BRITISH SLEEPER JOLTS DIVISION WITH TYSON KO

To the uninitiated, Britain’s Danny Williams might have been an unsung rock star but the kind of rock he laid on bewildered Mike Tyson rang out loud and clear, knocking the former heavyweight champion into virtual retirement on a four-round stoppage at 2:51 Friday night at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Ky.

An assembly of 17,273 seemingly were as stunned as the victim, considering Williams, virtually unknown on this side on of the Atlantic, gave the media an ignored super tip, declaring “Tyson has been out of the ring for 17 months, so he’s ready for the taking and I’m here for the taking.”

Tyson gave Williams some anxious moments in the first round with jabs and hooks, but the scenario would change without the audience being aware when Tyson apparently sprained his left knee throwing a punch before the bell.

The turnaround began late in the second round when Williams survived Tyson’s salvos with smothering clinches and began to counter on his own with combinations that showed a legit right hand.

In what may be the last round in the checkered career of arguably the greatest puncher in heavyweight annals, it was a wearying, bleeding Tyson slowing coming out for round four.

Williams becomes the fourth member of the highly-exclusive “I Knocked Out Mike Tyson Club”, the original being James “Buster” Douglas (1990), Evander Holyfield (1996) and Lennox Lewis (2002). However, the British Brawler’s finishing offense in the fourth round surpassed the Big Three’s combined total when he needed 27 unanswered punches to put the incredibly-courageous Tyson on the canvas.

Freddie Roach, Tyson’s veteran trainer, felt Williams’ took full advantage with his 265 pounds in the repeated clinches.

“Williams was laying on Mike all night and it just wore him out. Mike had a lot of firepower and moved his head well, throwing a lot of good combinations. Williams showed a lot of heart and took some big punches. When he hurt his knee early, Tyson couldn’t sustain Williams after the second round.

Williams had nothing but respect for Tyson after inflicting the latter’s first loss in a non-title fight.

“Don’t forget Tyson is still a tremendous punching power. He hurt me a couple of times early, but I knew if I got passed those early rounds, I’d get him after round four but we didn’t have to go that far. One of the keys for me was having watched Evander Holyfield’s fights with Tyson. What I saw was Holyfield throwing a lot of punches and Mike not recovering all that well.”

That Williams’ chin was suspect, having been stopped twice earlier in his career, was not applicable on this night facing legendary Tyson, at least a decade past his prime and at 233, the third heaviest he had been in a spectacular career that began in 1985. It was almost two years before he knocked out Trevor Berbick to become the youngest heavyweight champion in history at 20.

Williams shook Tyson with two booming right at mid-
ring and became a traveling tormenter as he moved the spent Tyson around the ring with an unanswered volley of his arsenal --jabs, hooks, and uppercuts in five and six punch clusters. There were three clinches but really no reprieve for the wobbled but pure warrior who remained erect but rarely countered.

In the stunning windup, 29 seconds were left in the fourth round, and Williams was on an unbroken roll but Tyson would not surrender. Williams sent Tyson into the ropes with machine gun rights and lefts. The erstwhile leader of the heavyweight elite began to sag down the rope strands one-at-a-time into a sitting position. Referee Dennis Alfred seemed to be giving Tyson an exaggerated count but it was academic.

Tyson seemed to be trying to rise but he fell back on the bottom strand like Apollo Creed did in “Rocky” as the referee tolled “10” at 2:51.

It was no surprise that Tyson declined interviews to broadcast and print media before checking into a local hospital to have his injured knee examined. Shelly Finkel, the fighter’s advisor, said Tyson would charter a jet flight to Phoenix where he will have an MRI this week.

Nevada’s licensed oddsmakers might have wound up red-faced when they knew little about the favorite’s rival. Across the Silver State most bookies had Tyson, notwithstanding his 38 years, a minus $11.00 choice for every buck the public was trying to win. Williams, 31, despite being a former British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion, was a plus $7.00 underdog.

In what was scheduled for 10-rounds with HBO Pay-
Per-View televising, Tyson was in his third comeback and the most important of all considering Williams was the first of a projected seven bouts in three years where the beleaguered former two-time titleholder hoped to punch his way out of $38 million debt with the biggest chunk owed the Internal Revenue Service.

Tyson, with his resume dipping to 50-5, 2 NC, 44 KOs, earned $8 million but he keeps only $2 million with the balance going to his far-flung creditors. Williams, boosting his credentials to 32-3, 21 KOs, collected $250,000 but his new image is certain to escalate with a tremendous increase in future purses.

Williams’ overall performance was tremendous but it was more than handing Tyson but also the pressure he has been under since being named Tyson’s opponent. Some of the sports’ most noted strategist felt the surprise product from London via Brixton, England eager for an upset would be wise to fight the swarming Tyson from the outside behind a solid jab.

From the first bell, the ambitious Brit showed he wasn’t short on heart, taking the aged icon’s big body shots, plus combinations and uppercuts and pressing Tyson with his weight in clinches.

Tyson had what would be his only big moment in early when he appeared to hurt Williams wit short shots to the body and literally forcing the underdog to leap. forcing a clinch with his arm draped around Iron Mike’s thick neck. Before the bell, Williams began to exchange with Tyson. It wasn’t mentioned early, but an HBO tape rerun showed Tyson appeared to hurt his left knee while throwing a right to the body.

Williams’ thinking was to get past Tyson in the early action and hopefully break him down late but things began to change in round three even though referee Alfred had penalized Williams two points for a low blow and hitting on the break.

Tyson came out from exchanging with a cut in the corner of his right eye early in the third round in what may have been a butt but there was no call. Suddenly Tyson looked like a fighter who didn’t need another birthday, trading shots while taking solid rights by Williams. With 19 seconds left, Williams backed up Tyson with a six-punch salvo, just a mild testament of the rocking 22-punch hammering yet to come.

No question the Englishman was coming on, but all three ringside judges Steve Ryan, Johnny Monson, and Dan McLellan, all Kentuckians, had Tyson still leading 30-25 after nine minutes. With most of the house on its’ feet, roaring.

Both Roach and Finkel said they will wait on Tyson to make a decision about his future boxing career.

(Jack Welsh is a syndicated columnist headquartered in Las Vegas and also a contributor to Ringsports.Com and other fine websites.)