Mike Tyson caused havoc during his final career fight with Kevin McBride.

The heavyweight legend is considered one of the greatest to have ever graced the boxing ring, and also ended his career as a huge fan-favourite having entertained with his ferocious and aggressive style.

His final fight came in 2005 when he took on Irish journeyman McBride who had the opportunity of a lifetime against blue-riband royalty.

It was an eventful showdown, which saw a real scrappy affair unfold in Washington DC, but McBride knew he had a chance against the ageing star.

Tyson was ahead on the judges scorecards after six rounds, but he remarkably decided he had taken enough punishment and did not come back out for the second round.

The referee called a stoppage and McBride celebrated as he knew he had a sensational win on his resume, but it certainly had not been all straight forward.

19 years on McBride has spoken about the challenges of facing Tyson, including his antics which could have seen him disqualified.

He recalled: “When Tyson hit me I swear I saw Leprechaun’s playing drums in my head, so I got hold of him in a headlock and whispered to him, ‘Is that all you got?’ and he went crazy.

“He bit my nipple so hard, it was the most excruciating pain that I ever felt in my life, as he pulled away his mouthpiece fell out and thought, ‘Thank god he had his mouthpiece in.’

“If he didn’t have that mouthpiece in, I’d be forever known as the Irish heavyweight with one nipple.

“If you watch the fight back in slow motion you can see him biting my nipple.”

Footage didn’t emerge exactly of the incident, but it was certainly a real scrap and war of attrition between the two huge units.

Tyson had history of using aggressive and violent tactics to intimidate his opponents, pushing the boundaries of the rules.

It includes when he was disqualified from his rematch with Evander Holyfield, after biting off a portion of his bitter rival’s ear.

He had his boxing license revoked and was handed a mega fine, but it was an incident that put into the minds of future opponents.

McBride inflicted a sad ending on Tyson’s epic career which had seen him touch gloves with some of the best fighters in history including Lennox Lewis and Larry Holmes.

The Irishman now works as a tree surgeon and it is a far cry from the high life that he lived during his days in the boxing ring.

He retired in 2011 after fighting eight more times following his win over Tyson, but never reached the pinnacle of the division.

In his prime years, Tyson reigned as an undisputed champion and he famously broke the record as the youngest heavyweight king aged 20 after beating Trevor Berbick in 1986.

Despite succumbing to a sad ending in his final outings, Tyson will return in an astonishing competitive bout this year against Jake Paul.

‘Iron Mike’ previously returned in an exhibition with Roy Jones Jr in 2020, where he displayed his trademark power in spells.

But his physical conditioning was even a far cry 19 years ago during the defeat, so is a widespread concern for the boxing world as he prepares to return.

McBride believes the competitive spirit never leaves Tyson and expects his former opponent to somehow prevail at all costs.

He said: “When you’re a fighter like Tyson I can tell you he’s going in there to win and to take care of business.

“He does not want to look back and think he let Jake Paul off the hook.

“He’s going in there to win and Paul will need to be on his best form to survive.

“I can tell from the media that Tyson has done so far that he wants to win, it’s in his blood, the competition will never leave him.”

“Paul is maybe half the age of Tyson but Tyson is so dangerous.

“Power is the last thing you lose. You can see it on the videos he’s posting, it may only be a short video, but it’s unbelievable power.

“All Mike Tyson has to do is connect and Jake Paul will be seeing Christmas lights for the next week.”