Irish boxer Kevin McBride is today insisting he is a legitimate contender for a World Heavyweight title shot after last night beating Mike Tyson.
The once legendary former champion was dropped in the sixth round and retired on his stool at the end of the round. The fight has catapulted McBride to a new level late in his career and has surely ended Tyson’s.
The troubled Brooklyn fighter, once the most feared boxer on the planet has now lost his last three fights and after his defeat to McBride announced his retirement at the age of 38.
"I don't have the guts to be in this sport anymore," said Tyson after last night’s fight in Washington DC. "I don't want to disrespect the sport that I love."
McBride, from Clones, Co Monaghan, the home town of the legendary Barry McGuigan, dedicated his victory to his place of origin. "This win was for the pride of Ireland," he said.
His record now stands at 33-4-1 with 28 knockouts. Tyson is clearly the most impressive scalp on the Clones native's record. And last night’s victory caps a remarkable turnaround in McBride’s stuttering career.
Having won three All Ireland titles and at the age of just 18, he was chosen to represent his country at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, where team-mate Michael Carruth won gold.
His size and power made him a marketable heavyweight and after a poor draw on his debut he embarked on a run of 19 straight wins prior to losing to journeyman Louis Monaco in a televised fight that was intended to shoot him into the big time.
He moved to New York - training with Goody Petronelli - and secured a match against future world title challenger Axel Schulz. He lost in the ninth round but much worse was to follow when he lost in the third round to a journeyman who had not won in 18 professional bouts.
When Michael Murray beat McBride in Southwark in 1998, the 6ft 6inch Irishman’s career was all but over. He started as a promising heavy hitter and looked like ending as a lumberer with a glass jaw.
But following his last loss, to fringe heavyweight contender DaVarryl Williamson three years ago, McBride regrouped and put together seven straight stoppage wins, and waited patiently for his lifetime ambition of fighting ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson.
He thought he had got his shot last year, until Danny Williams agreed to fight for next to nothing and stole McBride's glory with a stunning fourth round knockout win.
Crowd appeal is everything in heavyweight boxing and the romantic notion of Ireland held by many in the US will make the affable 32-year-old a marketable commodity.
Weighing 271 pounds, McBride was seven inches taller and 38 pounds heavier than Tyson when they stepped into the ring last night.
As Tyson’s career began to flag he became known for dirty tricks in the ring and these tactics were evident again last night when he head-butted McBride in the first minute of the sixth round, causing a nasty cut over the Irishman's left eye.
With blood streaming down his face, McBride continued to work inside, pushing the flagging Tyson to the canvas as the round ended. Appearing unhurt but clearly short of energy, Tyson staggered to his corner and slumped on his stool where his cornermen requested referee Joe Cortez to stop the fight.
By the end of the fight two scorers had Tyson ahead while one judge put McBride ahead.
After losing three of his last four fights, Tyson's record fell to 50-6 with 44 knockouts. And just three weeks short of his 39th birthday it now seems unlikely the troubled legend will ever fight again.