ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, September 8, 1996 TAG: 9609090135
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C9 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LAS VEGAS
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
IRON MIKE MAKES quick work of Bruce Seldon to win the WBA heavyweight title.
Mike Tyson needed 109 seconds to win the WBA heavyweight championship from Bruce Seldon on Saturday night in the MGM Grand Garden.
Seldon is known as the Atlantic City Express and his journey with Tyson certainly was a fast one.
Tyson knocked down Seldon with a glancing right hand to the top of the head. At first, referee Richard Steele thought it was a slip, then realized it was a punch and began to count. After Seldon took the mandatory 8-count on his feet, Tyson dropped Seldon face down with a left hook.
Again Seldon struggled up, but his legs were rubbery and Steele stopped the fight.
Although the left hook that scored the second knockdown was a solid one to the chin, the estimated crowd of 9,000 booed lustily when both knockdowns were rerun on the big screens in the arena. They also booed when the official time was announced.
Although Tyson holds the WBC title, it was not at stake because of an agreement by Tyson to make his first WBC defense against Lennox Lewis. Tyson is expected to relinquish the WBC title and defend the WBA title against Evander Holyfield on Nov. 9 at the MGM Grand.
It simply was a mismatch.
``Fix. Fix,'' shouted some disgruntled fans, some of whom paid $1,000 for a ticket.
Seldon's best punch is his left jab and he did land it a couple of times, but it made absolutely no difference as Tyson swarmed all over him. Seldon was able to tie up Tyson on a couple of occasions, and then came the two knockdowns that ended it and had the crowd jeering.
The 109-second bout was not Tyson's fastest in a championship. He knocked out Michael Spinks in 91 seconds and Carl Williams in 93 in undisputed championship bouts in 1988 and 1989, respectively.
``I didn't choke up,'' the 29-year-old Seldon said. ``The first time he hit me, he just grazed me. He got a little elbow behind it, which did me in. The second time, it rattled my eyes. I couldn't see clearly.''
``Cus: Two down, one to go,'' said Tyson, referring to his late mentor, Cus D'Amato.
``He was fighting and moving, so he was hard to hit at first,'' Tyson said of Seldon. ``My mode of operation once I get a man hurt is reckless abandon.''
The 32-year-old Tyson, who weighed 219 pounds, earned $15 million for his 45th victory against a single loss. It was his 39th knockout.
Seldon got $5 million in losing for the fourth time against 33 wins and 29 knockouts. It was Seldon's third knockout loss. Five years ago, he was knocked out in the first round by Riddick Bowe and stopped in the ninth round by Oliver McCall.
Tyson first won the WBC title by stopping Trevor Berbick in the second round on Nov. 22, 1986. He got the WBA crown by outpointing James ``Bonecrusher'' Smith on March 7, 1987. He unified the title by winning the IBF title on points over Tony Tucker on Aug. 1, 1987, and remained the undisputed champion until he was upset by Buster Douglas on Feb. 11, 1990.
Tyson's easy win was his fourth since he began a comeback since being released from prison on March 25, 1995.
The odds in man-to-man betting dropped from 17-1 to 12-1 shortly before the fight. A lot of bettors probably rue the temptation to wager on the underdog Seldon.
LENGTH: Medium: 70 linesby CNB