"El Marielito" fights on.....

[Crimson]

This is universe is going to focus on the professional boxing career of Mickey "El Marielito" Rourke. His last fight (in real life) was 1994-09-08, after which he retired with a record of 6-0-2 (4). In this universe he is not going to retire, and will instead focus entirely on boxing with Freddie Roach continuing to train him.

I'm not sure who created the rating, but someobody posted one with Rourke having a rating of 0. This rating seems fair to me, so I'm going to use it. Being that he had just turned 38 years old when he retired and had a life of hard partying, I'm going to put him at "End" for career stage.

This is going to make managing his career a real challenge, as I'm sure it was for his manager in real life. On the plus side for Rourke is he has one of the best rated trainers in the game, Freddie Roach, working his corner. I'm not sure who he had as a cutman, but he can afford any of the best so I'm going to have him hire Chuck Bodak.

I'll be having him take on fighters who actually existed in real life and moving on to 6 and 8 rounders and hopefully more after that. The goal being to see how far he can go.

My writing skills are at best, average on a good day....so my apologies if this is boring or doesn't read well. It probably won't consist of much actual writing, and will focus more on reporting the "made up" facts as they develop.

I've been wanting to try this universe out for awhile now, so.......here goes.

Mickey Rourke vs. Darrell Miller
YouTube - Mickey Rourke (The Actor) vs Darrell Miller

[bear]

This sounds like it will be fun

[Crimson]

MICKEY "El Marielito" ROURKE

DOB: 1952-09-16

Birthplace: Schenectady, NY

Home: Hollywood, CA

Stance: Orthodox

Height: 5' 11"

Reach: 180 cm

Trainer: Freddie Roach

Cutman: Chuck Bodak

RECORD: 6-0-2 (4)

Career Stage: End


DATE
1994-09-08 Dm4 Sean Gibbons 11-3-2 (7) Davie Arena; Davie, FL; USA
1993-11-20 TKO3 Thomas McCoy Debut Sporthalle; Hamburg, Germany
1993-07-24 TKO3 Bubba Stotts 1-4 (1) Joplin, MO; USA
1993-03-30 KO1 Tom Bentley 0-3 (0) Kemper Arena; Kansas City, MO; USA
1992-12-12 W4 Terry Jesmer 17-27-2 (13) Oviedo; Prinipado de Asturias; Spain
1992-06-23 KO1 Darrell Miller 11-37-4 (3) Kokugikan; Tokyo, Japan
1992-04-25 Dm4 Francisco Harris 0-2 (0) Miami Beach, FL; USA
1991-05-23 Wu4 Steve Powell 0-4 (0) Memorial Auditorium; Fort Lauderdale, FL; USA

[CONN CHRIS]

Robert Conrad should come out of retirement to face him. Conrad was only 59 in 1994.

Fun idea.

[Infinity]

Now THIS is an interesting concept. Looking forward to it!

[Crimson]

After watching the available videos on you tube of Mickey Rourke boxing I've made a few slight adjustments to his rating. His aggressiveness and ability to fight a slugger were reduced. A bit of an improvement was made in the areas of defense, chin, intellect, ability to fight a boxer, and draw power. His fouling has been increased to "Frequently". His rating still averages out at "0" in his prime.


All of his new fights will take place on boxing cards that actually occured in real life.


Mickey Rourke vs. Steve Powell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTETjFomoeg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ2vWWnOYjw&feature=related
Mickey Rourke vs. Thomas McCoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iruA3GvzXWA&feature=related
Mickey Rourke interview on boxing career
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5lgHqTaWJo&feature=related
Interview with Freddie Roach/Mickey Rourke
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThnFY0b0ogU
Interview about his life
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_KOo2uaH3E&feature=PlayList&p=A937852D76B7BF78&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=6

[Crimson]

Saturday, October 1st, 1994
Nanaimo Civic Arena; Nanaimo, BC; Canada
Mickey Rourke 6-0-2 (3) California
vs.
Anthony Bradley 5-7 (0) South Carolina
6 rounds
Less than 1 month after fighting to a disappointing draw in Florida, Mickey “El Marielita” Rourke was back in action. Despite having been told by at least 1 doctor that continuing his boxing career was likely to cause permanent brain damage, Mickey Rourke has decided to continue his journey as professional prize fighter and his quest of becoming a World Champion.

