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News Updates - Heavyweight Prelim - Round 6
Tyson Continues to Struggle; Thunder and Lightening Strike Ali!
CINCINNATI, OH - Once
considered a possible title favorite, Mike Tyson now faces the prospect of
failing to qualify for the Championship Tournament. Tyson suffered his
second straight loss, dropping his record to 2-4 (1 KO). Larry Holmes
(6-0, 6 KO) dominated Tyson from the start in the main event. By the third
round, Tyson's eye had swollen shut, forcing the stoppage. Tyson is now
ranked 19th, and needs to rally in the final four preliminary rounds in order to
qualify for the 16 man tournament.
In the most exciting fight of
the night, unbeaten Muhammed Ali (6-0, 4 KO) survived a scare from Ingemar
Johansen (1-5, 1 KO). Johnasen floored Ali with his patented "Thunder and
Lightening" in the 2nd round,
and then again in
both the 6th and 7th rounds. Ali, however, responded to the challenge,
picking himself up off the canvas and dominating the late rounds to cruise to a
unanimous decision victory. Still, for the first time, the previously
untouchable Ali looked beatable.
In the most unfortunate event of the night, John L. Sullivan (0-6) was disqualified for low blows against Jess Willard (1-5). It marked the second fight in a row in which Sullivan was disqualified. Immediately following the fight, it was announced that Sullivan would be suspended from competition for Round 7. This suspension all but insures that Sullivan will fail to qualify for the Championship Tournament.
"We are deeply disappointed at
the conduct of John L. Sullivan", said the Commissioner in
a prepared statement. "We only can hope that corrects his behavior in the
future."
Slumping Michael Moorer (2-3-1, 1 KO) finally arrived in shape, but it did little good as he was overwhelmed by Evander Holyfield (4-1-1, 4 KO), losing a 5th round TKO. All 11 undefeated fighters won their fights, continuing the logjam at the top. George Foreman (6-0, 5 KO) took over the #1 ranking following a unanimous decision win over Ezzard Charles (1-5).
For complete results, check the "fight results" section.
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