Mike Middleton is a former professional boxer who started his boxing career in 1995. He fought talented heavyweight boxers such as Cedric Boswell, Duncan Dokiwari and Owen Beck. However, the Floridian former boxer experienced tough moments in his lifetime. Bookmarkers such as sportsbook-duel.com provide nice odds for heavyweight boxing markets. Read on to learn more about the rise and fall of Mike Middleton.
His Contract to Fight Audley Harrison
Mike was selected as an inaugural victim for Audley Harrison in 2001. He revealed in a past interview that he hadn’t interacted with the Olympic gold medalist before. By then, Audley was in Vegas to battle Lennox Lewis-David Tua. The Briton was determined to assemble a technical team that would steer his career to greater heights. He rejected most of the promoters who approached him.
After a while, Audley heard about Mike and developed an interest to fight with him. Mike received the contract and signed it without reviewing it. However, drama started before the long-awaited fight of the two talented boxers. The contract has an erroneous clause which Mike discovered after he received another proposal.
Promoters of another professional boxer approached him for a fight in the U.S. Mike informed him that he was preparing to face Audley. The promoters wanted Mike to fight in America. They asked for his contract with Audley to check when he could be available. After Mike’s meeting with the promoters, they called and instructed him to travel to England since he had won a lotto.
Mike’s Television Rights Revenue
Mike was entitled to a portion of the television rights income generated. BBC exposure was supposed to air Audley’s debut. It would be the last episode of the popular Match of the Day. Audley had a huge terrestrial television audience. By then, Mike worked as a private detective. He didn’t understand his television rights revenue.
Upon arriving at England, Andy Ayling guided and hosted him. Mike met with Audley’s promoters at his London hotel. They requested the professional boxer to sign another contract. However, Mike directed them to his manager. He was supposed to earn $5,500 from his contract.
After a while, Audley’s promoter asked Mike to be his fight just before their fight. He experienced a lot of chaos in London which made him uncertain that the fight would take place. He attended many interviews with the BBC during which they requested their audience to watch Mike’s fight with Audley. However, Mike lost to Audley. He succumbed to his punches after three minutes.