This was to be Rourke’s first fight under his new manager, Matt Murphy. Rourke and the Irishman had met and become friends during the filming of a movie in Ireland. Murphy’s plan for Rourke’s career appealed to the superstar actor. “Mickey is gonna have an average of about one fight per month until he has had 16. Then he is going to fight for a World Title. So far all 8 of his fights have been scheduled for 4 rounds, but with the extra conditioning training he has been doing with Freddie Roach, he’s now ready to move on to 6 rounds. ”

Standing in the opposite corner of Rourke for this fight was an unknown fighter from Conway, South Carolina, named Anthony Bradley. The record of Bradley was a similarly undistinguished one to Rourke’s previous foes, at 5-6 (0). The heaviest Bradley had weighed for any of his previous 12 fights was 159 pounds. He appeared a bit tubby at the weigh in and was several inches shorter than the 5’11” Rourke.

Fighting mostly in South Carolina, Bradley had been knocked out in 2 of his 5 losses. Not only were none of his 5 wins by stoppage, but he was yet to score a knockdown of an opponent in a fight. Few expected him to against the much larger Rourke.

The 6 round Rourke-Bradley encounter was on the undercard of Leon Spinks 25-14-3 (14) vs. Shane Sutcliffe 10-2 (6).

[Jeff1787]

I will be following this.

[Beno999]

sounds like an awesome idea ill be following closely.

[Ric915]

I will also be following closely

[Crimson]

Glad to see that this thread has drawn some interest! I really don't know how far Rourke is going to be able to progress or how the story will unfold. Just going to report it one fight at a time, after it takes place. Any feedback and comments from others is welcome and appreciated. Now back to ....

"El Marielito" fights on......

[Crimson]

Saturday, October 1st, 1994
Nanaimo Civic Arena; Nanaimo, BC; Canada
Mickey Rourke 6-0-2 (3) California
vs. (6 rounds)
Anthony Bradley 5-7 (0) South Carolina
- Neither fighter appeared to be a future contender, but between the two, Rourke showed more athleticism and boxing ability. The size advantage Rourke held was helpful to him. The much shorter and smaller Bradley landed few punches of consequence and when he managed to get on the inside Rourke easily tied him up. "El Marielito" was content with potshotting his foe from the outside.
- After convincingly losing the first 3 rounds, Bradley was doing his best work in the fourth when a Rourke combination dropped him to his hands and knees. When the round ended Bradley was dead tired and looked ready to go.
- Rourke dropped him again in round 5 and continued to have his way with Bradley for the remainder of the fight, but the South Carolinian was able to survive until the final bell. All 3 of the scorecards read 60-52 for Rourke.
- The final punches landed numbers favored Rourke 145 to 96.

- Manager, Matt Murphy - “Mickey did some things better than in the past, but as could be seen there are plenty of areas in need of improvement. More so than in any of his previous fights, Mickey was in shape for tonight and that’s what Freddie Roach and I liked best about his performance. He trained diligently and kept his extracurricular activities to a minimum. What we need to work on now are his finishing skills. He had a guy in front of him who was ready to go and Mickey didn’t finish him off.”
Mickey Rourke Wu6 Anthony Bradley

[Crimson]

Comments from trainer Freddie Roach about Mickey Rourke:
Freddie Roach refused to work with Rourke when the actor first approached him in 1990 - because the acting star only turned up for training once in seven days.
Roach says, "I came out to Hollywood. I was here for seven days (and) he showed up in the gym one day in seven.... I ripped him so bad he actually cried."
The actor remembers the harsh lesson he learned that day: "Freddie came into the gym one day and he goes, 'Listen, I don't train people to lose fights; you're not running, you're not doing this, you're not doing that. I'm going back to Las Vegas.'
"I was making all kinds of excuses because my head was crazy... I was in tears. Freddie packed his bags and went back to Las Vegas.
"Freddie humiliated me, embarrassed me and reduced me to the fact that I was not giving 100 per cent, I was not being a professional and I was setting myself up to not be as good as I could be."
But Rourke refused to give up - and kept begging his trainer to reconsider.
Roach recalls, "He called me every day for 30 days and then finally I said to him, 'OK, if I come back, the next day you have off is the one I give you.'
"I think he had discipline in his life for the first time ever."

Matt Murphy, Mickey Rourke’s manager added, “It is Mickey’s new found discipline that has us confident he can go far in this sport. The so-called experts and haters of the world can say what they want. We are going to continue to build Mickey up by fighting in out of the way venues against better and better opposition, until he is ready for prime time. Sure we could make a ton of money right now by placing him on some pay per view cards. And I’m talking about pay-per-view with him as the main event fighter, not on the undercard. But, that’s not what this is about for Mickey. He loves and respects boxing and wants to pursue his dream of becoming World Champion.”

