Category: Boxing

boxing

Categories
Boxing

Nov 22 in Sports History: Before Mike Tyson went insane



Devil on his shoulder

In 1986: Mike Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history at 20 years old after he knocked out Trevor Berbick. Tyson, like he did to many fighters early in his career, made quick work of Berbick (who in an odd piece of trivia was Muhammed Ali’s last opponent), knocking him out in the second round. After winning the WBC title from Berbick, Tyson went on to become the undisputed heavyweight champion the following year by claiming the rest of the alphabet soup titles. Berbick, sadly, quickly declined after the Tyson fight and was recently murdered in Jamaica. (nytimes.com)

In 1917: The National Hockey League was formed as a result of the disbanding of the National Hockey Association. Charter members included the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Arenas and Quebec Bulldogs. It didn’t get off to a great start, as the Bulldogs dropped out of the league before playing a game; while the Wanderers played six games before their home arena burnt down. The Arenas won the Stanley Cup after defeating the Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific Coast Hockey League. The next season was tougher on the fledgling NHL, as only three clubs fielded teams and the Stanley Cup Finals were cancelled after five games due to an influenza outbreak that killed Canadiens defenseman Joe Hall. (nhl.com/history)

In 2003: The Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers played the first outdoor game in NHL history. The game was played at the CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos’ Commonwealth Stadium. 57,167 fans braved the well-below zero temperatures to witness two historical games. First, an exhibition called the Mega Stars game featured Oilers versus Canadiens greats, including Wayne Gretzky (who suited up in blue and orange for the first time since being traded in 1988) and Mark Messier for Edmonton. In the night cap, the NHL squads played an official game, with the Canadiens prevailing 4-3 on a late Richard Zednik goal. It was so cold that most players had to wear thermal underwear and ski caps under their equipment. (cbc.com)

Categories
Boxing

Oct 30 in Sports History: The Rumble in the Jungle



Rope-a-dope

In 1974: Muhammed Ali defeated George Foreman to regain the heavyweight-boxing title in Kinshasa, Zaire. Ali knocked out the previously unbeaten in the eighth round of the “Rumble in the Jungle.” Ali, knowing that Foreman would be tough to beat toe to toe, was able to outthink him. He threw very few punches throughout the fight, employing the “rope a dope” method where he let the big-swinging Foreman punch himself into exhaustion, until Ali caught him with a combination of punches to win back the belt. It was the first fight (for better or for worse) that was promoted by Don King, whose original slogan was (and we swear we didn’t make this up) “From the Slave Ship to the Championship.” Each fighter took home $5 million, which was unheard of at the time.

In 1997: Violet Palmer became the first woman to officiate an all-male sports league game when she was a referee for a game between the Dallas Mavericks and Vancouver Grizzlies in Vancouver, British Columbia. Palmer was joined that season by Dee Kantner as the first two female referees in the NBA.

In 2001: Michael Jordan came out of retirement for the second time, this time to suit up for the Washington Wizards in a 93-91 loss to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Jordan played two more seasons for the Wizards and showed flashes of the old MJ, but the team was unable reach the playoffs.

Categories
Boxing

Just when you thought Mike Tyson couldn’t sink any lower


You gotta hand it to Mike Tyson. After hitting bolivia a few times, he still manages to outdo himself and gets to an all time low. You hear about him willing to fight women and you think, ok, that’s the end of the line, but then a story like this comes out and you just have to shake your head. What could you it possibly be you ask? Is Tyson going to fight kids? Kangaroos? Two midgets at the same time? Nope. Mike Tyson is going to become a man whore.

In an interview with the LA Times, Heidi Fleiss said that Tyson would be her #1 stud:


I said to him, ‘You going to be my stud?’ And he said, ‘Heidi I don’t care what any man says. It’s every man’s dream to please every woman no matter how old, how young, how fat, how pretty, how ugly, it’s every man’s dream to please every woman and especially get paid for it.’ And, he goes, ‘Hell yeah, I’ll be your number one stud.’

Actually, we’d prefer Tyson to work a stint at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch. That episode of Cathouse would be the highest rated show of all time on HBO.

Categories
Boxing

Sep 29 in Sports History: Muhammed Ali wins his last fight


In 1977: About 70 million people tuned in to watch Muhammed Ali defeat Earnie Shavers to retain his heavyweight boxing title in a close, 15-round decision. It was the last fight Ali ever won. It was also the first heavyweight title match to be officiated by a woman, named Eva Shain.

In 1951: A football game was televised in color for the first time. The contest between California and the U. of Penn (which Cal won 35-0) was shown on CBS-TV from Philadelphia.

In 2004: For those who cry out in protest against rookie hazing, former Cleveland Indians reliever Kyle Denney would like to have a word with you. As the team bus was pulling away after a game in Kansas City, a stray bullet hit Denney in the calf. Since he was dressed as a woman for a hazing ritual, the low-caliber bullet did not do serious damage, because the knee-high leather boots he was wearing helped to slow it down. Denney is currently with the Washington Nationals organization.

Categories
Boxing

Mike Tyson’s World Tour


It looks like Mike Tyson has found another way to make money. After being reduced to “training” in front of a Vegas buffet for money, we didn’t think there was much left for Tyson to do embarass himself. Tyson will announce in a press conference today that he’s returning to the ring with “Mike Tyson’s World Tour”.

