Bruce Seldon vs. Mike Tyson, billed as Liberation, was a professional boxing match fought on September 7, 1996 for the WBA heavyweight championship.[1]
The fight is notable in the fact that in attendance was rapper and actor Tupac Shakur, who would be fatally shot just hours after the fight, following an altercation with Crips member Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson at the casino. Shakur died six days later on September 13 from ballistic trauma.
Background
After George Foreman was stripped of his WBA Heavyweight title for refusing to fight number one contender Tony Tucker, the WBA organized a fight between Tucker and little–known Bruce Seldon to determine who would become WBA Heavyweight champion. Seldon was able to defeat the aging Tucker by referee technical decision after the fight was stopped in the seventh round due to Tucker's eye being completely swollen shut. He would then successfully defend the title against Joe Hipp, who became the first Native American to challenge for a major heavyweight title, on the undercard of the Tyson–McNeeley fight on September 7, 1995.[2]
Since being released from prison, Mike Tyson had won all three of his fights in dominating fashion, defeating fringe contenders Peter McNeeley and Buster Mathis, Jr. and then capturing the WBC Heavyweight title by defeating Frank Bruno via 3rd-round knockout. Tyson was then tasked with facing the WBC's number one contender, Lennox Lewis, who was next-in-line for a title shot against the winner of the Tyson–Bruno fight. After negotiations for a championship bout between them were halted when Lewis' team refused successive offers of $10 million and $13.5 million,[3][4][5] promoter Don King then agreed to pay Lewis $4 million in order for the challenger to step aside and allow Tyson to face Seldon, the reigning WBA champion, in what was planned to be a unification bout for their respective titles.[6][7] Seldon was a 22-1 underdog going in to the bout.[8][9]
The fights
Undercard
The first of the televised bout saw Christy Martin score a 4th round knockout over Melinda Robinson with a overhand right to the chin.[10]
In the first of three world title bouts on the card, IBF welterweight champion Félix Trinidad faced IBF No. 9 ranked contender Ray Lovato.[11]
The fight
Trinidad would start the bout slowly, measuring the elusive Lovato before rocking him in the fifth with a right hand. In the sixth, the champion caught Lovato with a sharp left-right combination near the ropes sending him staggered against the ropes, prompting referee Mitch Halpern to step in and wave off the bout.[12]
At the time of the stoppage, two judges had Trinidad ahead 49–46 with the other having him 48–47.
Aftermath
Lovato would criticize the stoppage saying "I thought it was stopped too soon. I thought I was winning."[10]
The next world title bout saw unified 154 lb champion Terry Norris face WBC No. 9 ranked contender Alex Rios.[13][10][14]
The fight
Norris dropped Rios in the fourth and in the fifth round when a overhand right sent Rios in his own corner, with Norris winging away with combinations prompting referee Mills Lane to wave it off.
Main Event
Tyson easily defeated Seldon by 1st-round knockout in one of the shortest Heavyweight championship fights in boxing history, lasting just 1:49. Tyson was the aggressor from the opening bell. Seldon attempted to weather Tyson’s storm by attempting to connect his powerful left jab, but Tyson was able to dodge Seldon’s attempts. At around 1:12 of the fight, Seldon was knocked down by a left hook thrown by Tyson, immediately followed by a straight right that only grazed Seldon. Seldon answered the referee’s count at 8 and continued the fight only to almost immediately get knocked down again by another left hook. Seldon got back on his feet but was unable to maintain his balance, causing referee Richard Steele to stop the fight and award Tyson the victory by technical knockout.
"Fix" controversy
Almost immediately after the fight, the audience began chanting "Fix!", having thought Seldon took a dive in order for Tyson to win the championship and move on to face Evander Holyfield. The crowd would continue to serenade Seldon with chants of "Fix!" as he remained in the ring for an interview with Jim Gray. Gray would openly ask Seldon if he did in fact take a dive, but Seldon professed his innocence, stating "I didn't train 12 weeks to come in here and take a dive."[15]
Aftermath
After his embarrassing loss, Seldon would retire from boxing, eventually staging a comeback in 2004 at the age of 37. Meanwhile, Tyson would officially vacate his WBC title and proceed with his much anticipated match with Holyfield for the WBA Heavyweight championship. Though Tyson was 6–1 favorite, Holyfield had then scored a stunning upset victory by defeating Tyson via 11th-round technical knockout. Tyson would subsequently lose the rematch by disqualification in 1997 as well as his next Heavyweight title match in 2002 against Lennox Lewis. As such, the Seldon match would be Tyson's final heavyweight championship victory.
↑ writer, Tim Dahlberg, Associated Press. "Loss is only in Tyson's dreams". New Bedford Standard-Times. Retrieved 2025-10-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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