It was also announced by Matt Murphy that Mickey Rourke’s next fight would be exactly 3 weeks from his recent 6 round decision win over Anthony Bradley. He’ll go up against a still to be determined opponent on October 22nd, 1994 in Luebeck, Germany at the relatively small “Hansehalle”, which seats less than 1,000. The main attraction on the card is Graciano Rocchigiani 36-1 vs. Willie Kemp 13-14.

[Crimson]

Saturday, October 22nd, 1994
Hansehalle; Luebeck, Germany
Mickey Rourke 7-0-2 (3) California
vs. (6 rounds)
Frank Wuestenberghs 1-3 (0) Belgium
- Exactly 3 weeks after his last fight Mickey Rourke returned to the ring as promised in a fight scheduled for 6 rounds.

- Frank Wuestenberghs was notified and accepted the fight less than 3 days before it was to begin. Little was known of the Belgium born, raised, and trained fighter. He seemed to be settling into the role of opponent with all 4 of his fights taking place in 4 different European countries (Hungary, France, Bulagaria, and Luxembourg). Only one of his opponents, the one he beat, had a losing record.

- Unlike some of Rourke’s opponents, Wuestenberghs was a legitimate light heavy and was about equal to Rourke in height and build.

- Like his last fight, Rourke was reported to have had a fantastic camp and avoided the nightlife he is associated with.

- Rourke looked tentative for the first minute of the fight. Wuestenberghs walked into an uppercut and promptly fell to the floor, where he remained until the count reached 6. Rourke threw caution to the wind from that point forward and wildly flailed away at his Belgian opponent.

- Early in the round Rourke blasted Wuestenberghs in the groin with a blatant low blow, drawing a stern warning from the referee. Less than 30 seconds later, while mauling on the inside, Rourke was warned again. This time the infraction was for pushing down on the neck of Wuestenberghs.

- Round 3 was another round of mauling, holding and hitting and drew some jeers from the relatively small, yet loud, German crowd. Rouke was given his third warning of the fight for fouling. This time he blatantly hit Wuestenberghs on the command to “BREAK!” from the referee.

- After 3 rounds ringside Expert Rocco Del Sesto had it 30 to 27 for Rourke. While the punches landed numbers favored Rourke 38 to 19, the low volume supported the crowds call for more action and understandable jeering of the combatants.

- Another sharp uppercut placed the Belgian on the canvas until the count of 5. When he got up it appeared that he no longer wanted to fight, but the referee motioned for the fighting to resume. Rourke then went back to mauling, pushing, grabbing, and roughing up the sacrificial lamb he had in front of him.

- Wuestenberghs was having his best round of the fight in the 6th until Rourke dropped him with a nice combination. He barely beat the count, but to the frustration of the fans, Rourke was unable to finish him off.

- Once again Rourke was warned by the referee for his tactics of holding and hitting. The sixth and final round of the fight was the ugliest of the ½ dozen and some in the crowd were booing when the final bell rang.

- Ringside Expert Rocco Del Sesto had it for Rourke by 6 points 59 to 53. Punches landed favored Rourke 97 to 68. The faces of both fighters had hardly a mark on them.

- The official 3 judges, all from Germany, had it 59-52, 60-53, and 58-54 all for the winner by Unanimous Decision ……MICKEY ROURKE!!!
Mickey Rourke Wu6 Frank Wuestenberghs

[Jersey-Jim]

How can anyone not root for Mickey Rourke! He is just like the character in "The Wrestler."

[Crimson]

Saturday, November, 12th, 1994
The Point; Dublin, Ireland
Mickey Rourke 8-0-2 (3) California
vs. (6 rounds)
Francisco Harris 1-8-1 (0) Florida

- This would be a rematch of the 1992 majority 4 round draw the two had fought in Miami Beach. At the time of the first fight Rourke was 1-0, while Harris had been 0-2. Since the draw Harris had fought mostly in the cruiser weight division. He’d lost his last 6 fights, all by stoppage, with 3 of those in the first round.

- The contracted weight was 175 pounds, but when Harris came in at 180 and was only able to lose 2 pounds after two trips to the sauna the Rourke camp allowed the extra weight.

- Most of the 8,500 available tickets had been sold. The main event featured undefeated Irish Olympian Wayne McCullough 14-0 against France’ s Fabrice Benichou 36-14.

- Rourke had his third excellent camp in a row and reportedly has been successful at improving his speed in training.

- “El Marieltio” came out throwing bombs in round 1. A cross to the temple of Harris put the Miami fighter down for a count of 6.

