 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date | February 22, 2003 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | The Pyramid, Memphis, Tennessee, US | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | None | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tyson wins via 1st-round KO | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mike Tyson vs. Clifford Etienne , billed as Back to Business, was a professional boxing match contested on February 22, 2003.
In his previous fight on June 8, 2002, Mike Tyson had met WBC and IBF heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis. In what would prove to be the final title match of Tyson's career, he was thoroughly outboxed by Lewis, who from the second round on, won every round on the judge's scorecards before knocking out Tyson in the eighth. Though Tyson's plans were not immediately known after his defeat, he announced in November that he would return to boxing on February 22, 2003 to take on fringe contender Clifford Etienne, with the fight taking place at the site of his previous fight with Lewis, the Pyramid Arena in Memphis. [1] Etienne began his professional career with 19 consecutive victories and was named 2000's "Most Exciting Fighter to Watch" by The Ring magazine, but a loss to Fres Oquendo, in which Etienne was knocked down seven times in eight rounds, halted his progress. Only days before the fight was to take place, however, Tyson's new trainer Freddie Roach announced that he didn't think Tyson was ready for the fight and advised him to not go through with it, citing Tyson's lack of condition, as well as the fact that a loss to a journeyman like Etienne could end Tyson's career. [2] Two days later, the fight was cancelled after both the fight's promoters and Tyson's team failed to hear back from Tyson about whether or not he would go through with the fight. [3] However, Tyson arrived in Memphis the following day, seemingly putting the fight back on, but the fight was again held up as Etienne pulled out because several members of his camp had already left Memphis after the first cancellation. [4] The following day, Etienne had a change of heart and stated "This morning, I woke up and I thought about it. I realized that I've worked all these weeks for this. I weighed everything out again. The fight is on." [5]
Despite concerns about Tyson's condition, the fight would prove to be one of his quickest victories. Tyson would start the match aggressively by throwing powerful combinations at Etienne, causing Etienne to clinch with Tyson, though the combined momentum of the two fighters caused both men to stumble to the mat and the referee then called a brief timeout to allow the fighters to regroup from the fall. After the fight was resumed, Tyson continued to throw wild power punches at Etienne, though none connected. Etienne responded by throwing several power punches of his own which caused Tyson to clinch. After being separated, Etienne missed Tyson with a left jab–right hand combination. Tyson then missed with a left hook, but rebounded with a strong right hand that sent Etienne down. Etienne laid flat on his back and made no attempt to get back up as the referee counted him out. Tyson was then awarded the knockout victory at 49 seconds of the first round. The victory would be the 50th and final one of Tyson's professional career. [6]
Prior the fight, there had been preliminary discussions about a possible rematch between Lewis and Tyson that would take place during June 2003 depending on how well Tyson performed against Etienne. [7] Immediately after his impressive victory over Etienne, Jim Gray conducted an interview with Tyson and asked him if the rematch with Lewis was next. However, after being dominated by Lewis in the previous fight, Tyson was reluctant to face Lewis so soon and said he would need at least two more tuneup bouts before he would consider fighting Lewis again. However, with both men in their mid 30s and near end of their careers, Lewis insisted that the match take place in June and gave Tyson an April 15 deadline to accept the match, but Tyson passed on the match and instead agreed to face Oleg Maskaev on the undercard of Lewis' title defense against Vitali Klitschko, which was scheduled for June 21. [8] However, Tyson pulled out of the deal and would not fight for the remainder of 2003 due in large part to Tyson filing for bankruptcy and subsequently filing a $100 million lawsuit against Don King. After a 17-month layoff, Tyson would finally return to boxing on July 30, 2004 to take on Danny Williams. Though he came into the fight as a 9–1 underdog, Williams would upset Tyson by knocking him out in the fourth round.
Lennox Claudius Lewis is a boxing commentator and former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and the last heavyweight to hold the undisputed championship. Holding dual British and Canadian citizenship, Lewis represented Canada as an amateur at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics; in the latter, he won a gold medal in the super-heavyweight division.
