Tyson vs Nielsen: Great Dane Stands Up To Boxing's Pit Bull

By Alex Pierpaoli

13.10 - After a lay-off just one week shy of a year, Mike Tyson returned to the ring Saturday night with a successful TKO victory over heavyweight Brian Nielsen. Tyson who scored a Technical Knockout when Nielsen refused to come out of his corner for round seven, scaled 239 lbs for the fight, his heaviest ever. The 259 ¾ lb Great Dane gave Tyson more than most fight fans expected he could, in a rough, and at times, exciting fight. The oft-notorious Mike Tyson, who landed a hard uppercut below the Dane's substantial waistline at the end of the third, was actually on his best behavior throughout the fight and even afterwards during his interview with Showtime's Jim Gray.

If a durable but strategically limited opponent was what Team Tyson was looking for, they hit the jackpot with Brian Nielsen. The Dane was surprisingly resilient to Tyson's two-fisted attack of hooks and uppercuts, even when Tyson sunk hard punches into Nielsen's doughy mid-section. Nielsen, a good-natured pug that enters the ring to Monty Python's "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life" is interchangeably referred to as Super Brian and The Danish Pastry. On Saturday night he was more Super than Pastry in his ability to clutch and grab and to absorb the fury of the onward marching former Champion. Nielsen crashed to the canvas in round three after a five-punch combination by Tyson seemed to mark the beginning of the end. To his credit, Nielsen rose and fought the last few seconds of round three before a Tyson left uppercut strayed below the belt-line and brought the Dane to his knees. Although the punch looked like a hard shot, there may have been some acting on the part of Nielsen, which secured him extra time to rest between rounds.

Referee Steve Smoger, just two weeks after his excellent job as third man for Hopkins-Trinidad, warned both fighters before the bell for the fourth-Tyson for low blows, and Nielsen for holding and pushing down on the neck of Tyson in the clinches. Smoger, whose work as referee seems an equal mix of cheerleader and disciplinarian, told Nielsen "Don't go on his neck. You're doing great, just don't go on his neck." As Smoger ruled the low blow unintentional, Nielsen had as much as five minutes to recover, but the Dane had come to fight and took only an extra thirty or forty seconds.

At the start of the fourth Nielsen was able to connect with a hard, well-timed overhand right, the same punch Evander Holyfield and Buster Douglas were able to use so effectively in Tyson's two knockout losses. Although Nielsen was unable to stun Tyson he was able to land blows on the former champion with relative ease. At 35, Tyson is not the weaving, feinting defensive fighter he once was. Some of Tyson's lack of fluidity could be due to the tremendous lay-off; crouching and ducking doesn't come as easy on knees stiff with rust. In fact, Tyson showed little to no defense throughout the bout, which for the most part looked more like a sparring session than an actual contest. Nielsen fought most of the fight retreating from Tyson who walked him down each round. Rather than jabbing his way in the way he once did so effectively, Tyson would close the distance between them behind a looping left hook or his lowered head. In round two Tyson opened a gash over Nielsen's left eye, which was ruled the result of an accidental head butt.

After the sixth Smoger reacted to the added commotion in Nielsen's corner and asked the Dane if he wanted to continue. Nielsen complained he was having difficulty seeing out of his damaged eye. A Danish rule states that if a fight is stopped due to an accidental foul-in this case the swelling and bleeding cut caused by Tyson's head-the fighter who is unable to continue loses by TKO. In most U.S. states, a fight stopped due to an accidental foul would be scored by round, if at least four rounds were completed.

Referee Smoger cradled Nielsen's head in his hands and explained the rule, saying he would have to declare Tyson the winner. Nielsen understood, Smoger told him, "I love you" undoubtedly in reference to Nielsen's effort and fearlessness against the ferocious Mike Tyson.

After the bout Tyson told Jim Gray he felt good and expected to fight twice more before challenging the winner of Hasim Rahman vs Lennox Lewis II. If Tyson keeps his present schedule we can look forward to that fight in the spring of 2004. Truthfully, Tyson should get back into the ring again soon as he displayed an incredible amount of rust and eroded skills. Although all of Tyson's punches seemed telegraphed on Saturday, he still possesses decent hand speed and most importantly, he rarely throws one punch at a time. But, if Iron Mike thinks he's ready to meet Rahman in a ring, an alley, or even on an ESPN set, anytime soon, he is mistaken. King Rahman possesses arguably the best jab in the heavyweight division and the Tyson who fought in Denmark would have been pole axed on the end of Rahman's left fist.

Tyson's Achilles' heel-his propensity towards psychological/emotional meltdown-was nowhere to be seen in Denmark and the Pit Bull seemed spookily serene. Perhaps it was because he was never hurt or frustrated or even confused by Nielsen. The most pressure Tyson experienced in the ring Saturday night was from Showtime's intrusive camera following him closely during the pre-fight introductions. The sometimes-cannibal finally did succumb to the camera's onslaught, he shoved the lens with a gloved fist just as Ring Announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. pronounced Iron…Mike…Tyson. Boxing's best-paid malcontent is back again. (Photos: AP)