- Rourke took a more measured approach to taking Harris out in round 2, but was unable to land any punches of consequence. Harris’ lack of offensive effort made for a bad fight and by the end of the round the crowd was starting to boo.

- In round 3 the two took turns fouling one another with low blows and some holding and hitting. There were not enough punches landed to differentiate between who had won or lost the round.

- Round 4 was more of the same and drew increasing boos from the crowd. After landing an uppercut toward the end of the round Rourke began to shake and shout something to his trainer Freddie Roach.

- With his hand obviously bothering him, Rourke’s offensive output was virtually non-existent. The undefeated superstar actor resorted to clowning, holding, and hitting, some of the same tactics he had resorted to in the first Rourke-Harris encounter.

- After 5 rounds the punches landed favored Rourke 98 to 72. The scorecard of Ringside Expert Mirco Mizera had Rourke in front by 4 points, 49-45.

- After touching gloves to signal the start of the final round, Rourke went into a literal defensive shell. Harris produced even less of an offensive output than Rourke. It was clear that both fighters were satisfied with allowing the fight to go the full 6 rounds.

- Paddy O’Toole announced the decision to the crowd as a unanimous decision win by the scores of 60-55,58-56, and 59-55…..for the still UNDEFEATED….MICKEY ROURKE!
Mickey Rourke Wu6 Francisco Harris

[Crimson]

November 27th, 1994 Interview with Matt Murphy, the boxing manager of Mickey Rourke

Several attempts were made to arrange an interview with Mickey Rourke himself, but all requests were declined. After the last declination Boxing Illustrated was referred to his manager, Matt Murphy for an interview. Matt Murphy became the boxing manager of Mickey Rourke after the movie star was held to a disappointing draw against the unknown Sean Gibbons 11-4-2 (7) of Oklahoma City, in September of 1994.

This interview, with Matt Murphy, took place over the phone on November 27th, 1994.

Boxing Illustrated: Why did Mickey refuse to grant us an interview?
Matt Murphy: It’s nothing against you personally. He’s not granting interviews to anyone right now. He’s been burned many times by the media. They manipulate his words to tell the story THEY want to tell.

Boxing Illustrated: How did you become the manager of Mickey Rourke?
Matt Murphy: We met and became friends several years ago when he was still acting. At the time he was doing some filming in Ireland, which is where I live. We were introduced by a mutual friend and just hit it off. We both like our Irish whiskey, pints, and models!

Boxing Illustrated: Do you share a favorite brand?
Matt Murphy: I love “Jameson”! Not sure what Mickey’s favorite is. Like most Irishman I’m sure he has his favorites, but will drink just about anything that is available! As far as women go, just that they are hot, beautiful, and love sex.

Boxing Illustrated: Mickey hurt his hand in round 4 of his last fight. How is the hand doing now?
Matt Murphy: It’s healing, but he’ll be out of action about 4 months. The bigger concern I have is Mickey getting bored without a fight and falling back into his old habits of all nighters.

Boxing Illustrated: All-nighter? What do you mean?
Matt Murphy: Have you ever partied from before it was dark until the sun rose in the morning? Maybe gotten lucky and spent some of that night in the company of a beautiful horny girl while you finished off a bottle of “Southern Comfort”? Well….switch the word ‘lucky’ with ‘guaranteed’ and multiply the number of girls and bottles by at least 5 and you’ll have an idea of the kind of all-nighter I’m talking about for Mickey.

Boxing Illustrated: Wow!
Matt Murphy: Yeah. Few of us ever get to experience nights like that. For him it can be routine.

Boxing Illustrated: Why did he temporarily retire earlier this year after the draw with Sean Gibbons.
Matt Murphy: A well meaning doctor told Mickey that if he continued to box he was well on his way to becoming punch drunk. I took him to a respected neurosurgeon who shared a different opinion.

Boxing Illustrated: And?
Matt Murphy: Mickey is at no greater risk of brain injury continuing his career now than he was a few years ago. The problem is he was having some rugged sparring sessions and getting headaches due to concussions suffered during those sessions. We’ve cut back drastically on the amount of sparring he was doing and forced him to wear headgear when sparring.

Boxing Illustrated: Why didn’t he wear a headgear when sparring?
Matt Murphy: Who knows? He’s half Irish. We’ve gotten him better sparring partners. Some of the ones he had before were out to prove themselves at his expense. We want guys that will help him to learn and improve.

Boxing Illustrated: Why is he such a dirty fighter in the ring?
Matt Murphy: I don’t know. Something to remember though is where Mickey grew up. He was born in Schenectady, NY, but essentially grew up in Liberty City, which compromises the roughest section of Miami, Florida. He may be a spoiled movie star now, but that is not his background. He has a nasty side that comes from his upbringing and you don’t want to cross it. That side comes out in the boxing ring.

