[Crimson]

Saturday, December 15, 1995
Madison Square Garden; New York, NY
Mickey Rourke 11-1-3 (5) California
vs. (10 rounds for vacant New York State title)
Darren Zenner 17-2-2 (9) New York

- After an agreement could not be reached between the Rourke and Butterbean camps in regards to how many rounds the fight would be, Rourke opted for a challenge for the vacant New York State Light Heavy Weight title. Mickey qualified for the fight based on having been born in Schenectady, New York. >>
- Butterbean would also fight on the card and go on to be upset by Brooklyn’s Mitchell Rose 1-6, losing by TKO in 2 rounds.
- There were 16,027 fans on hand to witness professional boxing return to the Garden for a fight card being televised on HBO. The vast majority of the fans booed Rourke upon his introduction and cheered the unknown Darren Zenner. Now living in Port Chester, NY, the 24 year old Zenner was born and raised in Grand Prairie, Canada. Zenner reportedly had little regard for Rourke and made it clear that he would knock the Hollywood actor out in the first round. Unconfirmed rumors out of Port Chester were that Zenner’s training camp had been less than ideal and that he did not put in nearly the amount of time that his handlers would have liked. The vast majority of Zenner’s previous 21 fights had been in the 168 pound weight class and at the weigh-in he appeared to be much smaller than Mickey Rourke.
- In Zenner’s biggest fight to date, he’d been stopped inside of 2 rounds by Tony Thornton at Philadelphia’s famous “Blue Horizon”. His biggest win had been his last, when he beat Philadelphia’s Tyrone Frazier for the New York State Super Middle Weight title by split decision over 10 rounds.
- Also on the card was pairing between two Rourke nemesis’ Toby Tyler and Joe Harris, in an 8 rounder. Tyler won, knocking out Harris in round 4. He promptly demanded, to anyone who would listen, that Rourke meet him in a rubber match.
- Amazingly, Rourke was listed as a 2-1 favorite to defeat the world ranked Zenner!
- This was the eighth fight, since Rourke had postponed his initially planned retirement. For all 8 of those fights he had trained diligently as mandated by Freddie Roach. For this fight, the biggest of his career and the first one to be televised, Rourke broke that training routine. There were several media photos showing Rourke in the company of multiple lady friends well past a reasonable bedtime hour. There were reports of a few all night drinking episodes. Manager Matt Murphy confirmed the rumors, “I’m not sure why, but for whatever reason Mickey got into the whiskey and women before this fight. I believe this will be his last professional prize fight. Even should it not be, Freddie Roach has let it be known that he will no longer be working in Mickey’s corner after this fight because of all the late night escapades.” Surprisingly, Rourke still appeared to be in shape at the weigh in.

ROUND 1: Zenner came out for the first looking to follow up on his promise to knock out Rourke early. Zenner missed with his first 2 bombs and laughed at the retreating Rourke. Zenner then landed a laser right hand that hurt Rourke. Zenner then motioned for Rourke to come at him and fight. Zenner began to work over Rourke’s body as well as his head. A deliberate low blow from Rourke drew a stern warning from referee Joe Santarpia. Zenner indicated that he was fine and eager to continue, so the fighting resumed. A right hand off the top of Mickey’s head sent him reeling backwards. Rourke lay against the ropes badly hurt while Zenner proceeded to nail him with several more punches until the bell rang. At which point, Rourke landed his best punch of the fight. A right hand that Zenner smiled at and referee Santarpia warned Rourke for. (Zenner 32-12)


ROUND 2: Rourke came out for round 2 with a small egg beginning to form under his right eye. Looking better than he had in any of his previous 15 fights, Rourke made Zenner miss and then countered with nice hooks. Zenner and 16,000+ in attendance were surprised by the resiliency and skills of Rouke and didn’t seem to know exactly how to respond to it. (Zenner 32-24)


ROUND 3: Zenner became defensive in round 3 and Rouke did little more than pose and hold. After 3 rounds Ringside Expert Mark Elwood had Zenner pitching a shutout 30-27. (Zenner 14-0)


ROUND 4: The right eye of Rourke continued to swell (4). Zenner resumed his offensive attacks, but was met with several brutal body shots from Rourke. Zenner was getting the better of the exchanges, but Rourke was starting to win over the crowd with his gameness! In a career rarity for Rouke, boxing fans were genuinely cheering for him. Punches landed for the fight: Zenner 116 to 53 for Rourke. (Zenner 38-17

ROUND 5: Rourke continued to fight defensively with his mauling style. His right eye (8) was nearly ½ closed. Although visibly tired, Zenner continued to be the aggressor throwing and landing more punches. (Zenner 26-6).


ROUND 6: The fight was becoming exceedingly one sided and a referee stoppage more likely. Rourke was beginning to resemble a punching bag. He did little more than hold and grab, while absorbing punches to his head and body. Still the crowd was cheering for him out of respect for his ability to take a beating if nothing else. The scorecard of Ringside Expert Mark Elwood had Zenner in front 59-55. (Zenner 28-0)


ROUND 7: On the bright side for Rourke was that Zenner appeared to be dead tired, he had never expected Rourke to last past round 1, let alone make it to round 7! For his part Rourke looked fresh and was off his stool early to start the round. Rourke came out throwing haymakers, but Zenner easily avoided them and countered with hard shots of his own that did land. A 3 punch combo by Rourke momentarily brought the crowd to their feet, but he was unable to sustain the attack. (Zenner 40-12)


ROUND 8: Rourke’s right eye was closing fast (14). Undiscouraged by his lack of success in the previous 7 rounds, Rourke came out once again looking to land a “Hail Mary” right hand. It was the shorter and straighter right hand of Zenner that landed first and put Rourke on his back. With the crowd urging him to get up Rourke rose on very unsteady legs at the count of 8. Showing plenty of heart, Rourke made it until the bell rang ending the round. (Zenner 18-6)

ROUND 9: Before the fight Mickey Rourke had promised that he would go for the win and that is exactly what he continued to do, letting it all hang out in round 9. The right eye of Rourke was causing him problems seeing. Most of the Rourke punches were missing, but the crowd appreciated his effort and cheered him nonetheless, respectful of the beating he was taking. (Zenner 24-6)

ROUND 10: Rourke and Zenner took turns unloading on one another and the Canadian had some newfound respect for the actor when the bell rang signaling the end of the fight. (Zenner 27-18)


The total punches landed for the fight were Zenner 279 to 101 for Rourke. Ringside Expert Mark Elwood had it 99-90 for Zenner. The right eye of Rourke was badly damaged (13).


The official judges had a unanimous decision 97-94, 99-90, and 99-90 for Zenner. Rourke greeted the decision with a smile and congratulated Zenner. Both fighters received a nice round of applause from the crowd. Rourke didn’t talk to the media after the fight, but his manager Matt Murphy confirmed, “I think this was it. There is no point in going on further. Mickey accomplished his goals and earned the respect of boxing fans. If you can get cheered at the Garden then you have made it!”
Darren Zenner Wu10 Mickey Rourke (wins NY State title)