Bruce Seldon vs. Mike Tyson

The September 7, 1996, WBA heavyweight title fight between Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon, promoted as "Liberation," ended with Tyson winning by first-round knockout. Seldon retired from boxing soon after. The pay-per-view event was produced by Don King Productions and aired on Showtime. The fight is remembered partly because rapper and actor Tupac Shakur was in the audience. Hours after the bout, Shakur was fatally shot following a confrontation with Crips member Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson at the casino. He died six days later, on September 13, from his injuries. The WBA stripped George Foreman of its heavyweight title after he refused to fight top contender Tony Tucker. The organization then scheduled a bout between Tucker and the little-known Bruce Seldon to crown a new champion. Seldon beat the aging Tucker by referee technical decision in the seventh round after Tucker’s eye swelled completely shut. Seldon later defended the title against Joe Hipp—the first Native American to challenge for a major heavyweight belt—on the undercard of the Tyson–McNeeley fight on September 7, 1995. Since his release from prison, Tyson had won all three of his fights dominantly, defeating fringe contenders Peter McNeeley and Buster Mathis Jr., then capturing the WBC heavyweight title by knocking out Frank Bruno in the third round. Tyson was next scheduled to face the WBC’s number-one contender, Lennox Lewis. Negotiations for that title bout broke down when Lewis’s team and HBO executives rejected successive offers of $10 million, $13.5 million, and $16 million. Promoter Don King then paid Lewis $4 million to step aside, allowing Tyson to face Seldon—initially planned as a unification match. Seldon entered the ring as a 22-1 underdog. The first televised bout saw Christy Martin knock out Melinda Robinson in the fourth round with an overhand right to the chin. Trinidad vs. Lovato In the first of three world title fights on the card, IBF welterweight champion Félix Trinidad faced IBF No. 9 contender Ray Lovato. Trinidad started slowly, measuring the elusive Lovato before rocking him in the fifth with a right hand. In the sixth, Trinidad caught Lovato with a sharp left-right combination near the ropes, sending him staggering. Referee Mitch Halpern stepped in and stopped the bout. At the time, two judges had Trinidad ahead 49–46, and the third had it 48–47. Lovato later criticized the stoppage, saying, "I thought it was stopped too soon. I thought I was winning." Norris vs. Rios Unified 154-pound champion Terry Norris faced WBC No. 9 contender Alex Rios. Norris dropped Rios in the fourth round. In the fifth, an overhand right sent Rios into his own corner, and Norris followed with combinations until referee Mills Lane waved off the fight. Tyson easily defeated Seldon by first-round knockout in one of the shortest heavyweight championship fights in history, lasting just 1:49. Tyson was the aggressor from the opening bell. Seldon tried to land his powerful left jab, but Tyson dodged the attempts. At about 1:12, a left hook from Tyson knocked Seldon down, followed by a straight right that only grazed him. Seldon got up at the referee’s count of eight but was immediately knocked down again by another left hook. He rose but could not maintain his balance, and referee Richard Steele stopped the fight, awarding Tyson a technical knockout victory. "Fix" Controversy Almost immediately after the fight, the audience began chanting "Fix!" believing Seldon had taken a dive so Tyson could move on to face Evander Holyfield. The crowd continued the chant as Seldon stayed in the ring for an interview with Jim Gray. Gray directly asked Seldon if he had taken a dive. Seldon denied it, saying, "I didn't train 12 weeks to come in here and take a dive." After his loss, Seldon retired from boxing, though he staged a comeback in 2004 at age 37. Tyson vacated his WBC title and proceeded to a much-anticipated match with Holyfield for the WBA heavyweight championship. Although Tyson was a 6-1 favorite, Holyfield won by stunning 11th-round technical knockout. Tyson lost the rematch by disqualification in 1997 and also lost his next heavyweight title match in 2002 against Lennox Lewis. The Seldon fight thus became Tyson’s final heavyweight championship victory. The vacant WBC belt was contested in February 1997, with Lennox Lewis defeating Oliver McCall. Rapper Tupac Shakur attended the fight and was fatally shot in a drive-by shooting afterward.