I also hope and trust that Tyson will never return to the ring. As he continued to fight on, I was not kind to him because it has been clear for years that he was finished.

But it was hardly a crime or injustice for him to keep denying the obvious. He’s not the first fighter or athlete to hang on too long. Jack Dempsey did the same. So did Joe Louis and Archie Moore and Larry Holmes and Ali and Evander Holyfield and Riddick Bowe and too many others to list.

Unlike the others, Tyson at least had a reason to continue fighting that went beyond the inability to admit he has lost his skills. I think he knew he couldn’t win and didn’t want to win.  But he kept at it to pay those taxes.

If it weren’t for those tax bills, Tyson probably would have quit earlier and saved himself the embarrassment of staying on his stool rather than going back out against ferocious Kevin McBride.

Slide show: The Week in Sports Pictures   Oct. 3 - 9 Images from the baseball playoffs, NFL, college football, and more.

Afterward, he said the right thing: “I don’t have the stomach for this anymore. I most likely won’t fight anymore. I’m not going to disrespect the sport by losing to this caliber of fighters.”

He hasn’t done that often. Usually, he’s been more interested in finding the perfectly outrageous quote that would sell the most tickets than in worrying about the integrity of an activity that is too often more circus than sport.

His place is secure, not as one who had a great career, but as one who defined a generation and generated unending excitement and controversy. For a brief time, he was as fearsome a fighter as has ever existed. For a long time, he was a fighter whom few could ignore.

Let him go to Rwanda or wherever he wants to go and try that missionary work. Let him do something that’s easy for the world to ignore. He may or may not find the peace he’s never been able to attain. But he at least deserves to try.

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