30 years on: how Mike Tyson’s comeback after prison set the tone for pay-per-view

One of the great mismatches ended in controversy after just 89 seconds but did show what people will pay to see

MISMATCH: Iron Mike Tyson, just released from prison, goes to work on rank outsider Peter McNeeley in their August 1995 pay per view comeback fight at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas. Tyson won by knockout 92 seconds into the first round. Pic: John Gurzinski, Getty.

In Las Vegas, 30 years ago, prisoner 922335, not long released from the Indiana Youth Centre, boxed an unknown club fighter in a bout that shattered pay-per-view records. Mike Tyson v Peter McNeeley may be, in a competitive field, the most audaciously staged mismatch in boxing history. Its global success, despite only 89 seconds of action and a farcical ending, set the tone for the sport’s development in the modern era.

Promoted simply as “He’s Back”, the contest was Tyson’s return after a three-year imprisonment for rape, but the former undisputed heavyweight champion’s popularity seemed to have increased. Among those ringside at a sold-out MGM Grand sat Madonna, Nicolas Cage, Jerry Seinfeld, Denzel Washington, Jim Carrey, Pamela Anderson, Eddie Murphy and an alarmingly human-coloured Donald Trump. All in attendance to see something akin to a ritual sacrifice.