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SHOWTIME will replay Saturday’s historical pay-per-view bout that saw Mike Tyson slide into possible retirement following a stunning turn of events in which the former two-time world heavyweight champion refused to answer the bell for the seventh round against Kevin McBride. Fight fans have the opportunity to witness perhaps the final chapter of boxing’s most fascinating character when SHOWTIME rebroadcasts the fight that took place tt at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, June 18, at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Hoping to revitalize his career, Tyson (50-6, 2 NC, 44 KOs) threw everything he could at his largest opponent to date (McBride weighed in at 271 pounds), including an intentional head butt in the sixth round that cost him two points. Tyson had an excellent fourth round, storming from the corner and opening up with a powerful right and body shots, followed by a left hook and another body shot. However, McBride managed to weather the storm.
Previously, Danny Williams stopped Tyson at 2:51 in the fourth round on July 30, 2004. Once the “baddest man on the planet,” Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion when he registered a second-round TKO over Trevor Berbick on Nov. 22, 1986. Tyson sat atop the heavyweight division the next few years, uniting the heavyweight titles while making nine successful defenses. He has now lost three out of his last four fights.
McBride (33-4-1, 28 KOs), of Clones, Ireland, absorbed Tyson’s best shots and imposed his will on Tyson in winning his eighth consecutive fight. After a Tyson head butt in the sixth round, McBride shoved his opponent into the ropes as the bell sounded. Prior to defeating Tyson, McBride tallied a fifth-round TKO over Kevin Montiy on March 18, 2005, in Mashantucket, Conn.
