Tyson-Holmes

ROUND 1: Tyson leads with the jab and body shots Holmes against the ropes. Tyson throws a left hook into Holmes’ glove and body shots him against the ropes. Tyson goes for a left hook, but Holmes locks his arms up until Referee Joe Cortez separates the fighters. Holmes extends his gloves to keep Tyson off of him. Tyson jabs through Holmes’ gloves as he flees. Holmes overshoots a jab and holds Tyson’s head down. Holmes grabs Tyson’s arm, but Tyson body shots him. Holmes extends the jab, but Tyson comes under it with a body shot to Holmes. Tyson leads with a straight right hand and fires a left hook into Holmes’ arm. Holmes leads with the jab but overshoots a straight right hand and grabs Tyson’s arm. Tyson raises his gloves and beckons Holmes, grinning at him. Holmes overshoots the jab and tries to hold Tyson’s head down, but Tyson holds his forearm to Holmes’ throat. Tyson locks Holmes’ arm up and continues to throw his left hook into Holmes as Cortez tries to separate the fighters. Tyson ducks a straight right and grabs Holmes’ arm. Tyson tries to give Holmes a left hook, but Holmes body shots him. Tyson responds with a right hand over the back of Holmes’ head, and Holmes grabs onto him, with Tyson pushing his forearm into Holmes’ face. Cortez separates the fighters and lectures Holmes about holding. Tyson goes for a left hook, but Holmes pushes him off. Tyson goes for a body shot, but Holmes flees. Tyson leads with the jab and sends a straight right into Holmes’ body. Holmes leads with the jab but overshoots a right hand and locks Tyson’s arm up. Tyson ducks a right hand, and Holmes grabs his arm. Tyson overshoots a left hook, frees his arm, and body shots Holmes. They grab each other’s arms now, but Cortez separates them and tells Holmes to stop holding. Holmes tries to hold Tyson off with his glove, but Tyson body shots him. The bell rings, and Cortez separates the fighters. Tyson hops away. (10-9 Tyson)

ROUND 2: Cortez holds Tyson back, and Tyson proceeds to hop. Tyson jogs across the ring to meet Holmes. Holmes holds his arms out to stop Tyson from throwing and grabs Tyson’s arm. Tyson goes for a left hook, but Holmes body shots him. Holmes overshoots a right hand and starts to hold Tyson’s head down but changes his mind and pushes Tyson off. Holmes locks Tyson’s head up, and Tyson tries to break free, but Holmes grabs his arm. Cortez separates the fighters and warns Holmes to stop holding. Holmes goes for the jab, but Tyson counter jabs him. Tyson overshoots the jab and grabs onto Holmes, but Holmes body shots him. Tyson tries to stuff a left hook in as Holmes locks his arms up. Tyson jabs Holmes to the ropes, and Holmes goes for a counter jab, but Tyson body shots him. Holmes overshoots a right hand, and Tyson sends a counter right hand into his glove. Holmes throws an uppercut into Tyson’s glove, but Tyson locks his arms up now. Tyson body shots Holmes until Holmes locks him up. Tyson tries to stuff his left hook in, but Holmes jabs him. Cortez motions to Holmes and says something. Holmes overshoots a straight right and pushes Tyson off. Tyson pushes Holmes into a corner, where Holmes locks his arms up. Tyson jabs through Holmes’ gloves, but Holmes grabs his arm to stop him. Tyson manages to escape to give Holmes a pair of body shots. Tyson tries to pull away, but Holmes holds his arms. Cortez separates the fighters and lectures Holmes. Holmes holds his gloves up, cautiously backing away. Tyson hits Holmes with a body shot and knocks his gloves away with a left hook. Tyson leads with a left hook and body shots Holmes as he tries to pull away. Tyson knocks Holmes’ gloves away with a left hook, and Holmes grabs onto him. The bell rings, and Cortez separates the fighters. Tyson stares after him then walks away. (10-9 Tyson)

ROUND 3: Tyson jogs out to meet Holmes, and they trade jabs. Holmes jabs Tyson’s body and pulls off Tyson’s counter jab. Tyson jabs Holmes’ body. Tyson goes for the jab, but Holmes swats it with a counter jab. Holmes leads with the jab and lands a right hand to the side of Tyson’s head, but Tyson counters with a right hand through Holmes’ gloves. Holmes overshoots a right hand and grabs Tyson’s arms. Tyson hurls a left hook over Holmes’ gloves, and Holmes grabs onto him. Tyson stutters backwards, almost falling over, as Holmes holds onto him. Tyson body shots Holmes, but Holmes pops him with a jab. Holmes grabs Tyson’s arm, and Tyson tries to push him off, but Holmes hangs onto him. Holmes sizes Tyson up, but Tyson jabs him. Holmes body shots Tyson and grabs his arm. Tyson tries to stuff a left hook into Holmes, but Holmes holds both of his arms until Cortez separates the fighters. Tyson throws a right hand around Holmes’ glove to knock him back. Tyson goes for a body shot, but Holmes grabs onto him. Holmes holds Tyson’s arm, but Tyson fights out with a right-left combination to Holmes’ shoulders. Tyson leads with the jab and sends a right hand into Holmes’ shoulder. Holmes grabs onto Tyson and tries to body shot him. Holmes holds Tyson’s arm, and Tyson gives him a body shot. Holmes grabs both of Tyson’s arms until Cortez separates the fighters. Holmes leads with the jab, and Tyson ducks into his uppercut. Holmes grabs Tyson’s arm and body shots him. Holmes holds Tyson’s arms and stuffs a right hand into Tyson. Cortez slaps at Holmes’ arms to try to get him to release Tyson. Holmes overshoots a right hand and grabs Tyson’s arms, with Tyson pushes his head into Holmes against the ropes. Holmes pushes Tyson off, but Tyson comes back to body shot him against the ropes. Holmes grabs onto Tyson and looks to Cortez. Cortez separates the fighters and warns Tyson to keep his punches up. Tyson leads with the jab and lands a hard right hand to knock Holmes’ head aside. Holmes throws an uppercut into Tyson’s glove, but Tyson responds with a left hook into his glove. The bell rings, and Cortez jumps between the fighters. Tyson hops and walks away. (10-9 Tyson)

