Updated: June 13, 2005, 5:33 PM ET
Weekend scorecard: Ending with a thud
Mike Tyson's once-awesome career completed its arc Saturday. Instead of leaving us with flashbacks of his young brilliance, he left us with little spark.
A roundup of the weekend's notable boxing results from around the world:
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Kevin McBride TKO6 Mike Tyson |
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Records: McBride 33-4-1, 28 KOs; Tyson 50-6 |
| Rafael's remark: Is this really how it ends for Tyson? Sitting on the stool, refusing to answer the bell? It appears that way, and if you missed it on pay-per-view, Showtime will replay the fight Saturday night at 9 ET/PT. Tyson, who announced his retirement after the fight, has lost three of his last four fights and says he no longer has the stomach to go on. He probably should retire after getting waxed by Danny Williams last summer and now McBride, who in years past would have been gone in 90 seconds against Tyson. If this is truly how Tyson goes out, it is a shame so many will remember him as a quitter and dirty fighter who in his final round resorted to intentional head butts and tried to break McBride's arm when they were in a clinch. We'd prefer to remember him as the dynamic, 20-year-old phenom who mesmerized the world with his crushing knockouts and became the youngest heavyweight champion. Years later, that awesome shooting star has crash-landed with a thud. |
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Laila Ali TKO3 Erin Toughill |
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Records: Ali 21-0, 18 KOs; Toughill 6-2-1 |
| Rafael's remark: When she turned pro, most people figured she was just looking to make a buck off of her famous last name. It turns out that she can fight and has become the best female boxer in the world. With her dad, Muhammad Ali, at ringside, she crushed another tough opponent in Toughill. Ali took a couple of clean shots well and then, as she said, "got vicious," unloading on a bleeding Toughill until the referee stopped the fight. |
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Sharmba Mitchell Tech. Dec. 5 (accidental head butt) Chris Smith Scores: 50-54, 49-46, 48-47 |
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Records: Mitchell 56-4; Smith 19-2-1 |
| Rafael's remark: If ever a fight begged for a rematch, this is it. The ending was totally unsatisfying, coming 16 seconds into the fifth round on a terrible head clash that left Mitchell with two cuts around his eye. Mitchell, a former 140-pound champion, was making his 147-pound debut and was doing well. Although Mitchell was clearly winning, Smith was starting to get fired up and it was just settling into a good, solid fight. |
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Miguel Cotto TKO9 Muhammad Abdullaev Retains a junior welterweight title |
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Records: Cotto 24-0, 20 KOs; Abdullaev 15-2 |
| Rafael's remark: Cotto avenged his 2000 Olympic defeat to Abdullaev, who eventually won the gold medal. This was a very strong and professional performance for Cotto, who dominated the fight before it ended with Abdullaev unable to see from an eye that was swollen closed from repeated abuse. Cotto is ready for anyone in the deepest division in boxing, be it new ruler Ricky Hatton, Arturo Gatti, Floyd Mayweather, Vivian Harris or Kostya Tszyu. |
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Almazbek Raiymkulov D12 Joel Casamayor |
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Records: Raiymkulov 20-0-1; Casamayor 31-3-1 |
| Rafael's remark: Raiymkulov (a k a "Kid Diamond"), in his first major fight, got knocked down and cut in the opening round by the former junior lightweight titlist but recovered and deserved the decision in this elimination bout. Casamayor is a tricky opponent and one of the best lightweights in the world, but the much busier Raiymkulov showed he belonged. |
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Sinan Samil Sam W12 Peter Okello Scores: 117-111, 116-111, 115-112 |
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Records: Sam 24-2; Okello 17-4 |
| Rafael's remark: Sam won his sixth in a row after back-to-back decision losses to Luan Krasniqi and Juan Carlos Gomez. Okello, a Ugandan based in Japan, scored a knockdown in the 12th round but couldn't finish Sam. |
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Paolo Vidoz W12 Timo Hoffmann Wins vacant European heavyweight title Scores: 115-112, 114-113 Vidoz, 115-113 Hoffmann |
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Records: Vidoz 19-2; Hoffmann 32-4-1 |
| Rafael's remark: Vidoz, a 2000 Olympic super heavyweight bronze medal winner for Italy, claimed the European title with a mild upset. It's the crowning moment of what has been a disappointing pro career. It's hard for foreign fighters to get a decision in Germany but he is one of the few to eke out a split decision, helped by a sixth-round knockdown of Hoffmann. |
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Shannon Briggs TKO3 Abraham Okine |
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Records: Briggs 42-4-1, 36 KOs; Okine 14-1 |
| Rafael's remark: In this mismatch that headlined a weak card, Briggs knocked down Okine three times before Okine's corner stopped the fight 54 seconds into the third. Okine was down twice in the first and on Gumby legs the rest of the way until the carnage was halted. The bout opened the annual induction weekend of the nearby International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, a place Briggs and Okine will get into only if they buy tickets. What was the purpose of this fight? |
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Audley Harrison TKO7 Robert Davis |
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Records: Harrison 18-0, 13 KOs; Davis 31-7 |
| Rafael's remark: Harrison, the 2000 Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist from England, has relocated to the United States and returned from a year's layoff that was caused primarily by hand surgery. Harrison scored a first-round knockdown but couldn't finish the long-in-the-tooth Davis for another six rounds. Still, Harrison throws an impressive left hand, finally stopping him with a flurry. |
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Kirk Johnson Tech. Dec. 5 (accidental head butt) Yanqui Diaz Scores: 49-42 (twice), 49-43. |
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Records: Johnson 36-2-1; Diaz 13-3 |
| Rafael's remark: Fighting for the first time in 11 months because of injuries, Johnson claimed a technical decision in a fight stopped because of an accidental head butt. But he had dominated the bout, scoring a knockdown in the first round and two more in the fifth. A former highly regarded contender, Johnson is looking to make another run, but it will take a win or two against better competition than Diaz. |
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Malcolm Tann W8 Derek Bryant Scores: 77-74 (twice), 76-75. |
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Records: Tann 16-1; Bryant 18-4 |
| Rafael's remark: I've never been too impressed with Tann and nothing he did against Bryant has changed my mind. He got dropped hard in the first round and probably got a gift decision against Bryant, a big disappointment in his own right. That said, it was certainly an entertaining bout. |
