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Tyson, Williams weigh in for bout

July 30, 2004 11:02 IST

Mike Tyson weighed in at 233 pounds (106kgs) on Thursday the day before he returns to the ring after a 17-month layoff against Britain's Danny Williams.

Wearing a white t-shirt and black shorts and accompanied by his son, Tyson appeared calm and unemotional during the brief fight tradition, doing a short television interview and signing autographs before being escorted away.

Danny WilliamsWilliams, who was barely noticed after he stepped on the scales first, weighed in at 265 pounds (120kgs).

A crowd of several hundred fans, in addition to a large media contingent, attended the official weigh in.

The crowd gave Williams a polite cheer while Tyson received loud applause, along with chants of "We love you Mike" and "Thanks for coming Mike" as he slowly made his way off the stage at Freedom Hall, the site of Friday's heavyweight bout.

The rest of the fighters on Friday's card weighed in about 90 minutes before Tyson and Williams, including Laila Ali, who will defend her IWBF Super Middleweight title against Monica Nunez of the Dominican Republic.

Ali, the second youngest of Muhammad Ali's nine children, weighed in at 167 pounds.

"It's nice to be here, in my Dad's hometown, that makes it special. But I just have to stay focused on this fight," she said.

It was an embarrassing weigh in for a few seconds for junior flyweight Nelson Dieppa of Puerto Rico, who meets Mexico's Ulises Archie Solis.

Dieppa stepped on the scales wearing just a pair of briefs but came in at 108 1/4 pounds, slightly over the limit.

He was told he had two hours to make the weight, according to Kentucky State Athletic Association rules.

He decided to step out of the briefs and with officials holding a towel in front of him, made the weight of 108 pounds on his second attempt.

The officials holding the towel moved away after his weight was confirmed, however, leaving him to scramble after his briefs before the towel was again lifted to cover him.

Roger Lajoie
Source: REUTERS
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