The best Mike Tyson line last night

So at the press conference after, Mike says that he's probably retiring because he "doesn't want to disrespect the sport" by losing to a lesser caliber opponent.

Mighty white of him. Of course he didn't "disrespect the sport" when he

1. Tried to break McBride's arm in a clinch last night (a move he pulled on Francois Botha some years ago);
2. Head butted McBride in a probable attempt to end the fight;
3. Bit Evander Hollyfield's ear off;
4. Raped Desiree Washington;
5. Got a face tattoo;

Yada yada. You get the drift.

Good thing boxing has/had Mike Tyson looking out for it.

[Dynasty]

You couldn't find a way to fit this into one of the other half dozen Mike Tyson threads?

[bernie]

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Good thing boxing has/had Mike Tyson looking out for it

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You're saying boxing hasn't benefitted from Mike Tyson?

No. 4 and 5 don't really have anything to do with the sport of boxing.

b

[Clarkmeister]

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You couldn't find a way to fit this into one of the other dozen and a half Mike Tyson threads?

[/ QUOTE ]

FYP [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

[Vince Young]

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5. Got a face tattoo

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What a [censored]' piece of [censored].

No. It has nothing to do with any of the other Mike Tyson threads.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Good thing boxing has/had Mike Tyson looking out for it

[/ QUOTE ]

You're saying boxing hasn't benefitted from Mike Tyson?

No. 4 and 5 don't really have anything to do with the sport of boxing.

b

[/ QUOTE ]

That's not what I said.

What I said was, in a nutshell, that it's laughable for the post-Cus D'Amato/Kevin Rooney Mike Tyson to say that he's doing anything for the good of boxing. Do you disagree?

And while No. 4 (No. 5 is more of a joke) didn't happen in the ring, I think it's hard to reasonably argue that Tyson getting convicted of rape was not a black eye for boxing. One of many, perhaps, but it still was a black eye (no pun intended).

[bernie]

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that it's laughable for the post-Cus D'Amato/Kevin Rooney Mike Tyson to say that he's doing anything for the good of boxing. Do you disagree?


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Though his draw is diminishing, he's still drawing fans to the sport. He's still bringing in money to people involved in the sport. Many people paid alot of cash to see if he'd bite Holyfields ear in the 2nd fight. Side show as that is, it still has an effect of upping the interest.

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And while No. 4 (No. 5 is more of a joke) didn't happen in the ring, I think it's hard to reasonably argue that Tyson getting convicted of rape was not a black eye for boxing.

[/ QUOTE ]

10-20 years from now it will only be a small footnote in boxing. How often do you hear about Ty Cobbs off field stuff in baseball? Did that really affect baseball as a sport or have any real significatn impact? It's not like a great revelation that boxers aren't he elite members of society.

b

I still hear about Ty Cobb's nonsense -- from brawling on the field to off-field racism -- pretty frequently.

My feeling about Tyson is that, while folks may be drawn in to watch this train wreck, he is not fighting for the good of the sport, or out of any love or respect for the sport. If he respected the sport, he'd be an ambassador for it and not the clown that he's become (I know I am ignoring mental illness issues and the answer is not so easy). I think he fights most recently because he's got a line of creditors around the block. The fact that 100,000 people might by his pay-per-view is incidental.

[Blarg]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
that it's laughable for the post-Cus D'Amato/Kevin Rooney Mike Tyson to say that he's doing anything for the good of boxing. Do you disagree?


[/ QUOTE ]

Though his draw is diminishing, he's still drawing fans to the sport. He's still bringing in money to people involved in the sport. Many people paid alot of cash to see if he'd bite Holyfields ear in the 2nd fight. Side show as that is, it still has an effect of upping the interest.

[ QUOTE ]
And while No. 4 (No. 5 is more of a joke) didn't happen in the ring, I think it's hard to reasonably argue that Tyson getting convicted of rape was not a black eye for boxing.

[/ QUOTE ]

10-20 years from now it will only be a small footnote in boxing. How often do you hear about Ty Cobbs off field stuff in baseball? Did that really affect baseball as a sport or have any real significatn impact? It's not like a great revelation that boxers aren't he elite members of society.

b

[/ QUOTE ]

Mike has been a big draw, but also a poster boy for what people don't like about boxing for a very long time now. He may have brought some people some money and excitement, but long-term, I don't think it can be argued that he gave boxing a black eye.

I remember when he bit Holyfield's ear off. Boxing coverage got even more sparse in the L.A. Times, but there was pretty universal condemnation going through the papers and on t.v. and in magazines about not just what a sick f*ck Tyson was, but how the actually reflected how primitive, stupid, and brutal boxing was. And of course corruption inevitably gets dragged in to inflate the souffle and give people even more to hate about the sport.

Tyson was definitely gave momentum to the idea that boxing isn't a "sweet science," but a sewer, with Tyson not an exception, but just the latest turd to come bobbing back at us.