Buster Douglas vs. Evander Holyfield, billed as "The Moment of Truth", was a professional boxing match contested on October 25, 1990, for the WBA, WBC, and IBF heavyweight championships. The bout took place at the Mirage in Paradise, Nevada, USA and saw Douglas making the first defense of the titles he won from Mike Tyson in February 1990.
Evander Holyfield vs. Riddick Bowe was a professional boxing match that took place on November 13, 1992 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fight was contested for the undisputed world heavyweight championship, which consisted of the WBA, WBC, and IBF championships.
Evander Holyfield vs. Michael Moorer II was a professional boxing match contested November 8, 1997 for the WBA and IBF heavyweight championships.
Bruce Seldon vs. Mike Tyson, billed as Liberation, was a professional boxing match fought on September 7, 1996 for the WBA heavyweight championship.
Mike Tyson vs Frank Bruno was a professional boxing match contested on February 25, 1989 for the WBA, WBC, IBF and The Ring heavyweight championships.
Mike Tyson vs. Carl Williams was a professional boxing match contested on July 21, 1989, for WBA, WBC, IBF, and The Ring heavyweight championships.
Mike Tyson vs. Alex Stewart, billed as The Hard Way Back, was a professional boxing match contested on December 8, 1990.
Mike Tyson vs. Donovan Ruddock II, billed as The Rematch, was a professional boxing match contested on June 28, 1991. It was the second time the two fighters fought that year, as their first bout in March was mired in controversy.
Mike Tyson vs. Buster Mathis Jr., billed as Presumption of Innocence, was a professional boxing match contested on December 16, 1995.
Riddick Bowe vs. Andrew Golota II was a professional boxing match contested on December 14, 1996 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The bout was a rematch of a controversial fight held earlier in the year at Madison Square Garden in which Bowe was largely outboxed by Golota, but won the fight by disqualification because the Polish fighter repeatedly hit him with punches below the belt.
Lennox Lewis vs. Henry Akinwande was a professional boxing match contested on July 12, 1997, for the WBC Heavyweight Championship.
Lennox Lewis vs. Hasim Rahman, billed as "Thunder in Africa", was a heavyweight professional boxing match contested between unified WBC, IBF, IBO, and lineal champion Lennox Lewis, and Hasim Rahman. The bout took place on 22 April 2001 in Brakpan, South Africa. Rahman, who was a 20–1 underdog, won by knockout in the fifth round. It was one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.
Hasim Rahman vs. Lennox Lewis II, billed as Final Judgment, was a heavyweight professional boxing match contested between unified WBC, IBF, IBO and lineal champion Hasim Rahman and former undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis. The bout took place on November 17, 2001 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Paradise, Nevada, and served as a rematch of their April 22 bout in which Rahman scored a major upset. Lewis defeated Rahman by fourth-round knockout.
Lennox Lewis vs. Vitali Klitschko, billed as Battle of the Titans, was a heavyweight professional boxing match contested between WBC, IBO, and The Ring champion Lennox Lewis and former WBO titleholder Vitali Klitschko. The bout took place on June 21, 2003 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Lewis defeated Klitschko via sixth-round technical knockout (TKO) after the fight was stopped due to a severe cut above Klitschko's left eye. It was the last fight of Lewis' career, having decided to retire after eventually rejecting a rematch.
Lennox Lewis vs. Tommy Morrison, billed as "Laying It All on the Line", was a professional boxing match contested on October 7, 1995 for the IBC heavyweight championship.
Mike Tyson vs. Julius Francis was a professional boxing match contested on 29 January 2000.
Mike Tyson vs. Brian Nielsen was a professional boxing match contested on October 13, 2001.
Mike Tyson vs. Danny Williams, billed as Return for Revenge, was a professional boxing match contested on July 30, 2004. Although former heavyweight champion Tyson entered the fray as a 9-to-1 favorite with oddsmakers, the fight was won by Williams by knockout at 2:51 of the 4th round.
Lennox Lewis vs. Lionel Butler was a professional boxing match contested on May 13, 1995. The fight was a WBC "eliminator" bout with the winner scheduled to become the number one contender for the WBC heavyweight title.