Sportstalk: Irish fighter won't dent rusty Iron Mike
Our sports columnist sized up Peter “Hurricane” McNeeley, the Irish Catholic heavyweight from Massachusetts picked for Mike Tyson’s 1995 comeback, and did not like his chances.
As printed in the Celtic Mirror, August 1995
“I’m going to muscle him and bully him. I’ll get down low and push him back. I’ll show him I’m there and stand up to him.”
These are the words of Peter “Hurricane” McNeeley, who is scheduled to fight Mike Tyson in a 10-round bout on Aug. 19 at the outdoor arena of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The 26-year-old Irish Catholic from Massachusetts will face a ring-rusty Tyson who hasn’t fought in four years.
After serving a prison sentence on a rape conviction, Iron Mike Tyson and his handlers went looking for a fighter who is tailor made to ensure a quick, decisive victory in Tyson’s much ballyhooed return to the ring.
They came up with McNeeley, a stand up brawler with little hand or foot speed who, despite Tyson’s ring rust, should prove to be an easy dispatch for the ex-heavyweight champ of the world.
Not so, if you were to heed the words of McNeeley.
At 6 feet, 2 inches, a muscular 225 pounds, “The Hurricane” certainly looks the imposing figure.
And with a professional record of 36-1, you might think that McNeeley has the tools to ambush Tyson and pull off his predicted third round knockout.
However, the caliber of competition faced by McNeeley in his 4 year pro career has been compared to - by one boxing columnist - as a little less than what one might encounter in a morgue.
But so is the world of prize fighting and when a name as marketable and recognizable as Mike Tyson is involved, the powers that be don’t care what kind of absurd mismatch is created.
Couple that with the fact that promoters waved a purse of $750,000 in McNeeley’s face and you can see why the fight was signed.
This amount of cash was offered to a fighter who has, on numerous occasions, fought bouts for no purse at all.
But the fact still remains that McNeeley will step into the ring against one of the most devastating punchers in ring history.
There are some, McNeeley and his camp included, who maintain that Tyson’s layoff enhances McNeeley’s chance to pull an upset.
Then there’s the questionable state of Tyson’s psyche after the personal tumult he has experienced.
Reports from Tyson’s camp contradict that notion.
Word from those privy to Tyson’s sparring sessions is that Iron Mike is felling sparring partners like a lumberjack going through redwood.
This certainly doesn’t bode well for McNeeley, because Tyson at his best can be characterized as a wrecking machine.
Then again, maybe it’s that sole blemish on Tyson’s record which inspires “Hurricane” to engage in the hyperbole of crowding, bullying and early knockouts.
You remember, when Buster Douglas, he of the 42-1 underdog fame, ripped a salvo into Tyson in round 10 and shocked the sports world with a stunning knockout of the then champ.
Douglas managed his feat by drilling an almost stationary Tyson for nine rounds with shots before landing that well-chronicled 10th round flurry.
For reasons still mulled over by professors of pugilism, Tyson forgot how to box that night in Tokyo.
Abandoning lateral movement and his jab, Tyson stood in front of Douglas and was cut down.
Maybe it can happen again.
Perhaps McNeeley can cut short the much-anticipated return of Mike Tyson the same way Buster Douglas ended his reign as heavyweight champion on Feb. 10, 1990.
Perhaps not.
Don’t expect to see McNeeley’s hands being hoisted into the Las Vegas night air in a victory salute on Aug. 19.
Rather, expect McNeeley to wake up on the morning of Aug. 20 $750,000 richer and with an extremely bad headache.
Let’s just hope it isn’t anything worse than that.
Eighty-nine seconds
Our columnist called it. He was, if anything, too generous about the length.
The fight, billed as “He’s Back,” took place as scheduled on August 19, 1995, and lasted 89 seconds. McNeeley charged out at the bell, as promised. Tyson slipped the wild punches and dropped him with a straight right inside the first ten seconds. McNeeley took referee Mills Lane’s standing eight count and kept coming. Less than 20 seconds after the first minute, a right uppercut put him down again. His manager, Vinnie Vecchione, climbed into the ring to stop the punishment, and Lane awarded Tyson the win by disqualification.
The money was enormous. The card grossed $96 million worldwide, including a then-record $63 million from 1.52 million American pay-per-view homes. TV Guide later put the fight on its 1998 list of the 50 greatest TV sports moments.
McNeeley got the purse and, more usefully, a name. He did TV commercials and speaking dates, and two months later, on October 27, 1995, he won the USBF heavyweight title in Boston with a second-round knockout of Mike Sams. He fought on until June 2001, when a first-round loss to Mike Bernardo in South Africa ended a ten-year career at 47-7 with 36 knockouts. He still lives in Massachusetts and works in the local boxing scene. His father, Tom McNeeley, had fought Floyd Patterson for the heavyweight title, so the family has now met two champions.
Tyson won the WBC belt back from Frank Bruno in March 1996, lost to Evander Holyfield that November, and was disqualified in the 1997 rematch for biting Holyfield’s ears. He boxed professionally for the last time in November 2024, losing a decision to Jake Paul in Texas at 58.
Questions readers ask
How long did the Tyson vs McNeeley fight last?
The Mike Tyson and Peter McNeeley fight on August 19, 1995, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas lasted 89 seconds. Tyson knocked McNeeley down twice in the first round, and after the second knockdown McNeeley’s manager Vinnie Vecchione entered the ring. Referee Mills Lane stopped the bout and awarded Tyson the win by disqualification. It was Tyson’s first fight after prison.
How much did Peter McNeeley get paid to fight Tyson?
Our August 1995 preview reported that promoters offered Peter McNeeley a purse of $750,000 to face Mike Tyson, an enormous sum for a fighter who had sometimes boxed for no purse at all. The event itself grossed about $96 million worldwide, including a then-record $63 million in pay-per-view sales from 1.52 million American homes.
What was Peter McNeeley's record?
Peter McNeeley was 36-1 when he met Mike Tyson in August 1995. He fought on until June 2001, winning the USBF heavyweight title in October 1995 and later losing to Brian Nielsen, Butterbean, Henry Akinwande and finally Mike Bernardo. He finished his ten-year professional career with a record of 47 wins and 7 losses, with 36 knockouts.
Who was Peter McNeeley's father?
Peter McNeeley’s father was Tom McNeeley, a heavyweight contender who challenged Floyd Patterson for the world heavyweight championship and later served eight years as Massachusetts boxing commissioner. Peter was born on October 6, 1968, in Medfield, Massachusetts, and his grandfather, also a boxer, had been a New England champion who fought on the 1928 Olympic team.
