Mike Tyson vs. Clifford Etienne

Back to Business
	The Pyramid, Memphis, Tennessee, US
Title(s) on the line	None
Tale of the tape
Boxer
Boxer	Mike Tyson
Nickname	Iron
Hometown	Catskill, New York, US
Pre-fight record	49–4–0–2 (43 KO)
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	225+3⁄4 lb (102 kg)
Style	Orthodox
Recognition	Former undisputed heavyweight champion
Result
	Tyson wins via 1st-round KO

Mike Tyson vs. Clifford Etienne, billed as Back to Business, was a professional boxing match contested on February 22, 2003.

Background

In his previous fight on June 8, 2002, Mike Tyson had met WBC and IBF heavyweight champion

Freddie Roach announced that he didn't think Tyson was ready for the fight and advised him to not go through with it, citing Tyson's lack of condition, as well as the fact that a loss to a journeyman like Etienne could end Tyson's career.^[2] Two days later, the fight was cancelled after both the fight's promoters and Tyson's team failed to hear back from Tyson about whether or not he would go through with the fight.^[3] However, Tyson arrived in Memphis the following day, seemingly putting the fight back on, but the fight was again held up as Etienne pulled out because several members of his camp had already left Memphis after the first cancellation.^[4] The following day, Etienne had a change of heart and stated "This morning, I woke up and I thought about it. I realized that I've worked all these weeks for this. I weighed everything out again. The fight is on."^[5]

The fight

Despite concerns about Tyson's condition, the fight would prove to be one of his quickest victories. Tyson would start the match aggressively by throwing powerful combinations at Etienne, causing Etienne to clinch with Tyson, though the combined momentum of the two fighters caused both men to stumble to the mat and the referee then called a brief timeout to allow the fighters to regroup from the fall. After the fight was resumed, Tyson continued to throw wild power punches at Etienne, though none connected. Etienne responded by throwing several power punches of his own which caused Tyson to clinch. After being separated, Etienne missed Tyson with a left jab–right hand combination. Tyson then missed with a left hook, but rebounded with a strong right hand that sent Etienne down. Etienne laid flat on his back and made no attempt to get back up as the referee counted him out. Tyson was then awarded the knockout victory at 49 seconds of the first round. The victory would be the 50th and final one of Tyson's professional career.[6]

Aftermath

Prior the fight, there had been preliminary discussions about a possible rematch between Lewis and Tyson that would take place during June 2003 depending on how well Tyson performed against Etienne.

Don King. After a 17-month layoff, Tyson would finally return to boxing on July 30, 2004 to take on Danny Williams

. Though he came into the fight as a 9–1 underdog, Williams would upset Tyson by knocking him out in the fourth round.

References

^ Tyson to Return On Feb. 22 Card, NY Times article, 2002-11-27, Retrieved on 2013-08-21
^ Ailing Tyson Continues to Prepare for Fight, but His Trainer Is Skeptical, NY Times article, 2003-02-16, Retrieved on 2013-08-21
^ Tyson's Fight With Etienne Is Canceled, NY Times article, 2003-02-18, Retrieved on 2013-08-21
^ The Tyson Fight Is On Again, Then Off Again, NY Times article, 2003-02-19, Retrieved on 2013-08-21
^ It's 2 for the Show: Etienne, Tyson In, Chicago Tribune article, 2003-02-20, Retrieved on 2013-08-21
^ Tyson Knocks Out Etienne in 49 seconds , Sports Illustrated article, 2003-02-23, Retrieved on 2013-08-23
^ Lewis Ponders Tyson Rematch, NY Times article, 2003-01-25, Retrieved on 2013-08-24
^ Tyson Handed His Ring Return on Lewis Undercard, The Guardian article, 2003-04-22, Retrieved on 2013-08-24

[1] Tyson to Return On Feb. 22 Card, NY Times article, 2002-11-27, Retrieved on 2013-08-21

[2] Ailing Tyson Continues to Prepare for Fight, but His Trainer Is Skeptical, NY Times article, 2003-02-16, Retrieved on 2013-08-21

[3] Tyson's Fight With Etienne Is Canceled, NY Times article, 2003-02-18, Retrieved on 2013-08-21

[4] The Tyson Fight Is On Again, Then Off Again, NY Times article, 2003-02-19, Retrieved on 2013-08-21

[5] It's 2 for the Show: Etienne, Tyson In, Chicago Tribune article, 2003-02-20, Retrieved on 2013-08-21

[6] Tyson Knocks Out Etienne in 49 seconds , Sports Illustrated article, 2003-02-23, Retrieved on 2013-08-23

[7] Lewis Ponders Tyson Rematch, NY Times article, 2003-01-25, Retrieved on 2013-08-24

[8] Tyson Handed His Ring Return on Lewis Undercard, The Guardian article, 2003-04-22, Retrieved on 2013-08-24

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