It's over for one of the most notorious fighters of our era. I have heard it said the saga continues but this saga is over. We have seen many chapters of this book; it has been one hell of a ride, the ups the downs, the highs and the lows. This was the American Dream; a kid from the ghetto in Brooklyn, New York, who captivated the entire world with his amazing propensity to destroy any man willing to step in the ring with him. Each chapter was so profound and sometimes so downright confusing.  

When we first open this book, it was the era of a new beginning, a dynamic destructive fighting machine. At the time, it seemed he would soon become Champion of the World, and remain there until he decided he was ready to let someone else parade around with his crown or he decided to walk away from the game. He lived up to all the expectations and then some, as he went on to become the youngest Heavyweight Champion in the history of boxing, destroying opponent after opponent; not just beating them, but destroying them in a manner that was almost cruel.  

Just when everything seemed to be perfect, this young Champion's world would come crumbling down around him. When one of his closest and dearest friends and manager died, the spiral began a downward spin. The young champion had found love and this would open a completely new chapter in this chaotic tale of lust, deception, abuse and outright trickery. The world felt sorry for the confused young Champion, who many felt was being taken on a ride by a woman with a better upbringing, a woman who was more prepared to deal with the fame and fortune, a  woman many felt would be able to exploit a weakness that no one could find in the ring. The young Champion was made to look as though he was a monster, not only in the ring, but as a husband as well.

Just when everyone pointed the finger at the wife, the unthinkable happened. The most feared man in all of boxing was kayoed, without a punch ever being thrown, by a young woman who weighed no more than 125 lbs. Months later he was found guilty of a rape charge. He would lose three years of his boxing career. True fight fans missed him dearly; and waited with sheer enthusiasm his return to the ring. When he came back, his fans embraced him with open arms.  

His first comeback fight was so highly anticipated, many wanted to see if the young champion had lost anything or was he the same guy that once ruled the Heavyweight Division. It didn't take long for everyone to jump back on the wagon even if his comeback fight was against a journeyman, Peter Mc Nelly; we all bought into the hype.

To be honest, the young champion we once knew may have lost something while he did time away from the ring. It would take an unheralded but gifted heavyweight named Buster Douglas to open the eyes of the boxing world. Douglas traveled to Japan, where he not only defeated the young champion we thought was no mere mortal, but he knocked him out. It was like one of those stories of how the bully beats on the little guys until someone who isn't afraid stands up to him and fights back. In the process, he not only beat the champion but also let everyone who watched the fight feel as though they too had a chance against this once feared young bully.  

Many others wanted to try the former champion now; in fact, the line began to grow. There was Evander Holyfield, who put himself in line to further expose what was no longer a secret;  that the young champion wasn't unbeatable, as a matter of fact the once feared young man’s will and desire was about to be tested again.  

This time around, we would see a completely different side of the young champion. That he would try to win by any means necessary, to the extent of even biting his opponent, but once again, he failed to win. It became evident that this young champion was not the beast we once thought he was, but more or less a front-runner. Once the pressure of an apparent defeat was upon him, he would result to any dirty tactic to find a way out of the fight, one way, or another. The once  most feared man on the planet was on his way to becoming more a sideshow than a fighter.  

The boxing public still couldn't get enough of him, although they no longer tuned in to watch the destruction of his opponents but his own self destruction. We watched him go from being the youngest Heavyweight Champion of the World,  one of the highest paid fighters in the history of the sport, to an old man who can no longer fight and no longer has the will or the desire to compete seriously beyond three rounds.  

There certainly would be more setbacks on this journey that has more ups and down than a roller coaster ride. There would be a second loss to Holyfield then to Lennox Lewis; both are acceptable. Then along comes Danny Williams someone that even the most avid fight fan had never heard of, and he too would shock the world by stopping the former young champion in less than two rounds.  

We all witnessed it with our own eyes, but we were able to sympathize with the former champion because he appeared on his way to victory and suddenly his knee went out. We all forgave him and said he deserves another chance. What happened Saturday night in Washington D.C. was extremely sad. The former young champion just gave up once he saw he couldn't win. He tried really hard, but, when what he dished out came back to him, he folded and packed it in for the night. There are so many more chapters to be written in this man’s life story, but it's time to close the book on his boxing career. The END.