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CNN Sunday Morning

Lennox Lewis Defeats Mike Tyson

Aired June 09, 2002 - 11:24   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: You better believe Mike Tyson probably woke up with a great big headache this morning. After promising to crush Lennox Lewis' skull, it was Tyson who hit the mat last night. It was a TKO for Lewis and a night that Tyson would like to forget, maybe. CNN's Larry Smith joins us now with some of the fight highlights. Hey there, Larry.

LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, how are you this morning? Yes, actually this was a knockout that Lennox Lewis had said that he planned to discipline Mike Tyson for all the transgressions that he had committed over the past several months, and well that he did, very much so.

An eighth round knockout of Mike Tyson, it was never really in doubt. Tyson came out early, aggressive as we thought he would. Lewis withstood that and then took over the fight from that point on, cutting Tyson above his right eye in the third before pummeling him into submission, a spanking if you will of the former champion, as Lennox Lewis moves on and retains his WBC and IBF Championship belts.

Tyson, despite all of the things we've heard and the things that he's done over the years, the bad boy image but he was very gracious in defeat after this fight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TYSON: He was just fighting marvelous tonight and he was just too big and too strong and I couldn't get to him.

LENNOX LEWIS, BOXER: It was quite easy in one sense, you know. I showed him that I was a pugilist specialist. I showed him the sweet science of the sport. You know, he definitely was trying to get me out with that one big punch, but I wasn't really allowing it.

EMANUEL STEWARD, LENNOX TRAINER: This fight was good for boxing and I have to thank Mike Tyson for it because he could have easily turned it into a very ugly event, but he was very gracious afterwards and very humble, and I have a lot of respect for him.

TYSON: Of course I'm disappointed because you know what I mean, the only thing I have out of this deal is money. I want greatness more than money, you know what I mean. It's really disappointing.

LEWIS: My friends said to go in there and make sure I give him some discipline, discipline Mike Tyson, so I did. He had no choice in the matter, you know, I had to make him humble.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Well, and that he did. Lennox Lewis, his 40th win as a professional, his 31st knockout and again he retains actually three belts, the WBC, IBF and also the IBO as well.

He may retire now. He has beaten every top name during his heavyweight career and now will go down as one of the all-time greats in the heavyweight division.

As for Mike Tyson, his future a little more uncertain, are the big money paydays over? Obviously, no longer a championship contender as he has shown in a string of lackluster fights and last night's poor performance. But Tyson still is the sport's biggest name and if there is money to be paid in pay-per-view fights by fighting an unnamed opponent, we may again see Mike Tyson in an arena sometime in the near future. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So, Larry, do you think it's still a pretty good possibility that we would see Mike in the ring or at least somebody would want to fight him. He's not as intimidating you know a contender I guess post this Lewis fight now, is he?

SMITH: Well, I think he's no longer a championship contender, but then again if you look at his record over the past four years, he wasn't a championship contender coming in to this fight either.

But, Mike Tyson still is Mike Tyson and again, if there's an audience, if the public they feel will pay $50 a pop to see him fight whomever and they've done that before, you very well may see him in the ring. His financial troubles have been well documented. He certainly would not turn down the money to fight again somewhere, someone, somehow.

WHITFIELD: Yes, $50 a pop and sometimes $1,500 a pop, all right thanks a lot, Larry appreciate it from Memphis.

SMITH: OK.

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