[Ian Lord]

28th - New York, New York.

Madison Square Garden was packed to the rafters to see New Yorker 'Iron' Mike Tyson take on big hitting Texan heavyweight George Foreman.
Former world champ Tyson was coming in of a win over Lennox Lewis, whereas Foreman claimed before the fight that there is no heavyweight in the world that can stand up to his punching power, despite having two defeats on his ledger. Both men are known for there fearsome punching. Coming into the fight only one person had gone the distance in all of Tyson's victories, likewise with Foreman.
It was scheduled for ten. It wasn't likely to go the distance, and it didn't.
The first round was even, with both men showing respect for each other. They opened up near the bell, with both men landing a hard shot on each other.
Foreman took control in the second, using his superior strength. He rattled Tyson with an uppercut, followed by another, then another which sent Tyson crashing. He barely beat the count. It was a big round for the Texan.
The third was a closer round, with Tyson edging it. Both men were rocked.
Foreman started of the fourth by landing some heavy bombs on Tyson. A slight lump appeared under his right eye which worsened as it went on due to the heavy blows he was shipping. It was another big round for Foreman, with his superior strength against the short, squat, Tyson becoming a major factor. Foreman picked up the fifth where he left of in the previous round, landing some murderous punches to the head and body of the former world champion. It was only a matter of time now for Tyson, as he was taking punishment which makes guys walk funny by the time they are fifty. He was no longer fending for himself, and the referee waved it of at the 2.38 mark. Foreman was ahead 39-37 on all three cards at the time of the stoppage.
There was no celebration from the sullen, stone-faced winner, who now improves to 10-2 [9] and looks as if he will be matched with Evander Holyfield in an eliminator for the world title, and also the latters North American and United States straps, later in the year.
Tyson drops to 15-7 [14], and can be commended for continually seeking out the top guys to get into the ring with, but perhaps after this beating, and that's what it was, he deserves an easy pay day.

Another former world heavyweight champion, Riddick Bowe, who is also a New Yorker, dished out a beating to Pinklon Thomas, before the fight was halted at 2.11 of round nine. Bowe was loading up on the big shots right from the opener, which he won big. He drew a warning for hitting after the bell.
Thomas had a good second, his only good round of the fight. He edged it with some stylish boxing. After that, Bowe took command. Thomas suffered swelling around the left eye, which worsened as the fight progressed. He went down for a six count following an uppercut in the eigth round, and looked a beaten man. The end came in the following round with his eye swollen almost shut. The ringside doctor inspected it, shook his head, and the fight was waved off. Bowe, who was coming in of a defeat to world champion Larry Holmes improved to 10-3-1 [6], while Thomas dipped to 12-12 [8].

New York welterweight Saul mamby boxed his way to a ten round unanimous decision over Milt 'The Iceman' McCrory to improve to 5-1 [1]. Scores were 97-94, 99-93, and 97-95. The match was competitive to begin with, until seeming to all but come to a halt after the third round, with neither man seeming willing to throw a punch. It livened up in the eighth, but apart from that it was a pretty tepid affair. McCrory dips to 1-4.

New York middleweight Davey Moore got his career back on track with a fifth round knockout over Leonard Townsend to improve to 8-7-1 [6]. Moore had lost his two previous fights.

Welterweight Marlon Starling was also back in the W column with an eight round unanimous points win over Eric Alexander. Starling had lost his last threeand is now 3-4 [2].

Maurice Blocker stopped Oscar Delgado in the fifth of an eight round welterweight match-up.