Marrying a wife?

It appears that Mike Tyson knocked some sense into Danny Williams’ head during their brawl in Louisville last Friday (Saturday morning, Manila).

Williams, who was wobbled and nearly crumpled to the canvas on rubbery legs in the first round, proposed marriage to someone he called his wife in the ring on TV after stopping Iron Mike at 2:51 of the fourth stanza.

Now, wait a minute. How can Williams call Zoe Browne his wife when they’re not married? They’ve lived together for years now but not as husband and wife. They’ve got two daughters, four-year-old Nubia and eight-week-old Maliha. For some, having children is beside the point in making a marriage. For others, having children is precisely the point of making a marriage.

Tyson is certainly not a good example of a family man. He went through the wringer and was left out to dry by two wives in nasty divorce proceedings. First wife Robin Givens and second wife Dr. Monica Turner, a pediatrician, took out $10 Million apiece from Tyson’s dwindling bank account to compensate for their misery. Dr. Turner specializes in taking care of kids and there’s no bigger kid than Tyson.

Tyson, 38, has four children of record. It’s possible he has more and only a DNA analyst will know for sure. His first child is 14-year-old Mickey whose mother Kimberly’s claim for support was not disputed by Tyson. He has two children, 7-year-old Rayna and 6-year-old Amir, with Dr. Turner. She has custody of both children as ordered by a divorce court. It’s not clear who’s the mother of Tyson’s fourth child, 1-year-old Miguel.

One hopeful mother named Tyson as the father of her child. A DNA test, however, proved her wrong. Tyson clearly had relations with the woman but so did at least one other.

At the moment, Tyson isn’t married but there are lots of gold diggers waiting in line for the chance to knock him out like Givens, Dr. Turner and Williams.

Tyson is a lot like Rolando Navarrete or is it the other way around? Navarrete has lived in with at least four different women. He has at least two children. There are loose marbles in his head like Tyson who’s no doubt a schizophrenic. Both have been known to beat up their female home companions in fits of rage then ask forgiveness like sheep in the next instant.

Williams, 31, had nothing to lose and everything to gain in fighting Tyson. His purse of $250,000 was peanuts compared to Tyson’s take of $8 Million. But it was a chance of a lifetime to beat a legend and there was absolutely no pressure on Williams to win.

"No one expects anything of me and that’s the beauty of it," said Williams, a 9-1 underdog who was raised in the dark side of London. "He hasn’t got that hunger anymore and I don’t think he wants to box anymore. His heart isn’t in it. He’s just doing it to pay the bills."Unlike Tyson, Williams cares for his family. He left Zoe and their two kids in London to train over a month for Tyson in New York.

"Homesickness really started to hurt," said Williams. "I’ve been suffering, really really suffering—that’s why I haven’t spoken to them. I text them and get texts back letting me know they’re OK but I don’t really want to talk to them because that’s when my heart goes back to London. Zoe’s excited. She feels I’ve been underachieving and that I can do the job on Tyson. I had to get away from my family to focus. It’s something I really needed to do. It gives me more motivation being out in New York because I know I’m doing it for my family. I’m doing it for Zoe and my two daughters."

Zoe was at ringside when Williams flattened Tyson and she was in the ring beside him when he proposed. In case you don’t already know, Zoe said yes.

As for Tyson, his future is hazy. He tore ligaments in his knee in the first round and it hampered his mobility. When Williams began to find the range, Tyson was a standing target and had lost his ability to slip away.

Tyson could’ve knocked out Williams in the first round but appeared to pull back. Maybe, it was trainer Freddie Roach’s instructions to get more rounds in for a workout, considering he came off a 17-month layoff. Or maybe, he’s lost his killer’s instinct.

I think Tyson will be back. A rematch with Williams in London would be a box office hit. Tyson will insist the knee injury led to his defeat, raising doubts on the credibility of Williams’ win.

There are too many debts still haunting Tyson who doesn’t know any other way to make a living than to box in the ring.