Unfortunately not, La Dolce Vita. I wasn't exactly thrilled when the rumor first started about it coming here. But I gotta' admit now that it's here (along with the fighters!), I'm kinda' excited about it. Plus the load of celebrities due to arrive: Robert DeNiro, Cameron Diaz, Halle Berry, Jack Nicholson, Denzel Washington, Toby MacGuire, Brad Pitt (hopefully with Jennifer Anniston!), etc., etc.! This is the biggest happening in this two-horse town since I can't remember when! Hopefully, I can freeload at a buddy's house who's gonna do the pay-per-view thing. I'd love to go downtown just to see who steps outta' the limos, but it's gonna be a friggin' ant crawl! Oh well! For the record, I want Lewis to pummel Mr. Tyson...but I don't think it'll go that way. However, I feel if it goes beyond 7 rounds, Lewis can take him!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Snake:
Oh well! For the record, I want Lewis to pummel Mr. Tyson...but I don't think it'll go that way.

Ditto Snake, but I live in hope

Brad Pitt is gonna be there? Didn't he almost get beat up by Tyson awhile back?

"Say g'night to the badguy."

Man, with all those celebrities, you'd think the towns main celebrity character Elvis would go. So selfish sometimes him......

I do not want tyson to win at all. He is a prick But I think he will win the guy is a animal.

Tyson has some problems

In case any of you from other countries don't understand how most of us Americans view Tyson:
When we watch, a small, piece of us hopes (in delusion) that we will see the old Tyson. The larger piece of us watch the fight for the same reason you look at a a car accident when you drive by. You can't help it and you think you might see something unbelievable.

Good analogy, Don's office. You can't help but wonder, though, how much of Tyson's "bad boy" image is for real and how much is hype (or at least deliberated for "reputation's sake"). I heard a local DJ put it best about Tyson this morning: "He's a rich, bratty 12 year-old stuck in a boxer's body." She also told how she got to relax in a hot tub with him at the casino he's training at and how more "reserved" he appears. She said he's still got the mouth and manners of a 5 dollar whore, but he's not nearly as provocative. I don't know. I still don't like the guy, but some of his shenannigans I have to take with a grain of salt. Like I said, much of it's hype so he can get more publicity and more $$$.

BTW, there's a rumor that Pacino as well as DeNiro is or will be in town. I'd much rather pay $250+ to see those guys than Tyson or Lewis!

even the Lewis/Tyson match reminds us of The Godfather.
the announcer's name . . .
MICHAEL BUFFER.

GoodFella

Well, its all over. Poor Mike got knocked out in round 8.

Yep. I'm happy as a puppy with 2 peters! (Sorry, ladies! I get crude sometimes!) I was so afraid Lewis' "glass jaw" would get shattered early. But I did say (see p. 1 of this thread!) that if it went beyond 7 rounds, Lennox could take him. Thank God! Glad it's over, though. Now if I wanna go downtown, I can!

So Snake, I see you are from Memphis, just curious to know what was a lot of the local reaction to the 'big event'. Was there a lot of excitment in Memphis or were people just hoping it would get in and get out without any issues. Also, it seems that they really had security stacked for this, but I guess they need to at most major sporting events to be safe.

Thank F*** for that. I always knew Lewis was a better fighter technically but that meant F all seeming that he was fighting the "Animal" Iron Mike. And so the fight was unpredicatble for me, I never had the bottle to put any money on it. Knocc Out - How much you lose man. Large Wager eh? Betchya didn't.

What a whole charade the thing was. I really was fooled. It was all hype. After the fight "about 5am here" I was listening to Tyson and Lewis and how much they've always been freinds. I've got alot of respect for Tyson from this and he said that he had to do whatever to win the fight. He did go too far only to sell more tickets.

I doubt there will ever be a re-match.

Lewis it's time to retire, you've beat them all, you've beaten the best. It's a perfect time to retire - I don't care how much you're addicted to boxing. The only situation i'd say to retire for is if there is a re-match.

HOW did the match end? I heard the fight was stopped in the 8th round, and that Lewis retained the title!