Boxing Illustrated: Why did he leave acting?
Matt Murphy: Mickey had no respect for himself as an actor. He was self destructing, smart enough to recognize it, and had enough courage to make the drastic changes that his life needed.

Boxing Illustrated: Will he go back to acting?
Matt Murphy: I don’t know. Right now he is 100% focused on boxing. His passion is boxing, but he has a God-given talent for acting. It will be disappointing if he never acts again. I think right now he’s just burnt out on acting. Who knows how he’ll feel about that profession in another 10 or more years.

Boxing Illustrated: What are Mickey’s goals in boxing?
Matt Murphy: He wants to have 16 professional fights and then challenge for a world title.

Boxing Illustrated: Would he retire after the world title fight?
Matt Murphy: I don’t know. I think at that point we’d sit down and evaluate the situation. At his age.....I think retirement will be likely.

Boxing Illustrated: How does Mickey spend his time when not boxing?
Matt Murphy: I’m really not sure. Mostly he takes care of his animals. Mickey is a dog lover. You’ll be hard pressed to find better loved and cared for dogs than the ones he has.

Boxing Illustrated: Why have all of his fights been in out of the way places and not televised?
Matt Murphy: We have remained off television on purpose. There are plenty of networks that would love to televise a Mickey Rourke fight and pay good money for it. The ratings would go through the roof. Mickey though, doesn’t believe he should be on television at this point in his career. He honestly doesn’t want to take any television dates away from the world class fighters who deserve to be on television.

Boxing Illustrated: Is that why he fights in small, virtually unheard of venues?
Matt Murphy: Fighting on small cards in out of the way places has helped with minimizing the media coverage, which Mickey honestly doesn’t want right now.

Boxing Illustrated: Who is Mickey’s promoter?
Matt Murphy: He doesn’t have one. Mickey is enough of a draw that we have been able to make arrangements with promoters on a one fight basis. Most promoters, Don King and Bob Arum for example, want to sign fighters to multi-fight contracts before they will allow a fighter to get any coverage on a fight card they promote. Mickey doesn’t want to sign any contracts like that though.

Boxing Illustrated: Do you have a contract with Mickey?
Matt Murphy: No. It’s a handshake deal. He and I are each free to part ways at any time. It’s how I like to conduct business. Mickey is such a big draw that the promoters are fortunate to have him on one of their cards cause he is packing in the fans and only wants to be paid the going rate that most 4 round fighters are paid.

Boxing Illustrated: How much is that?
Matt Murphy: The bare minimum in most states is $100 per round. He was only paid $400 for his professional debut. He’s made more than that since, about the same as most 6 round fighters are paid. I think the most he was paid was $2,500 for his last fight in Ireland.

Boxing Illustrated: That’s not much compared to what he was making as an actor.
Matt Murphy: It’s not about the money. Mickey isn’t a guy motivated by money. He just wants enough to take care of his dogs and pay his bills….in that order.

Boxing Illustrated: When and where is his next fight?
Matt Murphy: Nothing definite is setup. It will probably be against a similar opponent to what he has been facing and will take place in a similar small venue. Mickey Rourke is a worldwide attraction and he has no problem with traveling, so anywhere really is a possibility.




Mickey while recovering from his hand injury and one of his beloved dogs, “Loki”, with Matt Murphy standing in the background.

[Crimson]

Tuesday, April 11th, 1995
Martins West; Woodlawn, MD
Mickey Rourke 9-0-2 (4) California
vs. (6 rounds)
Ivory “Tip Top” Teague 4-14 (0) Washington DC

- Ivory Teague had fought mostly as a middle weight in his 18 bout career, weighing between 150-165 pounds. The contracted weight for this matchup was 175 pounds.

- Teague had lost his last 11 fights, 8 of them by KO or TKO. However, all but one of those losses had been against fighters with winning records. Those names included: Michael Ward 14-2, Leslie Johnson 14-2, Dana Rosenblatt 5-0, William Joppy 5-0, Alfonso Daniels 5-0, 1992 USA Olympian Raul Marquez, and top contender Gerald McClellan 20-2.

- Some in the boxing industry saw this as easily Rourke’s toughest opponent to date and a fight that he could easily lose.

- Located just west of Baltimore, in Woodlawn, Maryland, “Martin’s West” was a small fight venue. The evenings main event featuring an undefeated Russian heavy weight, Alex Moskiev.

- The crowd was heavily supportive of Ivory Teague, who resided from relatively nearby Washington, DC.

