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Liberation

Date	September 7, 1996
Venue	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada
Title(s) on the line	WBA heavyweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer Bruce Seldon Mike Tyson Nickname "The Atlantic City Express" "Iron" Hometown Atlantic City, New Jersey Catskill, New York Purse $5,000,000 $15,000,000 Pre-fight record 33–3 (29 KO) 44–1 (38 KO) Age 29 years, 7 months 30 years, 2 months Height 6 ft 1+1⁄4 in (186 cm) 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) Weight 229 lb (104 kg) 219 lb (99 kg) Style Orthodox Orthodox Recognition WBA Heavyweight Champion WBC Heavyweight Champion
Result
Tyson wins via 1st-round KO

Bruce Seldon vs. Mike Tyson, billed as Liberation, was a professional boxing match fought on September 7, 1996 for the WBA heavyweight championship.

The fight was part of a pay-per-view event produced by Don King Productions and carried on pay-per-view by Showtime.

The fight is notable in the fact that in attendance was rapper and actor Tupac Shakur, who would be fatally shot just hours after the fight, following an altercation with Crips member Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson at the casino. Shakur died six days later on September 13 from ballistic trauma.

Background

After George Foreman was stripped of his WBA Heavyweight title for refusing to fight number one contender Tony Tucker, the WBA organized a fight between Tucker and little–known Bruce Seldon to determine who would become WBA Heavyweight champion. Seldon was able to defeat the aging Tucker by referee technical decision after the fight was stopped in the seventh round due to Tucker's eye being completely swollen shut. He would then successfully defend the title against Joe Hipp, who became the first Native American to challenge for a major heavyweight title, on the undercard of the Tyson–McNeeley fight on September 7, 1995.

Since being released from prison, Mike Tyson had won all three of his fights in dominating fashion, easily defeating obscure fighters Peter McNeeley and Buster Mathis, Jr. before capturing the WBC Heavyweight title by defeating Frank Bruno via 3rd-round knockout. However, Tyson would now have to deal with the WBC's number one contender, Lennox Lewis, who was guaranteed a title match against the winner of the Tyson–Bruno fight. Rather than face Lewis, Tyson paid Lewis $4 million in order to step aside and allow Tyson to face Seldon for the WBA Heavyweight title. Seldon was a 22-1 underdog going in to the bout.

The fights

Undercard

The first of the televised bout saw Christy Martin score a 4th round knockout over Melinda Robinson with a overhand right to the chin.

Trinidad vs. Lovato

In the first of three world title bouts on the card, IBF welterweight champion Félix Trinidad faced IBF No. 9 ranked contender Ray Lovato.

The fight

Trinidad would start the bout slowly, measuring the elusive Lovato before rocking him in the fifth with a right hand. In the sixth, the champion caught Lovato with a sharp left-right combination near the ropes sending him staggered against the ropes, prompting referee Mitch Halpern to step in and wave off the bout.

At the time of the stoppage, two judges had Trinidad ahead 49–46 with the another having him 48–47.

Aftermath

Lovato would criticize the stoppage saying "I thought it was stopped too soon. I thought I was winning."

Norris vs. Rios

The next world title bout saw unified 154 lb champion Terry Norris face WBC No. 9 ranked contender Alex Rios.

The fight

Norris dropped Rios in the fourth and in the fifth round when a overhand right sent Rios in his own corner, with Norris winging away with combinations prompting referee Mills Lane to wave it off.

Main Event

Tyson easily defeated Seldon by 1st-round knockout in one of the shortest Heavyweight championship fights in boxing history, lasting just 1:49. Tyson was the aggressor from the opening bell. Seldon attempted to weather Tyson’s storm by attempting to connect his powerful left jab, but Tyson was able to dodge Seldon’s attempts. At around 1:12 of the fight, Seldon was knocked down by a left hook thrown by Tyson, immediately followed by a straight right that only grazed Seldon. Seldon answered the referee’s count at 8 and continued the fight only to almost immediately get knocked down again by another left hook. Seldon got back on his feet but was unable to maintain his balance, causing referee Richard Steele to stop the fight and award Tyson the victory by technical knockout.

