O Say Can You - Splat! National Anthem Lasts Longer Than Mcneeley, Whose Corner Halts Bout Against Tyson After Just 89 Seconds

Before Mike Tyson had a chance to come back, Peter McNeeley left.

In his celebrated return to boxing, the former heavyweight champion barely had a chance to unlimber Saturday night before McNeeley crumbled to the canvas twice and his manager, Vinnie Vecchione, jumped into the ring and personally stopped the fight after just 89 seconds.

It was over that fast, not even lasting as long as the national anthem. The official term was a one-round disqualification.

Fans who paid as much as $1,500 a seat at the MGM Grand and $50 for a pay-per-view telecast at home had a different word for it.

Put it this way: Even promoter Don King seemed embarrassed by the outcome.

“This was my decision; I had to make the call,” said Vecchione, who obviously has a deep affection for his fighter. “I thought this is a young fighter who is 26 years old and he will have a championship fight in the future.”

But for a potential $800,000, not many thought McNeeley gave the public his money’s worth. And the Nevada athletic commission is withholding Vecchione’s share, nearly $180,000, pending a review.

Appearing for the first time since his release from a three-year prison term for rape, Tyson didn’t appear to deliver many damaging punches, although something - a part punch, part shove - put McNeeley down after only 8 seconds. Less than a minute later, Iron Mike landed the one and only serious blow of the night, an old-time Tyson right uppercut, and that was it.

McNeeley, who went down for the second time, bounced back up and seemed ready to continue, but Vecchione bolted into the ring and single-handedly put an end to it.

“It was just a matter of time before I knocked him out,” Tyson said. “Eventually, he would have got hurt. As you know, I’m a blood man. I would have liked to finish it.”

Give McNeeley this much: He did not appear afraid. He came racing out at the sound of the bell and tried his best to beat Tyson to the punch. Even the former champ appeared surprised and, for a few seconds, needed to tie up the 26-year-old Boston heavyweight and get his bearings.

But as soon as any semblance of real fighting started, there was little doubt which man had more power and skill. McNeeley might have lasted through the first round, but it is doubtful he would have made it any longer.

“I’m very satisfied with my performance,” McNeeley said. “I rocked him a couple of times. And I was definitely ready to continue. What was it, two knockdowns? I think I was hit harder by my sparring partner. But you can’t cry now. It’s all over. You can’t do anything about it.”

Was he angry at Vecchione? “No. I love this guy. He’s like a father to me.”

Most of the sellout, celebrityfilled crowd booed and complained afterward. When they weren’t shouting expletives, they were yelling things like “fraud” and “farce.”

Tyson-McNeeley undercard

Bruce Seldon, the WBA heavyweight champion, stopped a pathetically slow, obese Joe Hipp in the 10th round to retain his title.

Seldon, who could face Tyson early next year, jabbed a little, threw a right or two when he was in the mood - enough to win - but mostly he ran around the ring showing off his fancy footwork.

In the kind of decision that leads fans to wonder whether boxing is fixed, WBC lightweight champion Miguel Angel Gonzalez was awarded a victory over Lamar Murphy.

Murphy (18-1, 13 KOs) appeared to outclass the champion with his quickness. Throughout the fight he landed dizzying flurries that left Gonzalez (38-0, 29 KOs) looking helpless. On top of that, Gonzalez lost two points for hitting below the belt.

The judges interpreted this as a majority decision for the Mexican. Judge Omar Minton, somehow had it 117-109 for the champion.

In the final installment of one of boxing’s strangest series, Terry Norris disposed of Luis Santana at 2:09 of the second round to recapture the WBC super welterweight title he had lost to Santana.

In that fight, their first of three, then-champ Norris (39-6, 23 KOs) was beating Santana when he was disqualified for punching the lightly regarded challenger behind the head. And, in April, Norris again was on the verge of victory when he punched Santana after the bell and was disqualified.