- Rourke’s manager shared prior to the fight that a proposed bout was in the works for next month in Rourke’s birthplace of Schenectady, NY.

- Mickey Rourke showed absolute disdain for the boxing ability his opponent, Ivory Teague. After taking a right hand early in round 1, Rourke dropped his hands and mocked Teague. Daring his much smaller opponent to hit him again.

- Teague was then nailed with a huge uppercut. The following hook then knocked him to the canvas, where Teague stayed for the 10 count from referee, Ray Klingmeyer. The time of the knockout was 1:43 of round 1.
Mickey Rourke KO1 Ivory Teague


COMPLETE PROFESSIONAL RECORD OF MICKEY "El Marielieto" ROURKE
DATE RESULT OPPONENT LOCATION
1995-04-11 KO1 Ivory Teague 4-14 (0) Martin’s West; Woodlawn, MD; USA
9-0-2 (4)
1994-11-12 Wu6 Francisco Harris 1-8-1 (0) The Point; Dublin, Ireland
8-0-2 (4)
1994-10-22 Wu6 Frank Wuestenberghs 1-3 (0) Hansehalle; Luebeck, Germany
7-0-2 (4)
1994-10-01 Wu6 Anthony Bradley 5-7 (0) Nanaimo Civic Center; Nanaimo, BC; Canada
6-0-2 (4)
1994-09-08 Dm4 Sean Gibbons 11-3-2 (7) Davie Arena; Davie, FL; USA
6-0-1 (4)
1993-11-20 TKO3 Thomas McCoy Debut Sporthalle; Hamburg, Germany
5-0-1 (3)
1993-07-24 TKO3 Bubba Stotts 1-4 (1) Joplin, MO; USA
4-0-1 (2)
1993-03-30 KO1 Tom Bentley 0-3 (0) Kemper Arena; Kansas City, MO; USA
3-0-1 (1)
1992-12-12 W4 Terry Jesmer 17-27-2 (13) Oviedo; Prinipado de Asturias; Spain
2-0-1 (1)
1992-06-23 KO1 Darrell Miller 11-37-4 (3) Kokugikan; Tokyo, Japan
1-0-1 (0)
1992-04-25 Dm4 Francisco Harris 0-2 (0) Miami Beach, FL; USA
1-0 (0)
1991-05-23 Wu4 Steve Powell 0-4 (0) Memorial Auditorium; Fort Lauderdale, FL; USA
DEBUT

[Crimson]

Friday, May 5^th, 1992
Schenectady City Center Auditorium; Schenectady, NY
Mickey Rourke 10-0-2 (5) California
vs. (8 rounds)
Toby Tyler 7-8-2 (5) Minnesota
PRE-FIGHT:
- The fight’s promoter was very unhappy before the fight and expressed it to all that would listen. “I’ve basically been financially raped by the Rourke management team. Rourke’s manager, Matt Murphy, is full of crap! I know firsthand that Rourke has been paid in the six figures for several of his 4 round fights! $2,500 was his highest payday?! Please!!! Who are they kidding? Murphy is raking in the cash and laughing all the way to the bank. I had to pay a guarantee of $150,000! Then they switched venues on me and said it couldn’t be on television. When we signed the contract the understanding was that it would be on either CBS, ESPN, or even maybe HBO and would be held at the 15,500 seat ‘Pepsi Arena’ or ‘RPI Field House’ in Troy, seating 8,000. This guy Matt Murphy is a hustler that could make Don King blush. His contract has got fine print within fine print and it’s written in code that even the best attorneys won’t notice until it’s too late. Believe me I’ve tried.”
- “I was forced to charge exorbitantly high ticket prices. But get this….I only get television money! All the gate money goes to Rourke and Murphy, along with the $150,000 I paid. Fans are shelling out 4 figures just for a ticket in the nose bleed section. This is why Rourke is getting booed at many of these locations and why he needs to take his act on the road around the world. For the amount of money fans are paying they expect to see some real fighting in the ring and not Rourke’s routine of the slap, grab, and wrestle! I hope this guy Tyler knocks Rourke’s face into permanent disfigurement. I’ll never be involved with another Rourke fight. EVER!!!”
- “I’ve also been banned from the being at the fight! It’s written in the contract that Murphy has a 100% right to deny anyone he deems necessary to not be allowed a ticket or to even be in the arena when Rourke fights. Who would guess when I signed the contract that I MYSELF WOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO MY OWN PROMOTION! I’m going public with this so that all future promoters will know full well what they are dealing with.”

