In Las Vegas, 30 years ago, prisoner 922335, not long released from the Indiana Youth Center, boxed an unknown club fighter in a bout that shattered pay-per-view records. Mike Tyson v Peter McNeeley may be, in a competitive field, the most audaciously staged mismatch in boxing history. Its global success, despite only 89 seconds of action and a farcical ending, set the tone for the sport’s development in the modern era.
Promoted simply as “He’s Back”, the contest was Tyson’s return after a three-year imprisonment for rape, but the former undisputed heavyweight champion’s popularity seemed to have increased. Among those ringside at a sold-out MGM Grand sat Madonna, Nicolas Cage, Jerry Seinfeld, Denzel Washington, Jim Carrey, Pamela Anderson, Eddie Murphy and an alarmingly human-coloured Donald Trump. All in attendance to see something akin to a ritual sacrifice.