Yeah, as I said, it was the biggest happening in this two-horse town in a looong time. Downtown was a friggin' ant-crawl, man! I know the celebrities thought, "Man! These 'hicks' have no life!" Well, maybe they're right...Anyways, the local news stayed on well past 12:30 AM yapping about the whole thing. It was quite a stir, all right.

Ricardo: Lewis knocked Tyson OUT -- as in "lights out" -- in round 8 with 25 seconds left in the round. I think Tyson was knocked down in round 4, too. From all I've heard, Lewis pretty much dominated the thug the whole match!

I think you're right, Turi: Both fighters should call it quits now...especially Tyson.

Champion Lewis Humbles
Tyson With Eighth-Round KO

By TIM DAHLBERG
.c The Associated Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (June 9) -- Mike Tyson was flat on his back, blood pouring from his mouth, nose and cuts over his eyes. The man who was once the most feared heavyweight in the world was beaten, battered and finished.

Tyson struggled to try and get up, but it didn't really matter. Lennox Lewis had already done with his fists what two jail terms, a biting and other fighters couldn't -- end Tyson's reign as the baddest fighter of his time.

The most explosive and turbulent era in heavyweight history came to a crashing close Saturday night with Tyson taking a beating that will likely finish him as anything other than a heavyweight curiousity.

Sixteen years after he became the youngest heavyweight champion ever at the age of 20, Tyson was exposed for what he now is -- an aging fighter with limited skills who can't intimidate anyone anymore.

"That was probably one of the most thorough and systematic beatings a heavyweight champion has ever given to a legitimate challenger in the history of boxing,'' said Lewis' trainer, Emanuel Steward.

It was a crowning moment for Lewis, the often cautious British heavyweight who needed a big win to cement his legacy as a great fighter. He did just that by giving Tyson such a beating that a planned rematch may never happen.

Tyson was left baffled, bewildered and bleeding, so badly beaten that he was even questioning his own skills.

"There's no way I could ever beat him,'' Tyson said. "He's just too big and too strong.''

That admission would have been shocking had it come from the Tyson who terrorized the heavyweight ranks in the 1980s and then returned from a prison term for rape to win the heavyweight title once again.

But that Tyson hasn't been seen in years, and the ease with which Lewis beat him means he has likely seen the last of the $20 million paydays he is so used to getting.

"He hurt me early, and he just kept pressure on me,'' Tyson said. "I could take a shot from him, but I just couldn't see every punch. He's very big.''

At 6-foot-5, Lewis seemed even bigger. He towered over the 5-foot-11 Tyson and seemed to toy with him for several rounds, able to hit him any time he pleased with either his stinging left jab or a combination of right uppercuts and hooks.

In his prime, Tyson might have been able to get inside anyway, using his speed and explosive power to get to Lewis' suspect chin. In the ring in this unlikely fight city, though, he never got close.

"I knew who I was up against. I'm a much superior fighter than him,'' Lewis said. "This is definitely a defining fight for Lennox Lewis' legacy. You could say this was the icing on the cake.''

Lewis cut Tyson over both eyes, bloodied his nose and his mouth and seemed to knock him down in the fourth round, although referee Eddie Cotton called it a slip and even penalized Lewis a point for pushing him down.

In the corner between rounds, Steward pleaded with Lewis to get Tyson out of there, but the WBC and IBF champion seemed to be having a good time giving his opponent a beating instead.

The end finally came in the eighth round when Lewis landed a combination that buckled Tyson's knees and prompted Cotton to give Tyson an 8-count. Lewis then went after Tyson and landed a huge crashing right that sent him sprawling on his back. He tried to get up but could only get to a knee at the count of eight and was counted out.

"Some of the punches he took, I was shocked,'' Lewis said. "I felt them right through to my hand.''

Officials were so afraid that Tyson might do something bizarre as he did when he bit Evander Holyfield's ears and bit Lewis at a January press conference that they put a $3 million penalty clause into the contract and kept the fighters from even touching gloves before the bell.

Indeed, in the weeks leading up to the fight Lewis said he often dreamed that Tyson might do something to him.

"I'm glad that no foul play was in the fight,'' he said. "Some days I dreamed, he's going to punch me low -- no, he's going to bite me.''