"Fix" controversy

Almost immediately after the fight, the audience began chanting "Fix!", having thought Seldon took a dive in order for Tyson to win the championship and move on to face Evander Holyfield. The crowd would continue to serenade Seldon with chants of "Fix!" as he remained in the ring for an interview with Jim Gray. Gray would openly ask Seldon if he did in fact take a dive, but Seldon professed his innocence, stating "I didn't train 12 weeks to come in here and take a dive."

Aftermath

After his embarrassing loss, Seldon would retire from boxing, eventually staging a comeback in 2004 at the age of 37. Meanwhile, Tyson would officially vacate his WBC title and proceed with his much anticipated match with Holyfield for the WBA Heavyweight championship. Though Tyson was 6–1 favorite, Holyfield had then scored a stunning upset victory by defeating Tyson via 11th-round technical knockout. Tyson would subsequently lose the rematch by disqualification in 1997 as well as his next Heavyweight title match in 2002 against Lennox Lewis. As such, the Seldon match would be Tyson's final heavyweight championship victory.

The vacant WBC belt was contested in February 1997, with Lennox Lewis defeating Oliver McCall.

Rapper Tupac Shakur was attending the fight that night, and was fatally shot after the fight in a drive-by shooting. He died six days later on September 13, 1996 at 4:03 pm.

Undercard

Confirmed bouts:

Winner	Loser	Weight division/title belt(s) disputed	Result
Terry Norris	Alex Rios	WBC and IBF Light Middleweight title	5th round TKO.
Félix Trinidad	Ray Lovato	IBF World Welterweight title	6th round TKO.
Christy Martin	Melinda Robinson	Welterweight (8 rounds)	4th round KO.
Non-TV bouts
Carl Daniels	Roland Rangel	Middleweight (10 rounds)	4th round RTD
Yuichi Kasai	Julio Cesar Cardona	Super bantamweight (10 rounds)	Unanimous decision
Andy Agosto	Raul Rios	Super flyweight (10 rounds)	Unanimous decision
Gary Ballard	Abdullah Ramadan	Super middleweight (6 rounds)	Unanimous decision
Rodney Jones	Stephan Johnson	Light Middleweight (4 rounds)	Unanimous decision
Donald Stokes	Mark Fernandez	Light Middleweight (4 rounds)	Unanimous decision

Broadcasting

Country	Broadcaster
United States	Showtime
Thailand	Channel 3

References

1. "Bruce Seldon vs. Mike Tyson". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
2. In Tyson's Enormous Shadow, Seldon and Hipp Meet For Title, Philadelphia Inquirer article, 1995-08-18, Retrieved on 2014-02-24.
3. Tyson Likely To Vacate WBC Crown Rather Than Fight Lewis, Associated Press article, 1996-05-17, Retrieved on 2013-04-23.
4. Dean Juipe (6 September 1996). "Tyson 'surviving'". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
5. ^ Tim Kawakami (8 September 1996). "Norris and Trinidad Win Easily". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
6. "Felix Trinidad vs. Ray Lovato". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
7. "TRINIDAD LEVELS LOVATO IN SIXTH". New York Daily News. 8 September 1996. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
8. "Terry Norris vs. Alex Rios". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
9. Dean Juipe (4 September 1996). "Night of the dogs". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
10. Was Fight a Fix? No. Just Seldon's Glass Jaw, N.Y. Times article, 1996-09-08, Retrieved on 2013-04-24.
11. Star Rapper Tupac Shakur Badly Wounded, LA Times article, 1996-09-09, Retrieved on 2014-02-24.
12. "BoxRec - event".

• 1996 in boxing
• 1996 in sports in Nevada
• September 1996 sports events in the United States
• World Boxing Association heavyweight championship matches
• Boxing matches at MGM Grand Garden Arena
• Boxing matches involving Mike Tyson
• Boxing matches refereed by Richard Steele
• Boxing on Showtime
• Pay-per-view boxing matches
• Tupac Shakur