ROUND 4: Holmes is pacing, and Tyson is staring at him. Tyson jogs out to meet Holmes once again. Holmes begins winding his glove and pops Tyson with a jab out of nowhere. Holmes pops Tyson with another job and begins hopping. Holmes leads with the jab but overshoots the right hand to follow, and Tyson counters with a right hand to Holmes’ neck. Tyson nods, but Holmes continues hopping and jabs Tyson. Holmes overshoots a jab, and Tyson presses him into the ropes, with Holmes hanging onto him. Tyson stuffs a left hook into Holmes, and Cortez separates the fighters. Holmes throws a right hand into Tyson’s glove. Tyson goes for a left hook to counter, but Holmes pushes him off. Tyson leads with the jab, but Holmes grabs onto him. Tyson stuffs a left hook into Holmes and throws a body shot into his arm, before connecting with a left hook to Holmes against the ropes. Holmes grabs onto Tyson, but Tyson body shots him. Tyson knocks Holmes’ glove away with a left hook and goes for a right hand to follow, but Holmes grabs onto him. Tyson body shots Holmes, and Holmes locks his arms up until Cortez separates the fighters. Tyson leads with the jab and sends a right hand through Holmes’ gloves. Tyson goes for a left hook to follow, but Holmes is already tumbling back, his arms outstretched as he collapses flat on his back on the canvas. The crowd roars, but Holmes immediately rolls over, pulling himself up by the ropes. Holmes wheels around and shakes his head as Cortez counts him out. Cortez counts to 8 and questions Holmes, who nods. Tyson overshoots a left hook, and Holmes grabs his arms. Tyson stuffs a left hook into Holmes, but Holmes pushes Tyson’s face with his cause, causing Tyson to miss with a right hand. Holmes goes for a body shot, but Tyson catches him with a left hook to the top of the head, sending Holmes collapses on his back and rolling completely over himself on the mat. The crowd roars as Holmes starts to stand but tumbles back into the ropes. Holmes stands at the count of 5 and paces. Cortez counts to 8 and questions Holmes. Tyson leads with a body shot and stuffs a left hook into Holmes as Holmes holds his arm. Tyson overshoots a right hand and tags Holmes with another right hand over the back of the head, knocking Holmes into the ropes. Tyson follows up with another right hand over the top of Holmes’ head, and Holmes staggers backwards. Tyson jumps in with a left hook around Holmes’ glove, followed by a right hand to the top of the head. Tyson knocks Holmes’ glove away with a left hook. Tyson leads with the jab and slams a right hand into Holmes’ jaw. Tyson hurls another left hook into Holmes’ glove, and Holmes leans over to duck the right hand to follow. Tyson overshoots a left hook but lands the right hand to rock Holmes, who leans back, his arms flailing about. Tyson stuffs a left hook into Holmes’ glove, and Holmes staggers across the ring. Tyson hurls a left hook over Holmes’ glove and blasts Holmes with a left-right combination. Tyson throws another left hook into Holmes’ glove, and Holmes stumbles away. Holmes leads with a body shot and goes for a left hook, but Tyson pounds a right hand into the side of his head. Tyson pushes Holmes away, and Holmes pushes Tyson’s head. Tyson lands a right hand around Holmes’ glove to knock his head back into the ropes. Tyson follows with a left hook to Holmes’ glove, followed by a body shot to Holmes against the ropes and a left hook over the back of the head. Holmes jabs Tyson, but Tyson counters with a right hand to Holmes against the ropes. Tyson follows up with another right hand through Holmes’ gloves, and Holmes collapses on his back, his leg folding up under him as he goes down beside the ropes, crashing flat on his back, his arms spread to the sides. The crowd goes wild as Cortez mounts Holmes and waves his hand, stopping the bout with 0:05 left in round 4.

Cortez removes Holmes’ mouthpiece as the crowd roars. Tyson has his hands on his hips as he walks to the center of the ring, staring at Holmes on the canvas. Holmes’ corner men and the ringside doctor attend to Holmes. One of Holmes’ corner men and a security guard begin shoving each other and arguing. The doctor checks on Holmes, who remains lying on the canvas. Holmes finally sits up, and a security guard grabs one of Holmes’ corner men as Holmes begins to stand. Holmes has his robe placed back on. Cortez raises Tyson’s hand.

TYSON MAKES HISTORY OF HOLMES

Although he appeared to come with the correct game plan, Larry Holmes could not maintain the frustrating pace of the fight long enough as Mike Tyson eventually caught him and closed the history books on his elder opponent. Holmes caused Tyson and the audience much grief as he continued to grab Tyson’s arms and make the fight excruciatingly difficult to follow. It was all part of Holmes’ plan to limit the early action to be picked up later when he saw fit; unfortunately for Holmes, Tyson came to fight and started landing bombs in the fourth and final round as Holmes was sent to the canvas on three occasions, the third seeing Holmes land awkwardly as he legs deflated under him. It was another explosive performance by the undisputed Heavyweight Champion and probably the last for the former great.