- Rourke’s opponent, Toby Tyler from St. Paul, Minnesota, entered the ring with the typical record of a Rourke opponent and had lost 7 of his last 8 fights, 6 of them by TKO. He also hadn’t fought since June of 1990. And that was at 166 pounds. He had turned pro in 1982 as a welter weight, and that was when most of his 7 wins had taken place. A positive that could be said about Tyler was he’d had the guts to get in the ring with a 16-0 James Toney back in 1990 and then had enough skills and durability to last until round 4 of the scheduled 10 rounder. He’d also been stopped in 2 rounds by a 9-0 Vince Hopper, a fringe contender out of Detroit. The biggest win of Tyler’s career had been in 1990 when he knocked out the well traveled opponent Jerry Strickland, who had been 11-80 at the time.
- To hear Rourke’s manager, Matt Murphy talk however, Tyler was a second coming of Marvelous Marvin Hagler! “Tyler went 8 hard rounds already and that is an advantage he has. Mickey has never been past 6. Tyler is coming in on fresh legs! The only person to ever knock Tyler out was the GREAT Harold Brazier, and that was back in 1982, when Tyler had only 3 fights. He was 3-0 then, all of those wins by KNOCKOUT! This guy can punch. He hasn’t lost in over 5 years! [Murphy neglected to mention that Tyler hadn’t fought in over 5 years, and that when he did it was as a middle weight!] We are stepping up the quality of Mickey’s opponent for the great city of Schenectady, because this city deserves nothing less. They have welcomed Mickey home with open arms and we’ve had to turn away thousands who want tickets. Oh…and before I forget, Tyler has already fought for a Championship belt. He lost a very close decision and views Mickey as a stepping stone on his return to the top. [Again, Murphy left out a few details. The Championship belt he was referring to was for the USA Mid-West Middle Weight Title, against a 4-0 fighter from Milwaukee.] Mickey demanded that I get him better opposition for his hometown fight in Schenectady.”
- When Murphy was asked about the claims being made by the fights promoter, Murphy replied, “He has done a fantastic job. The crowd has enthusiastically embraced Mickey and the promotion has gone exceedingly well. Mickey and I would love to come back to Schenectady again for a fight.
- Rourke entered the ring to a chorus of mostly cheers. The people of Schenectady sounded ready to accept Rourke as one of their own, despite the recent public accusations made by the fight promoters and that Mickey had moved away to Florida at a very young age. He was born in Schenectady and returning home for at least one night, and the locals seemed particularly pleased to have him.
- This was Rourke’s first fight scheduled for the 8 round distance. The tiny “Schenectady City Center Auditorium” was filled well past its capacity of 778. Prior to Rourke’s ring entrance highlights from several of his films were shown from a projector on the auditoriums big screen. All of this created a very intimate and surreal atmosphere.
- Rourke appeared to be in great condition. The word on the street was that he had trained diligently and put in extra time doing road work in preparation for his first 8 round battle.



ROUND 1: Tyler ket all know that Rourke might be in for a tough fight when 20 seconds into the fight he ripped him with a straight right hand, after setting it up with a sharp jab. It was one of the hardest any of Rourke’s opponents had hit him yet during his career. To Rourke’s credit he took the punch well. While wrestling on the inside Rourke appeared to deliberately headbutt Tyler. The Minnesota fighter immediately backed away and began to paw at his already starting to swell left eye (7). Showing the makings of professional prize fighter, Tyler then responded by going after Rourke and landed a hard right uppercut. For the second time in the round the fighters heads came together on the inside. A solid right hand from Rourke landed just before the bell on the increasingly swollen eye (9) of Tyler. (Tyler 29-18)

ROUND 2: Rourke had an excellent round until a full second after the bell when he struck Tyler with a left hook as parting shot. The referee immediately deducted 1 point from Mickey Rourke. During the round itself, Rourke’s punches were straight, appeared powerful, and definitely hurt Tyler. For his part, Tyler was showing himself to be one tough cookie, as he fired back at the larger Rourke. The fans cheered throughout the round creating a deafening sound within the tiny auditorium. This was turning out to be a real fight for Mickey Rourke! (Rourke 23-20)


ROUND 3: After 2 rounds, Ringside Expert Mirco Mizera had it EVEN at 19 apiece. Tyler was ahead in the punches landed department 49-41, but in the area of facial damage Rourke appeared fine, while Tyler was starting to bust up. His left eye was looking hideous and causing him problems seeing, being that it was now ½ closed (11). Rourke began to draw several boos from the crowd as he unnecessarily continued to foul Tyler. First it was with some blatant holding and hitting and then with an attempted head butt. Some of the crowd was beginning to root for the underdog from Minnesota. However, when Tyler began to retaliate against Rourke with some fouling of his own the Schenectady Auditorium erupted in boos and catcalls, expressing their displeasure with the fouling done by both fighters. (Rourke 18-12)


