Tyson Vanquishes Danish Foe In Easy Six Rounds

Jet, Oct 29, 2001

Mike Tyson is on a mission to regain the heavyweight boxing championship title, and by the looks of his latest opponent, Brian Nielsen, Tyson is on course.

In his longest fight since losing his title to Evander Holyfield five years ago, Tyson, before a roaring crowd of 25,000 boxing enthusiasts at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark, bloodied Nielsen and knocked him down in the third round.

The referee ended the scheduled 10-round fight with Nielsen still in his corner with his eye swollen shut at the beginning of the seventh round. It was declared a technical knock-out one second into the seventh.

"I'm back," Tyson said, after the victory. "I feel pretty good, but I felt rusty and a little unsure. I'll fight anyone, but I need two more fights for a title fight. Two more and I'll be ready."

The six rounds in this recent match were the longest Tyson has fought since his World Boxing Association title fight in 1996 when Holyfield stopped him in the 11th.

This was also the heaviest weight at which Tyson has boxed. At 239 pounds, he is nearly 20 pounds heavier than his normal fighting weight.

The 35-year-old bruiser is on track as the mandatory No. 1 challenger for the winner of the Nov. 17 fight between champion Hasim Rahman and Lennox Lewis.

Tyson's win improved his record to 49-3 with two no-decisions and 43 KOs. Nielsen dropped to 62-2.

Tyson mercilessly pummeled the 259-pound Dane for six solid rounds.

He quickly pinned Nielsen on the ropes in the first round, launching a brutal assault that Nielsen weathered until the bell. In the second round, Tyson bloodied Nielsen above the left eye with a right hook just before the bell. Late in the third, he knocked him down with a right-left combination. For the next three rounds Tyson landed punches at will as Nielsen became more of a punching bag for him than a pugilist.

Almost humble in victory, Tyson saluted 36-year-old Nielsen--a national hero in Denmark where he is affectionately known as "Danish Pastry."

"I have to take my hat off to Brian. I had no idea he was that tough of a a fighter. I went in there for an easy night and was surprised. I was just trying to hit him anywhere I possibly could."

To Nielsen's credit, this was only the second time in his career that he was knocked down in the ring, and he is yet to be knocked out.

"I felt like I was hurting him with a few of my punches," Nielsen said. "The referee stopped it, but my corner asked that he stop it.

"The last few punches I couldn't see. I did the best I could. I'm very disappointed. I hope that now people will give me some respect. I am a fighter."

Meanwhile, Tyson keeps his eyes on the heavyweight title prize. "After every fight, I always consider it my last fight," he said, "but people offer me more and more money, and it's hard to turn it down."