Tyson said that he was through with boxing after his last fight in June but the call of the money was too much.
Is there any question that this is just a traveling freak show? Imagine the opponents on this world tour: a sumo wrestler, a russian wrestler, an indian guy with extending arms…

Links:
[USA Today]: Tyson to fight in ‘World Tour’

Categories
Boxing

August 31 in Sports History: Rocky Marciano killed in plane crash



Oh there they go. There they go, every
time I start talkin ’bout boxing, a
white man got to pull Rocky Marciano
out their ass. That’s their one, that’s
their one. Rocky Marciano. Rocky
Marciano.

In 1969: Former heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano was killed in a plane crash near Newton, Iowa. The only heavyweight champion to retire undefeated at 49-0, Marciano died just one day shy of his 46th birthday. He had 43 career knockouts, including the great Joe Louis and Jersey Joe Walcott.

In 1881: As a precursor to the modern day U.S. Open, the first national tennis championship took place in Newport, RI. Richard Sears won the men’s singles (there were no doubles or ladies matches) for the first of seven straight titles.

In 1990: Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. became the first father-son tandem to start as teammates in a Major League game. With dad in left field and son in center, the Seattle Mariners defeated the Royals 5-2. Both singled and went 1-4.

In 1959: Sandy Koufax of the L.A. Dodgers tied Bob Feller’s ML record with 18 strikeouts in a 5-2 win against the Giants in front of 82,000 fans at the Coliseum. Koufax set another mark with 31 K’s over two games. The single-game record would be topped by Steve Carlton (19) in 1969 and again by Roger Clemens in 1986 and Kerry Wood in 1998 (20).

Categories
Boxing

Odds and Ends: Mike Tyson is sad


We guess it’s not really news that Mike Tyson is a sad freak show but this latest story is just another reminder of how far he’s fallen (and how much of a crook Don King is). Tyson was reduced to “training” in a makeshift ring next to the slot machines at the Aladdin hotel just to make a buck. Would anyone really be surprised if they woke up to find out that Mike Tyson had killed himself? It seems that’s the way his life is heading.

In other news…

[Sports Collectors Daily]: Flea market find: Old Ruth piece has air of mystery

[SI]: Why college football is better than the NFL

[NFL.com]: Vinatieri might have a broken bone in his ankle

[Yahoo]: 26% of Baseball Fans Think Yankees will Win 2006 World Series

[Webpronews]: Can MySpace Save Boxing?

[Indy Star]: Indianapolis aims to host 2011 Super Bowl

Categories
Boxing

August 29 in Sports History: First boxing match


In 1885: The first prize fight under the Marquess of Queensberry rules was held in Cincinnati Ohio. John L. Sullivan defeated Dominick McCaffry in the sixth round. The Marquess of Queensberry rules are the code of popularly accepted rules in the sport of boxing. They were written by John Graham Chambers and endorsed by the Marquess of Queensberry, hence the name. The rules were instrumental in making boxing more than just a bare knuckle brawl.

In 1973: Nolan Ryan, who holds the record for pitching seven no-hitters, was denied what would’ve been his eighth in a victory over the Yankees on a questionable ruling. In the first inning, Yankees catcher Thurman Munson hit a weak pop fly that dropped between two Angels infielders who were both calling for the ball. Munson was given a hit, though, and Ryan did not give up another in the 5-0 victory.

Categories
Boxing

Tommy Morrison has found a cure for AIDS

Tommy Morrison is either a medical miracle or the biggest moron in the world. In an interview with Philadelphia Boxing Report, Morrison claims that he is no longer HIV positive and the original diagnosis was inaccurate. He is attempting a comeback that would be “the greatest in the history of boxing.”

There are several different types of dietary supplements that were on the market back then, that I was taking, and there were a couple of other different things I was taking that would cause a false positive, with the test they were administering back then. They test that they give you doesn’t pick up the virus itself, it only picks up the anti-bodies. So if your exposed to something, and your body is built up to protest yourself the way it is supposed to, your [sic] still going to test positive. It has been undetectable in my blood for the last 6 or 7 years, and that’s as far as I am going to go with that. People will find out more about that, when we decide to go to Vegas and take care of this thing.

Remember, this is a guy who founded the KO AIDS foundation and said he might have gotten AIDS fighting a guy who died of it in 1990. But somehow, he’s HIV free now and ready to make a comeback even though doctors tell him it’s still in his system.

Oh, and the kicker? He wants to fight Mike Tyson. If Tyson had any sense at all, he won’t try to bite his ear off… cause… you know… only Morrison has the power to get rid of HIV.

Links:
[Philadelphia Boxing Report]: Tommy Morrison, “My comeback could be the greatest in the history of boxing”

[Philly.com]: Morrison returning?

Categories
Boxing

June 28th in Sports History: Dinner with Tyson

In 1997: Blogging was invented! No, we can’t quite verify that, but the possible reason for the creation of sports blogging could have been this moment: Mike Tyson bit off a chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear in the boxing ring! (You can’t write or say that without exclaiming it). In a pay-per-view rematch of their bout the previous November (won by Holyfield), the two fought into the third round. There appeared to be a lot of hugging and holding in the middle of the ring; but in truth, Tyson was gnawing into Holyfield‘s right ear. Referee Mills Lane penalized Tyson two points and let the match continue; Tyson then went for the left ear, and was disqualified immediately as he spit the chunk into the ring (it was later found and surgically repaired). Tyson claims that Holyfield was intentionally head-butting him. An absolute melee ensued, and the violence spread from the ring into the MGM Grand Casino, where shots were fired. Tyson was fined three million dollars and had his boxing license revoked by the Nevada Athletic Commission.