Tag: Boxing

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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.

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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’

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New York Knicks

Sep 25 in Sports History: Marv Albert gets arrested


In 1997: In one of the most uncomfortable and embarrassing moments in sportscasting history, announcer Marv Albert plead guilty to assault and battery of a female companion in a Virginia hotel room. Albert was accused of repeatedly biting the woman on the back and forcing her to perform sex acts. Albert was immediately fired from his job at NBC, where he did NBA and NFL broadcasts; and he was forced to resign from MSG Network as the voice of the New York Knicks, where he started over 30 years ago. He was rehired by NBC a few years later and became the voice of the New Jersey Nets in 2005 on the YES Network.

In 2001: Despite being “99.9 percent sure” he would never play again, Michael Jordan announced he would be returning (again) to play in the NBA, this time for the Washington Wizards. Jordan, who was already the president of basketball operations, played two more seasons for the lowly Wizards, averaging 21 points and selling out all 82 home games at the MCI Center in Washington (and most arenas on the road). He retired at the end of the 2003 season.

In 1994: In the most shocking upset since Mike Tyson-Buster Douglas, journeyman Oliver McCall knocked out heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis in Lewis’ hometown of London. McCall lost the title shortly thereafter, and is most remembered for his nervous breakdown in the ring in a rematch against Lewis, when he began crying and refused to defend himself. Many speculated that McCall was on drugs. All tests, however, came up negative.

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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).

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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

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.

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Boxing

June 27 in Sports History: Spinks gets $10M for 91 seconds



91 seconds of work

In 1988: Mike Tyson knocked out previously undefeated Michael Spinks in 91 seconds at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City. The fight, which was hyped for months as the true test to Tyson’s dominance, was over before many people even got to their $1,500 ringside seats. It was the fourth shortest heavyweight fight in history and was believed to be the climax of Tyson’s career as the undisputed heavyweight champion. The fight was so short, HBO was able to show a slow motion replay of the entire bout. Spinks collected about ten million dollars for his troubles.

In 1999 The Seattle Mariners played their final game in the Seattle Kingdome in front of 56,000 fans. Ken Griffey Jr. homered for the Mariners in the 5-2 win over the Texas Rangers. The Mariners played over 1,700 games in 22 seasons at the Kingdome. A few memorable moments include Griffey Jr. and his father, Ken Sr. both playing in the same game together, the Mariners one-game playoff win over the Angels to clinch the AL West in 1995, and Junior scoring the winning run of the first ALDS in the bottom of the 10th inning in Game 5 against the Yankees. Fans and city officials celebrated the final game at the Kingdome with banners and ceremonies, prompting sportscaster Keith Olbermann to wonder: “Why? It was a dump.