BoxRec

The Mike Tyson-Danny Williams heavyweight showdown will be made official on Tuesday in Louisville. It's set for July 30 at Freedom Hall on the campus of the University of Louisville.
Tyson, Williams, Shelly Finkel and promoter Chris Webb of Straight Out Promotions will all be at the press conference.

i'm hoping to get a full length interview with Danny, probably the week after next. we all need to get behind him!!!

Danny squaring up to Tyson a few weeks before the fight will be good for him. Danny's mental preparation is crucial to how he performs.
Wouldn't mind seeing a few shots of this press conference.

bennie wrote:Danny squaring up to Tyson a few weeks before the fight will be good for him. Danny's mental preparation is crucial to how he performs.
Wouldn't mind seeing a few shots of this press conference.

we probably will, hopefully sky can show it on ringside, is there one this week?

I assume this will be a PPV on SKY?

KOJOE90 wrote:I assume this will be a PPV on SKY?

I have heard Sky are taking a month off after July 10 (Cook-Begue and Pickering-Fedorov). I hope that's just domestically.

bennie wrote:

KOJOE90 wrote:I assume this will be a PPV on SKY?

I have heard Sky are taking a month off after July 10 (Cook-Begue and Pickering-Fedorov). I hope that's just domestically.

I'm sure I read somewhere that Matt Skelton was going to fight on the same day as the 'British' half of the SKY bill.

But I may have dreamt this, seriously I sometimes have dreams like this.

A Tyson interview from last week, From The New York Daily News.

Lately, Mike Tyson has uncharacteristically been issuing all-access passes into his wild world.

This is no coincidence.

All the ink the heavyweight enigma is generating is designed to convince the public that his July 30 fight in Louisville with Danny Williams, the former British heavyweight champ from Brixton, is for real.

With the Biggie Division symbolized by the Tidy Bowl Man, Tyson looms large as its only major attraction. That is clear. It's Tyson's TV future that is murky.

While promoters are interested in bankrolling Tyson, executives from Showtime - Tyson's most recent TV home - and HBO, where he began his career, are not clamoring for the right to air his fight with Williams.

The suits are hiding on the dark side of town, waiting to see who makes the first stupid mistake.

"Anyone who is approached to do a pay-per-view fight with Tyson in a month, where there is no time to market it properly, is not going to do it at a risk," said one boxing mole.

A TV suit would have to be loco to guarantee millions to air a fight where the only appeal is curiosity.

What does Tyson have left? What will Tyson do inside the ring?

We've already seen this movie.

If Tyson-Williams does come off in July (word is Aug. 28 is a backup date) and Tyson wins, he is headed for a title shot, especially if he reunites with promoter Don King. The skids were greased last week when Tyson settled his $100 million lawsuit against the Rap Master.

With three King fighters - Chris Byrd (IBF), Lamon Brewster (WBO), John Ruiz (WBA) - holding heavyweight belts, Tyson is a lock to be fighting for a title again.

Question is, would you pay $50 to see Tyson fight any one of these champions on PPV? That's the question executives from Showtime and HBO must consider. How much will they be willing to pay for the rights to a Tyson fight? Do they even want to produce a Tyson fight?

It's hard to gauge what Tyson's marquee value is anymore. While he still has appeal for the hard-core boxing fan, is he a legit attraction for casual fans who are the key to robust PPV sales? Or is he simply a distant memory whose days as a big PPV earner are long gone?

KOJOE90 wrote:

bennie wrote:

KOJOE90 wrote:I assume this will be a PPV on SKY?

I have heard Sky are taking a month off after July 10 (Cook-Begue and Pickering-Fedorov). I hope that's just domestically.

I'm sure I read somewhere that Matt Skelton was going to fight on the same day as the 'British' half of the SKY bill.

But I may have dreamt this, seriously I sometimes have dreams like this.

I think Matt is resting till September. And Tyson v Williams is a Friday night show and I can't remember the last time Sky screened boxing on a Friday. We'll get it delayed, no doubt.

