Tyson Finishes Off Ribalta in 10th Round : Unbeaten Heavyweight Floors Foe Three Times; Fight Stopped

Undefeated Mike Tyson knocked down Jose Ribalta three times before finally stopping him at 1:37 in the final round of a scheduled 10-round heavyweight fight Sunday night.

Tyson, ranked No. 1 by the World Boxing Assn. and No. 2 by the World Boxing Council, improved his record to 26-0 with 24 knockouts when referee Rudy Battle stopped the fight, which was held at Trump Plaza.

Tyson, of Catskill, N.Y., floored Ribalta, of Miami, with a right uppercut in the second round and a straight right to the head in the eighth that drove Ribalta through the ropes.

Early in the 10th round, Tyson dropped Ribalta with a combination of a straight right and a left hook. After Ribalta rose to beat the count, Tyson unleashed a flurry of body punches that prompted Battle to stop the contest.

Ribalta fell to 23-4-1 with 16 knockouts.

Tyson, 20, was heavily favored over the 23-year-old Cuban-born Ribalta, whose record includes a loss to Marvis Frazier in a 10-round decision last September.

Frazier, the son of former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier, faced Tyson on July 26 and was knocked out in 30 seconds following two stunning uppercuts.

Ribalta said in a recent interview that he lost to Frazier because he was preoccupied with personal problems, including the death of his father. He also said that Tyson is overrated.

“He’s just a strong fighter. I don’t think he’s a smart fighter. He just relies on strength,” said Ribalta, ranked eighth by the WBA.

The 6-foot-6 Ribalta had a substantial reach advantage over the 5-11 Tyson. Both fighters who had gone the distance with Tyson--James Tillis and Mitch Green--were about as tall as Ribalta.

Tyson knocked out 15 opponents in the first round, including 3 of his last 4.

“I want to be like no other champion ever, and make people forget about Joe Louis and forget about Muhammad Ali, which is going to be very difficult to do,” Tyson said in a recent interview.

The victory over Ribalta might have paved the way for Tyson to fight either WBA champion Trevor Berbick or Larry Holmes, the former International Boxing Federation champion.

Holmes lost his crown to Michael Spinks, then lost again in a rematch for that title April 19.