Smash Dance

Tyson's right hook is deadly, especially to the body. At times, however, it causes him as much difficulty as it does his opponent. When Tyson throws the punch, his right foot follows, leaving him in a southpaw position. Once there, the only punch he can throw is a left uppercut. Usually he has to back off and restart his assault.

Ruddock's biggest weakness is that he telegraphs every punch. Still, he hit Tyson with 53% of the 198 power punches that he threw, a remarkably high percentage and one that few fighters could survive. But Tyson's chin is pure granite. Ruddock caught him with some fearsome shots, and Tyson took them all—hooks, straight right hands, uppercuts. Several times Tyson was momentarily rocked, but he was never close to going down.

Afterward, Jay Bright, one of Tyson's trainers, said to his man, "Michael, no fighter has ever had greater determination. But if you would just move your head more, you wouldn't have to be so determined."

For Ruddock, Tyson's unyielding jaw must have been disconcerting, which probably explains why he spent most of the fight wandering around the ring like a man deep in thought. He, too, suffers from puncher's syndrome. A converted southpaw, Ruddock threw only 48 jabs, and with most of them he looked as if he were pushing away an empty plate.

At the end, the 6'3" Ruddock told Murad Muhammad, his promoter, "Damn it, if he had been one inch taller I would have knocked him out. I missed some tremendous punches by just that much."

At 5'11", Tyson has always had trouble with tall opponents. Three of the men who have taken him the distance—Mitch Green, Bonecrusher Smith and Tony Tucker—stood well over six feet. And Douglas, who's 6'4", knocked him out. For much of the night Ruddock would reach out and grab Tyson's shoulders and hold on. It wasn't a pretty tactic, but it was a safe one. Because Ruddock's jaw was broken—possibly as early as the fourth round—it is hard to fault him. Many fighters in that condition would have gone back to their corner and surrendered.

Although the outcome of the fight seemed clear by the end of Round 12, because of the many point deductions, the moments before the decision was announced were tense; fight people have been taught only to add. Millions of dollars hung in the balance. A loss by Tyson would have knocked a lot of zeroes off a lot of paychecks for months to come.

As it turned out, all the judges voted for Tyson: Dalby Shirley and Art Lurie both scored the bout 114-108, and Chuck Giampa gave Tyson a 113-109 advantage. There was no controversy. Only Tyson, in the spirit of the moment, mentioned another rematch. His promoter, Don King, had a different agenda in mind.

As the crowd dispersed, George Foreman's brother, Roy, went into the lobby of the Mirage, checked his messages at the front desk and was handed a $1 million check from King. It was the down payment for a Tyson-Foreman fight. America's favorite boxer since his courageous loss to heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield in April, the 42-year-old Foreman has emerged as a valuable bargaining chip in the war between King and Dan Duva, Holyfield's promoter. King has negotiated fruitlessly with Duva for a title fight with Holyfield. Each promoter blames the other for the breakdown in the talks. Now, say both King and Duva, Foreman is the man their fighter will meet. King and Duva have both offered Foreman $10 million.

But with his $1 million check, King may have damaged his cause. "Don forgot something important," said George from his home in Houston last Saturday night. "He forgot that to me a friend is more valuable than money."