But Tyson was the perfect gentleman both in the ring and later when he kissed Lewis' mother, Violet, then tenderly wiped some blood off of the champion's cheek as they answered postfight questions.

"I respect this man as a brother,'' Tyson said. "I love him and his mother. I would never do anything disrepctful to him.''

The contract Lewis signed mandates a rematch after he fights a mandatory IBF defense against Chris Byrd. But the win was so lopsided and the beating so complete that it seems unlikely there will be much public demand for a rematch. The replay of the fight will be shown Saturday at 9:45PM on HBO.

Besides, Tyson is already on record as saying he can't beat Lewis.

"I don't think there will be any more fights with Mike Tyson,'' Steward said. "Who are we going to sell it to?''

Lewis, who at the age of 36 seems to be in his prime, said he would make no plans until resting for a few weeks and enjoying the biggest win of his career. He had talked about retiring if he beat Tyson, and there are no heavyweights out there right now who could give him a big fight.

The dominating performance means Lewis can now stake his claim to being one of the great heavyweights, something that was in dispute when he lost a one-punch knockout to Hasim Rahman. He has fought in 13 straight title fights, winning all but the fluke knockout by Rahman and a disputed draw with Evander Holyfield.

Lewis also has come back to defeat the only two men who beat him, meaning he has whipped every man he has faced in the ring.

"What else is there for me to prove?'' Lewis asked. "This was my defining fight.''

It was for Tyson, too, but not in the way he wanted his career defined.

Tyson really hasn't beaten a top heavyweight since Razor Ruddock in 1991, though he managed to make $40 million in 2000 for fighting a series of second-rate boxers.

His days of huge paydays are likely over -- troubling, because Tyson is broke even after his latest payday. He can still make some money as a freak attraction, but his days of being a heavyweight contender also seem over.

"I don't want money. I want greatness,'' Tyson said. "Money is like sand to me. I squeeze it real hard, and it gets away. It's just like women. Sometimes I squeeze them too hard, then I turn around, and they're gone.''

Tyson's advisers admitted before the fight they were concerned what would happen if he lost.

"I'm scared of some things he does,'' Tyson adviser Shelly Finkel said. "I worry about him after boxing.''

OH i love it i was with Lewis on this one.But it would be kind of cool if there was a rematch and Tyson beat him and became as powerful as he was, just like in The Godfather the Corleone family was on the verge of losing power but then they regained it. But it will be a cold day in hell before that happens.

now that want what i expected for this fight,atleast it didnt end in the first round, tyson didnt even fight , i know he is a much better fighter than that not that i like the guy but shit, he could have atleast tried lewis played that boy and tyosn let him ,in the long run i was let down, could have been better, guess the boys in vegas made this call

It was just another box office fix. I already said I was fooled. I'm sure millions around the world were aswel. Tyson was at his best at 19 - he was the best then. How old's he now? 36? Been slipping for years. Fortunately for Lewis he's been improving all his life. Just depends on the different times each fighter peaks.

I agree Turi i was fooled as well but the whole Tyson being a gentle man after he just lost terribly kind of pointed at it. How could we be fooled i guess if we were dons we would last very long.

I was fooled by the hype
Do you think Tyson needed the money, or did he think he could really take Lewis?

Perhaps on a good day for Tyson and a bad day for Lewis...but I personally think Tyson's washed up.

But -- oh yeah -- Tyson definitely need the dough, too!

Tyson loses Big Time...
... and Pay per view still made the biggest $$$ticket sales for a fight. Go figure....
Money Talks

Lets face it. Tyson has been slipping. Ten years could Lewis have gotten to him? No. But its over now and nothing is going to change that. But face it. A rematch would be good business. Why Lewis's end would be 10 million alone.

nice, real nice...but I don't think people will be fooled twice. Even Tyson knew he was beat and beat bad. I think he was glad to get this last bad day.

I disagree, these boxing promotors are very cunning and do whatever it takes to to promote the next fight. This time I wont be fooled just on the basis of how mad I was after this fight. But i'm sure millions of other people will be fooled and will pay for pay-per-view for the fight. Re-matches nearly always make more money.

so has anyone heard anything? Is there going to be a rematch?