ferdiepacheco.com
"The Fight Doctor"
Lewis Defeats Tyson!
A Day of Jubilation: Tyson Discredited
by Ferdie Pacheco "The Fight Doctor"
Sunday, a day of jubilation. Lennox Lewis , The authentic Heavyweight Champion of the whole world, put a period to troubled Mike Tyson's turbulent downhill slide to oblivion. Thank God.
The telecast was a travesty. Innumerable celebrity guests trooped up to be interviewed and ended up giving Tyson a chance. It was a meaningless waste of our time. It's bad enough to have to tap dance through 45 minutes without having to listen to the opinion of amateurs. It was Network Puffery at its worst. Tyson win? Please.
Bobby Czyz, the analyst, and Evander Holyfield, the former champ, shares the Dolt of the Night Award. They both picked Tyson! I don't know why Bobby Czyz went softheaded, unless he was told to do so by some Network Nitwit in order to make it seem like a competitive match instead of a mismatch, which is what it was. Bobby Czyz, former three-time champion, is usually a very astute picker. I cannot believe he not only picked Tyson, but also gave reasons why Tyson would win.
Holyfield was worse. He wins the prize for reverse thinking. Consider this: Holyfield beat Tyson half to death twice. Holyfield lost/tied with Lennox Lewis.
So? Naturally Holyfield picked Tyson to win! On the bases of what, pray tell?
The fight went exactly as Lennox said it would, three months ago in Miami, he told me:
I'm going to repeat Holyfield's Plan:
For the first 3 rounds I'm going to smother him, lay on him, not allow him to punch, all the while keeping him at the end of a jab. Then, after that, I'll pick him apart. He'll quit fighting, and take a beating.
If you saw it last night, this is an exact description of the fight. Lennox Lewis had an easy time picking apart a woefully confused and frustrated Tyson. The fight was over after round three. Only Lennox's cautiousness made it go to round eight.
It makes me mad to observe that not one of the so-called Boxing Experts, and the countless amateur boxing experts, did not analyze that the single biggest factor in the match was the most obvious: SIZE.
A stubby 5'10 man cannot hope to get to a 6 ft 5, much less land punches, on a man who is and has a spear like jab. Why couldn't the announcers at least once point this out. Size. Size. Size.
The last outrage: that line of yellow shirted men dividing the ring so that the animal Tyson wouldn't spring out of control and start the fight before the bell sounded? Is Tyson THAT much of an out of control bizarro? That yellow line of men was an insult to boxing. Now that Tyson got beaten to a pulp, can we send those guys back out to fish for catfish in the Mississippi?
What now?
The champion can add easy millions to his bank account. Ruiz? Easy. Holyfield? For a third time? Easier. Wait for Klischko to get the wins necessary to justify a Lewis fight. This would be a good goodbye fight for Lewis. It should take place 2 years from now when Lewis is on the other side of 35, and cruising downhill to the bank.
Where will he rate? Not in the Pantheon of Joe Louis, Marciano, and Ali. But, certainly, under them, sharing top spot of that second group with Larry Holmes. Now, that would have been a defining fight.
As to the beaten, thoroughly discredited Mike Tyson. Will he calm down now that the revelation that he isn't the baddest man in the world is staring him in the psyche?
He will never be a big box office draw again. If he has no self worth and pride, he will want to continue to fight.
I think he can beat most of the top ten heavyweights. Avoid Holyfield. He has the plan Klischko is too big. Size. Size. Size. Try Ruiz. Every top guy can beat him.
Fights are out there for Mike, but he's used goods. His act does not play anymore.
His next big money fight is in the courts with Don King. Here size does not count. Tyson if he can prove what he (and all boxers) allege; that King is the Master of the short and tardy count, could score a big money K.O.
If this were a perfect world, he would take himself to a serious psychiatric institute for a full year, and try to find himself, and maybe, with a little luck, learn to love himself a little.
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