Iron Mike Tyson has finally admitted he is too rusty to continue.

One of the most dramatic, entertaining and controversial sporting careers ever has drawn to a close. Sadly it didn’t end with a bang but a whimper.

The once lethal boxer decided to call it quits after losing to the unfancied Kevin McBride on Saturday in a fight that most believed was going to be a formality for the American.

But in a dramatic sixth round in which Tyson was first docked two points for head butting then left dazed on the floor by the Irishman, it was all over.

His trainer, Jeff Fenech, indicated Tyson was unable to continue. And that was that. End of story and end of a career that has seen the former street fighter win 50 bouts, 44 of them by knock-outs.

Speaking afterwards, Tyson admitted his heart was no longer in the sport.

“I was just fighting to pay the bills,” he said, “I’m not an animal anymore.”

Well, if he was just fighting to pay the bills his purse of nearly five million dollars should certainly help in that direction. Although McBride isn’t going to be that happy considering he only received $100,000 for his night’s work.

It will be interesting to see what Tyson does with himself now. Apart from the occasional television spot or guest appearance, there is not a lot of work around for retired heavyweights.

According to the big man himself, he is still “broke” so it’s not as if he can sit back and enjoy his retirement.

Personally I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him back in the ring in a year or two. At 38 he is certainly not past it in terms of boxing and maybe what he really needs is some time to rediscover the hunger that made him the most feared heavyweight champion of his generation.

Man Utd fans

Just a few short weeks ago Manchester United fans were insisting they would vote with their feet if Malcolm Glazer took control of their club.

Their master plan was to hit him where it hurts – in the pocket – by boycotting merchandise and staying away from matches.

Well, the plan seems to be crumbling. Not only are the fans no longer protesting at the take over, it seems they are giving Glazer the thumbs up.

The club has already sold more season tickets than last year and it looks like a record 42,500 will have been snapped up by the time the new season starts in August.

And that is despite an average price rise of around 10 per cent.

In a way it’s nice to see that the club’s fans have realised that loyalty to their team and their players is more important than trying to put a dent in the Ginger One’s pocket.

Maybe the whole Glazer situation won’t cause such a stir at Old Trafford after all.

World Cup predictions

Now to the best letter of the week, provoked by my World Cup predictions. It comes from Chris Galea, a true football (Southampton) fan who is enduring the barren summer.

“I was reading your article in the Malta Independent where you mentioned the forthcoming World Cup. I have to agree with you that although it’s still very early to make any predictions, it will help fill the soccer void experienced in summer. So here are my views on the subject.

“I think that Holland are looking like a strong contender. They have quality players, and Van Basten seems to have installed a team mentality which was previously lacking in Dutch teams.

“However I'm not convinced that Spain has what it takes to mount a serious challenge. Besides their history of underachieving, in my opinion they lack a good tactician. The fact that some major players like Raul and Morientes are still far for their best form doesn’t help either. So I’d place Spain in the same situation as England and Italy. They have a good roster of players, but they lack the X factor, besides a good tactician.

“One team I wouldn’t write off so early is Germany. They may have a very limited squad which is mostly comprised of promising rather than established players, but they seem to have been making some progress under Klinsman.

“Besides, even with a really bad team, Germany are still hard to beat, and given that they’ll be playing at home, I think they will perform. In addition to this, in my opinion Germany have the best penalty takers in the world and that is always an advantage in major competitions.

“Also I would never write off Argentina and Brazil. They have such a wealth of players, that I can never imagine them flunking. Even though it happened before and I would really like it to happen again.”

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