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| Once again, the wheels for Mike Tyson to make a point in the heavyweight division are spinning. Who can forget the young Mike Tyson, the man who studied every angle and part of boxing? The Mike Tyson that defeated Trevor Berbick in two rounds to become the youngest heavyweight champion ever. If he didn’t make you a fan of |  |
the sport, he made you a fan of his power, relentless pursuit and championship behavior. Tyson’s early dominance of the heavyweight division was due to his hard work and training from Cus D’ Amato. He learned the old school way of boxing, something rarely seen today in the heavyweight division. Every step taken was one in the preparation of becoming a world champion, not just a fighter. We all know the life of Mike Tyson; drama, fights outside the ring, fights with the legal system, verbal fights with both his opposition and reporters at the press conferences and a question mark over his behavior when fight time comes around.
The man who proved the financial gain of pay-per-view and the reason why heavyweights earn the big checks today. Even the Mike Tyson name of today can still draw attention. You might say to yourself when a Mike Tyson news story appears on television or in print, “I am not going to listen or read this, the man is nuts!” But your interest pushes you to keep the station parked or read enough of the article to know what’s going on. The downer with this whole situation is the notion that Mike Tyson has the ability to take over the heavyweight division, as Lennox Lewis is content with his retirement.
Really, can a Hasim Rahman, John Ruiz, Jameel McCline, Fres Oquendo, Monte Barrett, Wladimir Klitschko, Kirk Johnson defeat a half trained and mentally unfocused Mike Tyson? The only silent threat would be Vitali Klitschko. Even with a debate on that fight, one can still mention and maintain solid convictions on how Tyson might end up the winner. Yes, we can make the comical statements about Tyson’s past actions. In reality, this has bearing on his talent. Many boxers have great talent in the ring, but lack in socializing talent outside of the ring.
You see, Tyson suffers from old school training habits. He may not train as hard as in the days of Cus D’Amato, but those rules are still within. Who punches harder than he does in the heavyweight division? Most of the heavyweights, I mentioned, do not fear Tyson, because, they know him outside the ring. They are aware of his lack of training and partying, so of course they think they stand a chance. Notice, in their responses, they retort no fear of him, meanwhile, they concede to his power.
The man can still punch and knock people out. As a fan, I wish him a successful and stellar performance in his upcoming fight against Irishman Kevin McBride. Maybe he will earn some self-esteem and find some honor in training harder. He’s broke financially and the drive of needing to fight, not only as a paycheck, but as a man, may place his determination in tune with his everlasting punching power. Could the humble pie of understanding talent be a main course on Tyson’s plate? For the sake of the heavyweight division, I sure hope so; the division is close to being dead. It would be extremely ironic if the man some consider to be on the edge of self-destruction turns out to be the one to reconstruct the heavyweight division. Good luck “Iron” Mike Tyson.
Shaun Rico LaWhorn can be reached at filmmaking_mentality@msn.com
