Mike Tyson’s former trainer Jeff Fenech flew home days before his clash with Clifford Etienne after ‘Iron Mike’ got a tattoo on his face.
Following a crushing defeat at the hands of Lennox Lewis in June 2002, Tyson was booked in to face Etienne eight months later.
Etienne was a big-punching prospect with a decent 24-1-1 record at the time but was chosen as Tyson’s comeback opponent due to his perceived lack of durability.
Although Etienne had only been stopped once up to this point – an eighth-round TKO loss to Fres Oquendo in 2001 – he had tasted the canvas 10 times, and Tyson’s handlers felt he wouldn’t be able to stand up to ‘Iron Mike’s’ destructive power.
This ultimately proved to be true, with Tyson blasting out Etienne in 49 seconds of the first round.
Just three days before the fight, Tyson got a Maori symbol inked on his face.
He originally wanted a bunch of hearts but his tattoo artist convinced him otherwise.
Getting a tattoo as close as he did to the fight is ill-advised due to the risk of infection and after speaking with Tyson, Fenech assumed the contest was off.
“This guy’s just got this crazy tattoo on his face,” Fenech recalled to the Daily Mirror.
“I was like, ‘How’s he going to fight with this fresh tattoo on his face?’
“And he told me he didn’t want to fight so I jumped on a plane and went home [to Australia].”
That same day the fight was cancelled with Tyson revealing in a statement that he had been bedridden with flu.
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But a change of heart led to the clash going ahead as planned, with Freddie Roach stepping in for Fenech.
“Three days later, he weighs in and fights,” Fenech added.
“Apparently [there was] pressure from [broadcasters] Showtime and the promoters.
“He jumped in the ring, which was a huge risk, but God was on his side and he knocked Clifford Etienne out inside a round. That was great…
“I trained him for the whole fight but missed out on enjoying the win with him.
“I don’t regret that at all because when he got that tattoo on his face, that was a sign to me. You don’t get a tattoo on your face three days before a fight.”
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