E. Steward's viewpoint
E. Steward's viewpoint
from a column by Thomas Hauser....
(Lewis) ?Bite on the leg; bite on the leg. That changed everything. Up until that, Mike Tyson was just another guy I was going to fight. Now I feel like anyone beating him would be a victory for decency in boxing. Tyson talks about being a victim, but anyone could say that. I could say that. I never grew up in a nice place, a nice world, but look how I turned out. Tyson can choose how he turns out. He's got to stop using his background as an excuse. It's such a silly excuse because, when you look at it, it doesn't mean anything; especially to me. I'm tired of Tyson's talk, of the attention he gets for simply being someone who can't take any control of his life. I'll be glad to see him coming into the ring because that's where it gets hard, where whatever you say doesn't mean a thing and you have to be honest and just fight.?
The architect of Lewis's fight plan will be trainer Emanuel Steward, who has been with the champion for sixteen fights. Steward projects an aura of confidence when talking about Lewis-Tyson.
?When you fight Tyson,? says Steward, ?you have to be assertive. You cannot fight a cautious fight. Tyson is used to fighting people who run from him. This time, he'll be fighting someone who wants to knock him out; who is going to be aggressive in a certain way. It could be a very exciting fight early because, even though Lennox has a great advantage technically and physically, he's liable to get excited and end up going toe-to-toe to try to knock Tyson out. It could end up being a slugfest. Tyson might land a few blows, but it won't be enough to hold Lennox off.?
?Lennox isn't afraid of Mike, and Mike knows it,? Steward continues. ?I've watched Tyson. He's always had this thing about Lennox where Lennox intimidates him a lot. Mike has admitted that. In fact, he's continually making comments about Lennox intimidating him and picking on him. That's a role that Mike isn't used to. That, plus the fact that Mike doesn't want to fight Lennox, has him in a terrible state of mind. Tyson doesn't want to be at this fight. You can see that in the man?s face when he speaks. And Lennox has no fear of Tyson. Lennox almost laughs at Mike Tyson. He's going to knock Tyson out. I don't think the fight will go four rounds. It will be a total mismatch after the first 45 seconds or so.?
E. Steward's viewpoint
from a column by Thomas Hauser....
(Lewis) ?Bite on the leg; bite on the leg. That changed everything. Up until that, Mike Tyson was just another guy I was going to fight. Now I feel like anyone beating him would be a victory for decency in boxing. Tyson talks about being a victim, but anyone could say that. I could say that. I never grew up in a nice place, a nice world, but look how I turned out. Tyson can choose how he turns out. He's got to stop using his background as an excuse. It's such a silly excuse because, when you look at it, it doesn't mean anything; especially to me. I'm tired of Tyson's talk, of the attention he gets for simply being someone who can't take any control of his life. I'll be glad to see him coming into the ring because that's where it gets hard, where whatever you say doesn't mean a thing and you have to be honest and just fight.?
The architect of Lewis's fight plan will be trainer Emanuel Steward, who has been with the champion for sixteen fights. Steward projects an aura of confidence when talking about Lewis-Tyson.
?When you fight Tyson,? says Steward, ?you have to be assertive. You cannot fight a cautious fight. Tyson is used to fighting people who run from him. This time, he'll be fighting someone who wants to knock him out; who is going to be aggressive in a certain way. It could be a very exciting fight early because, even though Lennox has a great advantage technically and physically, he's liable to get excited and end up going toe-to-toe to try to knock Tyson out. It could end up being a slugfest. Tyson might land a few blows, but it won't be enough to hold Lennox off.?
?Lennox isn't afraid of Mike, and Mike knows it,? Steward continues. ?I've watched Tyson. He's always had this thing about Lennox where Lennox intimidates him a lot. Mike has admitted that. In fact, he's continually making comments about Lennox intimidating him and picking on him. That's a role that Mike isn't used to. That, plus the fact that Mike doesn't want to fight Lennox, has him in a terrible state of mind. Tyson doesn't want to be at this fight. You can see that in the man?s face when he speaks. And Lennox has no fear of Tyson. Lennox almost laughs at Mike Tyson. He's going to knock Tyson out. I don't think the fight will go four rounds. It will be a total mismatch after the first 45 seconds or so.?
