“I don’t have the guts to stay in this sport anymore. I do not want to disrespect the sport I love.” – Mike Tyson

With those words, one of the most eventful careers in boxing history took a giant step towards its conclusion at MCI Center in Washington, DC.

In front of 15,472 stunned spectators, former undisputed heavyweight champion “Iron” Mike Tyson sat on his stool at the end of the sixth round on the advice of his trainer, hall of fame boxer Jeff Fenech, and would not come out for the seventh round. Tyson’s conqueror – perhaps his final conqueror – Kevin McBride was jubilant, having realized he had truly proved the boxing world wrong.

The latest breakdown for Tyson came slowly. In the first round, the two combatants decided to fight the bout in close. Both men were holding and referee Joe Cortez allowed the boxers to break clean on their own as much as possible. This benefited McBride greatly because he was able to use his 38-pound weight advantage (271 pounds to Tyson’s 233). McBride leaned on Tyson and was able to punch even though Tyson was holding him.

But by the third round, Tyson seemed to turn the bout in his favor. Tyson created more space between himself and McBride, allowing him to get in more body shots. But while Tyson may have been able to win points with the judges, his punches did not stop McBride from coming back. When the fifth round came, not only was McBride still in the bout, it was “The Clones Colossus” who was landing the better shots as he hit Tyson with solid uppercuts and right crosses in close.

The sixth round was the final chapter in the Tyson breakdown. In the first minute of the round, Tyson was warned by Cortez for trying to break McBride’s arm. Then he hit McBride with a low blow. Finally, Tyson was penalized two points by Cortez for deliberately head butting McBride.

However, the 6’6” McBride remained unfazed and in a final act of defiance, McBride pushed Tyson to the canvas. Cortez signaled no knockdown, but the damage had been done. As Tyson got up and slowly walked to his corner, Fenech decided that the end was here.

For Kevin Martin McBride, who has lost bouts to under-.500 boxers, his career takes a sudden upward turn as he raises his record to 33-4-1 with 28 KO’s. If it is the end for Michael Gerard Tyson, let the record show a mark of 50-6 with two no-contests and 44 KO’s.

Thanks to everyone who participated in my contest. Good luck Mike.