MANCHESTER, (ENGLAND), JANUARY 30: Mike Tyson demolished Julius Francis in a heavyweight mismatch on Saturday, ending weeks of hype by flooring him five times in just over four minutes. Referee Roy Francis stopped Tyson's first fight in Europe after one minute and three seconds of the second round.Tyson entered the Manchester arena flanked by bodyguards to the sound of an air raid siren. His black cape carried the words ``be real''.Francis, who had been escorted in by the British Army, forgot to take cover as reality hit.The Briton, a 100-1 outsider, managed to get a few shots in but was mostly reduced to hugging and pushing Tyson on the ropes.Tyson threw the first blow and had Francis on the canvas with some 30 seconds remaining of the first round. His first count of nine, after an uppercut to the body, was followed by another seven count on the bell.Two more counts of eight followed in quick succession at the start of the second round and the 21,000 crowd including soccer star David Beckham andSpice Girl wife Victoria began to make plans for the rest of the evening.``I was surprised he kept getting up. I hit him with some good body shots,'' said Tyson. ``I knew he (Francis) would show a lot of heart in his hometown,'' he declared. ``I wanted to come in and bang the body. I think I have a long way to go before I fight for the title but I'm still trying.'' Tyson's record is now 47 wins, three defeats.Julius had milked the moments before the hour of reckoning for all they were worth, jogging out onto the pitch at Old Trafford during Manchester United's home game against Middlesbrough to take the applause of the crowd.He was warmly welcomed on his entry to the arena a few hours later but the ripple of soccer crowd-style cheers of ``England, England, England'' soon turned to boos.``He's very powerful. What surprised me was the short punches inside,'' said Francis. ``All those punches hurt me. I went in thinking I had it right to fight Tyson but you don't always get it right. Few boxers willstand up to Mike Tyson,'' said the 35-year-old after his eighth career defeat.Tyson admitted after the fight that his brief performance could not be compared to those of his youth, when he became the youngest World heavyweight champion in history. ``I've got a way to go,'' said the American, who was fighting at his heaviest weight ever and looked slower.``(Lennox) Lewis is the champion of the world and I have a few fights before I am ready to fight him.'' Tyson's manager Shelly Finkel suggested he was three fights away from an encounter with Lewis.ALI WALKS AWAY: Muhammad Ali, watching a specially arranged showing for Super Bowl media in Atlanta, had seen enough after Francis hit the canvas for the second time.``That's it, Tyson has it. Let's go,'' the former champion said, standing up and leading his entourage out. Ali slipped on the icy sidewalk outside but was caught by a bodyguard.
