Mike Tyson vs. Julius Francis
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Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is cons ...
vs.
Julius Francis Julius Francis (born 8 December 1964) is a British former professional boxer who participated in many noteworthy boxing matches in the mid 90s and 2000s. In 2007, he also participated in a mixed martial arts bout, having been a former European ...
was a professional boxing match contested on 29 January 2000.


Background

Tyson's previous fight had come against
Orlin Norris Orlin Levance Norris (born October 4, 1965) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1986 to 2005. He held the WBA cruiserweight title from 1993 to 1995. As an amateur, he won the National Golden Gloves title. He is the brothe ...
three months prior. The fight was another controversial one for Tyson, who hit Norris with left hand after the first bell had rung that dropped him to the canvas. Norris fell awkwardly and injured his right knee in the process and decided that he could not continue on with the fight, which was then declared a no-contest after only one round. Originally, Tyson stated that he would be in favor of a rematch with Norris in December of that year, but Tyson instead chose to face British journeyman Julius Francis in what would be his first fight in Europe and his first outside the United States since his 1990 loss to James "Buster" Douglas. However, Tyson's impending arrival in England caused a stir, as his 1992 rape conviction led to concern as to whether or not Tyson would be allowed into the country. The issue was brought to the Home Office, a department of the U.K. government that is responsible for immigration and security, and on 13 January 2000 the head of the department,
Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...
Jack Straw, announced his decision to allow Tyson into the country, stating that he "did not want to hurt the businesses in Manchester that were expecting a windfall from the fight or disappoint the fans who had bought tickets." Several of Britain's top politicians criticized Straw's decision, including
Trevor Phillips Sir Mark Trevor Phillips (born 31 December 1953) is a British writer, broadcaster and former politician who served as Chair of the London Assembly from 2000 to 2001 and from 2002 to 2003. He presented '' Trevor Phillips on Sunday'', a Sunday ...
who accused Straw of "caving in" and "ignoring the law." Tyson officially arrived in England on 16 January 2000, where he was met with protests from the feminist women's group, Justice For Women, who hoped to have the decision to allow Tyson in England overturned. Tyson would lash out at his protesters, calling the group "just a bunch of frustrated women who want to be men." Tyson's opponent Julius Francis was installed as a 16–1 underdog going into the fight. Francis was recognized as the British Heavyweight Champion, but came into the fight with an unimpressive 21–7 record, having lost to several heavyweight contenders in the years before his fight with Tyson, including
John Ruiz John Ruiz (born January 4, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2010, and held the WBA heavyweight title twice between 2001 and 2005. Ruiz is of Puerto Rican descent, and is the first Latino boxer to win a wo ...
, Željko Mavrović and
Vitali Klitschko Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko (; uk, Віта́лій Володи́мирович Кличко́ ; born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer who serves as mayor of KyivLennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a former professional boxer and boxing commentator who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and the last heavyweight to hold ...
were the only two British boxers who were worthy enough to face Tyson.


The fight

Tyson would dominate the fight, gaining five knockdowns over Francis in a span of four minutes. The first knockdown came with 45 seconds left in the first round. After being backed into the ropes, Francis attempted to throw a right hand, but the attempt missed and Tyson landed a right uppercut that sent Francis down. Francis remained on his knees before finally getting back up at the count of nine. Tyson responded by throwing three consecutive power punches in an attempt to gain the knockout victory, but the punches missed and Francis quickly clinched with Tyson in an effort to slow Tyson down. The two were separated with 15 seconds left and Tyson continued his attack and was able to gain a second knockdown just before the round ended with a quick left hand, but Francis was able to get back up at the count of 7. As the second round began, Tyson continued his assault on Francis and was able to gain a third knockdown less than 20 seconds into the round. Francis again got back up but was knocked down again only seconds later by a left uppercut. Though he was clearly hurt, Francis got up for the fourth time but Tyson quickly ended the fight after another right uppercut sent Francis down. Following the fifth knockdown, referee Roy Francis immediately stopped the fight and Tyson was awarded the knockout victory at 58 second of the second round.Bloody Good
Sports Illustrated article, 2000-02-07, Retrieved on 2013-08-19


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyson, Francis 2000 in boxing 2000 in English sport January 2000 sports events in Europe 2000s in Manchester Boxing matches at Manchester Arena
Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural M ...
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