve had a hypnotist before he beat Chris Eubank.
“He trusted me.
“The hypnotist told me: ‘No matter how hard you hit, you will smile.’
“Watch the fight – I was smiling.
“Everything the hypnotist said has come true in the fight.”
It gave McBride the internal strength not to crumble before the opening bell, as many of Tyson’s opponents presumably did when he stared at them with such anguish.
“I didn’t let him intimidate me. I told him, ‘When I hit you, you’ll hear all of Ireland.’
“Tyson said,” You’ll break your hand. “
“I said: ‘As long as I break it in your head!'”
0:46 Roy Jones Jr: Mike Tyson still has the power
2:53 Looking back on Mike Tyson’s fight in Manchester in 2000 and the chaos that ensued …
Tyson and McBride are linked forever.
“The last time I saw it was at a Hall of Fame induction show,” McBride said. “I went to him and said, ‘Do you remember me?’
“Tyson said,” Yes, Kevin, I remember you. “
The man who retired Tyson in 2005 will see his old rival return to the ring and hopes to be able to meet once again.
“Tyson is in phenomenal shape. He looks like a game hungry man,” said McBride.
“It’s giving me motivation.
“Tyson will want to take Jones Jr. out soon. That’s what he likes to do.
“It’s unbelievable, out of the blue, that after 15 years he’s coming back. But I hope nobody gets hurt.
“Now I’m a tree surgeon, strong at lifting logs. If the fight with Tyson ever comes back, I’d need a few weeks to get ready.
“It’s never over until it’s over.”
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