There is meant to be a RINGSIDE program on one of the sky sports channels THURSDAY AT 9PM. Lets hope that shows something

The Mike Tyson-Danny Williams undercard at Louisville next month is to include Laila Ali, daughter of the legendary Muhammad Ali.
She fights Gwendolyn O'Neil of Guyana.
The venue for the fight, Freedom Hall, is expected to be sold out and holds 20,000. Tyson drew 15,171 fans to Memphis when he last fought in February 2003 - a 49-second win over Clifford Etienne.
Already, the pressure is building for Danny. Muhammad Ali at ringside, a huge crowd baying for blood, a monster opponent.
We all saw how Etienne coped with the pressure.

Ali said he doesnt watch his daughter fight. he doesnt like her to box.

Bennie, more worryingly is that Tyson appears to be in great shape - been training with Freddie Roach for three months. He says on Fightnews that he is 229 already.

However, I don't know when the Bernard Dunne interview was filmed, but it was surprising that he didn't mention Tyson in the camp (if Tyson is to be believed then surely Dunne has been training with him).

stujones wrote:Bennie, more worryingly is that Tyson appears to be in great shape - been training with Freddie Roach for three months. He says on Fightnews that he is 229 already.

However, I don't know when the Bernard Dunne interview was filmed, but it was surprising that he didn't mention Tyson in the camp (if Tyson is to be believed then surely Dunne has been training with him).

Have you got a link to that fightnews story, Stu?

bennie wrote:

stujones wrote:Bennie, more worryingly is that Tyson appears to be in great shape - been training with Freddie Roach for three months. He says on Fightnews that he is 229 already.

However, I don't know when the Bernard Dunne interview was filmed, but it was surprising that he didn't mention Tyson in the camp (if Tyson is to be believed then surely Dunne has been training with him).

Have you got a link to that fightnews story, Stu?

http://www.fightnews.com/scott181.htm

The interview was conducted and published (I think) before Danny Williams was considered as the opponent.

Good man, Stu.

REAL_DEAL wrote:Ali said he doesnt watch his daughter fight. he doesnt like her to box.

That's right I've seen on TV Ali sat ringside for one of his daughters fights. He sat there with his eyes shut and a fearfull/scared expression on his face, it was very touching actually.

I don't think he should even attend if she ends up fighting Anne Wolfe.

Brownie points to the first member who posts a Tyson-Williams photo. No, tell you what, free ringside tickets the next time a Sports Network fighter fights for a genuine world title.

bennie wrote:Brownie points to the first member who posts a Tyson-Williams photo. No, tell you what, free ringside tickets the next time a Sports Network fighter fights for a genuine world title.

Ermm, can we just have the brownie points please. I've got the feeling most of us aren't going to be around in sixty years time.

glittermonkey wrote:

bennie wrote:Brownie points to the first member who posts a Tyson-Williams photo. No, tell you what, free ringside tickets the next time a Sports Network fighter fights for a genuine world title.

Ermm, can we just have the brownie points please. I've got the feeling most of us aren't going to be around in sixty years time.

At the current rate, neither will the sport itself.

In all seriousness, I do believe that is a distinct possibility. Boxing is dissapearing up it's own fundament.

Compare the number of people who go to watch K-1, wrestling and mixed martial arts to how many attend boxing promotions.

Reading Ian's article the other day, it seems almost unbelievable that 45,000 people turned out to watch Duran v Leonard I, and this was hardly the pre-tv age, they could just as easily have watched it on TV, but simply wanted to be a part of the event.

I couldn't name a single fighter today who could fill that many seats, not even Tyson.

GATTI V HATTON at City of Manchester Stadium would do it.

Hmm I wonder, that would have to be pretty much every Man City season ticket holder I would have thought.

Hatton has really played it smart by virtually making himself the unofficial mascot for 'the city' bloody good business sense if someone else suggested it.

He may actually be the only guy out there with a loyal following based in the one area who could actually do it, which is a bit peverse....

HAMED V BARRERA II - IN Sheffield

Now I really am fantasising:-)