WBA heavyweight champion

In 1995, world heavyweight champion George Foreman was stripped of the WBA title for declining to defend it against Tony Tucker. As Seldon was the second-ranked contender, a fight between him and Tucker was arranged for the vacant belt on April 8, 1995 in Las Vegas. Seldon, the underdog, used his jab to great effect and swelled Tucker's eye shut, to the point where the fight was stopped by the ringside doctor after seven rounds.^[1]

On August 18, 1995, Seldon fought on the undercard of the Mike Tyson-Peter McNeeley fight that marked Tyson's return to boxing. In the first defense of his title, Seldon again used his jab to control Joe Hipp and stop him in the tenth round.^[2]

Seldon vs Tyson

Seldon's next defense was scheduled against Tyson, who in early 1996 won the WBC title for a second time by knocking out Frank Bruno. The bout was originally to be a title unification fight, with both Seldon's WBA belt and Tyson's WBC belt at stake. However, the WBC mandated that Tyson defend his belt against former champion Lennox Lewis first. Since the fight with Seldon was already signed, Tyson vacated his belt and only Seldon's was on the line when the two fought on September 7, 1996.

The fight was marred by controversy as Seldon lost by knockout in the first round. His performance in the fight was vastly criticized, as he was knocked down twice on what appeared to be light or "phantom" punches from Tyson. Rumors started that Seldon had been paid to take a dive against Tyson, with the fans chanting "fix" following the decision. Although Seldon claimed in a post fight interview with Jim Gray that he did not take a dive, the criticism of his performance (including accusations that he took a dive) did not stop and Seldon elected to retire following the fight. Rapper Tupac Shakur attended the fight and was shot on the journey home, leading to his death six days later.

Legal problems after first retirement

The Independent reported on the 23rd May 1998 "Seldon is currently on $50,000 bail in Camden, New Jersey, awaiting sentence after pleading guilty to supplying a 15-year-old girl with marijuana and having unspecified sexual activity with her at his house. He faces a maximum of 10 years in jail, the sentence to be delivered on 26 June".[4] According to the New York Times/Associated Press dated 27th June 1998 "The former World Boxing Association heavyweight champion Bruce Seldon was sentenced to five years' probation and 364 days in jail by a Camden, N.J., judge yesterday for smoking marijuana with a 15-year-old girl and taking part in sexual activity with her last year. I'm terribly sorry for everything that happened, Seldon said. I'm not a criminal. I'm not a bad person. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. Seldon pleaded guilty last month to two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. In exchange, prosecutors dismissed a more serious charge of sexual assault as well as drug and weapons offenses.[5]

Comeback

Seldon attempted a comeback at age 37 in 2004.^[3] He defeated two journeymen before gaining a high-profile fight on HBO with Gerald Nobles. Abandoning his jab and boxing style for a punch out, Seldon decked Nobles in the second and was ahead on points but ended up throwing in the towel due to an eye injury in the ninth. In his next bout, an overweight Seldon was stopped in two rounds by Tye Fields. Seldon launched a second comeback in 2007, now into his 40s, and knocked out a series of journeymen before being knocked out himself by ranked contenders Kevin Johnson and Fres Oquendo. He was also KO'd in four during an exhibition with Alexander Povetkin.^{[citation needed]}