Former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson will return to Memphis on February 22 for his first fight since an embarrassing eight-round knockout at the hands of Lennox Lewis.
The fallen former champion will meet Clifford ”The Black Rhino” Etienne in a 10-round bout at the Pyramid in Memphis, Tennessee, it was announced on Wednesday.
It will be just the third fight in 28 months for Tyson, whose last bout ended in a loss to IBF and WBC heavyweight champion Lewis on June 8, also at the Pyramid.
After that bout, Tyson appeared uncharacteristically contrite. But among other issues, Tyson has financial problems and seeks another payday.
An ex-con with a weak chin, Etienne is the heavyweight champion of the virtually disregarded IBA and the No. 8 contender in the IBF. He is 24-1-1 with 17 knockouts, with his last fight a 10-round draw with aging Francois Botha in July.
Between having his license suspended for 15 months for biting the ear of Evander Holyfield and being jailed for assaulting a pair of motorists in Maryland, Tyson stopped Botha in five rounds on
January 16, 1999 in Las Vegas.
Until the knockout at the hands of Lewis, Tyson had not lost in six bouts since his suspension. He is 49-4 with 43 knockouts and two no-contests. In 1986, a 20-year-old Tyson became the youngest heavyweight
champion in history when he dropped Trevor Berbick in the second round.
He held the title for nearly four years before being knocked out by Buster Douglas in a stunning upset in 1990. In 1992, Tyson was found guilty of raping a beauty pageant contestant in Indiana and spent three-and-a-half years in prison. He has been married and divorced twice, including with actress Robin Givens. – Sapa-AFP