Round 4: Rourke came out for round 4 looking to be as fresh as a newly picked daisy. Tyler however, was starting to suck wind. Both fighters were cautious and there were few exchanges. The round was probably won by Rourke. (Rourke 17-15)


Round 5: After 4 rounds, Ringside Expert Mirco Mizera had Rourke in front by 1 point, 39-38. Rourke was reminded in the corner by his trainer, Freddie Roach, “This guy is exhausted and his punches are becoming wilder. Sit back and blast him every time he misses.” Less than 15 seconds into the round a nice straight right from Tyler opened up a deep looking cut on the right eyebrow of Mickey Rourke. For the remainder of the round Rourke grabbed, held, wrestled, and walked to the side almost entirely turning his back to Tyler. The Minnesotan, although winded badly continued to wing punches at the retreating Rourke and some of them got through. (Tyler 24-12)


Round 6: Rourke was slow to get off his stool when the bell rang and the look of confidence he carried into the ring was no longer present. Boxing defensively, Rourke did a good job of making Tyler miss. However, he fired back with few punches of his own and was clearly outworked by Tyler. Rourke’s cutman, Chuck Bodak, did a fantastic job of closing the ripped open eyebrow, as it remained closed throughout the round. (Tyler 23-6)


Round 7: Ringside Expert Mirco Mizera now had Tyler in front by 1 point, 58-57. The punches landed numbers also favored Tyler 123-99. In Rourke’s corner Freddie Roach remained calm with his instructions, “Mickey you have got to throw your punches. You are not even tired right now! This is why you put in all that extra time running and sacrificing. This is a round where you show what you are made of to all those who doubt that you are a real fighter. Forget about the cut, it’s closed. He cannot hurt you. Go out and knock this guy out NOW!” Rourke was off his stool early and waving at Tyler to come at him. When the bell rang “El Marielito” charged Tyler and started firing punches with everything he had. The first left hook to the body missed, but the following uppercut drilled Tyler. Several more punches from Rourke, thrown with equal intensity followed, but all were caught by Tyler on his gloves or arms. Tyler landed a few blows, but they didn’t faze Rourke who continued to fire “Hail Mary’s” at Tyler. When Rourke returned to his corner at the bell, he was greeted by cheers from the crowd and told by Roach, “That is how you win fights. That is what a fighter does. He fights back.” (Rourke 24-17)


Round 8: “Go right back at him and force him to back up and fight on the ropes. This guy cannot hurt you. Rip his head off.” Were the instructions to Rourke in the corner. In the corner of Tyler the words used were different, but the message was the same “Knock him out! This fight is yours to win.” It was the aggressive Tyler who got his punches off first, but all were blocked by Rourke who then drilled Tyler with a jab. Tyler landed some of his best punches of the fight with 1:01 remaining. Rourke then replied with own best right hand of the fight. With 0:22 remaining a brutal Tyler uppercut caught Rourke flush and put him on his backside! Rourke was up at 4 and smiling. Tyler was able to land nothing further, but at the bell he was rushed by his handlers who paraded him around the ring on their shoulders, believing that he had won the fight. (Tyler 24-17)



Final punches landed numbers favored Tyler 164-140. Ringside Expert Mirco Mizera had Tyler the winner by 2 points, 77-75. Covering the fight for Ring magazine, Nigel Collins had Tyler the winner by 1 point, 76-75, the knockdown being the difference.


The Ring Announcer, delivered the decision. All 3 judges were from New York State. “Ladies and gentleman we have a split decision! Judge 1 has it 77-72 for Mickey Rourke. Judge 2 has it 76-75 for Toby Tyler. And judge 3 has it 77-75 for the winner…….TOBY TYLER!!!!!
Toby Tyler Ws8 Mickey Rourke


The decision was met with a mixture of boos and applause. Rourke said nothing, while having his cut attended to by Chuck Bodak. Tyler fell to his knees and praised GOD. Matt Murphy immediately began shouting, “ROBBERY! WE HAVE BEEN ROBBED!”



The knockdown proved to be the difference between a draw and a win for Tyler. Rourke missed 431 punches, compared to 758 Tyler misses. Rourke was more accurate, landing at 24% accuracy. Tyler’s was 17%.

[Infinity]

An excellent read. What's next? Rematch? Move on to another TC? INFquiring minds want to know....