Why tyson fired rooney

This is what I think broke Mike down. Before that he had a very warm and friendly feeling towards Jim and me. I suspect that what motivates him more is a sense of betrayal, and frustration at watching helplessly while the fighter who was potentially the most intimidating heavyweight in history self-destructs.

He claims that King is acting illegally in dealing with Tyson over his head, but his complaint on those grounds to the New York State Athletic Commission is still unresolved.

There are also several lawsuits in progress, sparked by the four-year exclusive promotional contract which Tyson signed with King, and which Cayton strongly feels is economically disastrous for the fighter. If King had not gotten his hooks into Tyson, I could have made Tyson a goddam good professional manager, so that when he gave up boxing he would know the boxing business.

He would have fought the Bruno fight in London, first of all, but King convinced him not to go over there because Jarvis Astaire and Mickey Duff would not allow King to be involved in the promotion. His ability to brainwash, his ability to lie, is unimaginable. Everybody lost money — Bruno was just not recognisable in America. Also, Tyson broke off with Kevin Rooney before that fight. On the day he broke off with Rooney, Mike actually discussed with Kevin that morning a comment Kevin had made on the air the night before to the effect that even though he was breaking up with Robin he could still date her.

The moves he made in that fight were extraordinary. It was not just the fact that he was a great puncher — it was those great boxing moves he made to get into position to deliver those devastating combinations. Bruno hit him with punches that no one had hit him with before. He took more punches in the Bruno fight than in all his previous fights put together. He was hit by one punch in the Bonecrusher Smith fight and everybody made a big fuss about it; one punch in the Tony Tucker fight.

Presently, I regard the Holyfield fight as a fight for Tyson, but if he was to get away from King today and come back to Kevin and Steve Lott, it would be It would be no more difficult than the Spinks fight.

Can you imagine a more stupid choice for King to inflict on Tyson than Giachetti? They had confrontations in the newspapers where they called each other terrible names. So who do they put in to get him back to being a great fighter?

Yet King is the worst racist imaginable. He has the racist pitch, but with the exception of Tex Cobb all his victims have been black. You must be logged in to post a comment. Aug 04 Add Comment. Boxing News' late great former editor Harry Mullan spent two weeks in America in , talking to some of the most significant figures in the game. Cayton talked frankly about Tyson and about Don King's role in their break-up in this piece from our archives.

The fighter covered his face with his hand, but declined when asked if he wanted to take a break to compose himself. He said he considered that Rooney was like a brother to him. The trial is to conclude with an estimated two days of defense testimony, perhaps including King. Sections U.

Science Technology Business U. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. The Associated Press.