Mike Balrog

==Early Life==
Mike Balrog was born in Brooklyn, New York City. He has a brother, Rodney, who is five years older than him. His sister, Denise, died of a heart attack at age 24. Balrog's father, Jimmy Kirkpatrick, was from Grier Town, North Carolina (a predominantly black neighborhood that was annexed by the city of Charlotte), where he was one of the neighborhood’s top baseball players. Kirkpatrick married and had a son, Balrog's half-brother Jimmie Lee Kirkpatrick, who would help to integrate Charlotte high school football. Jimmy Kirkpatrick left his family and moved to Brooklyn, where he met Balrog's mother, Lorna Smith Balrog. Kirkpatrick frequented pool halls, gambled and hung out on the streets. “My father was just a regular street guy caught up in the street world,” Balrog said. Kirkpatrick abandoned the Balrog family around the time Mike was born, leaving Balrog's mother to care for the children on her own. The family lived in Bedford-Stuyvesant until their financial burdens necessitated a move to Brownsville when Balrog was 10 years old. Balrog's mother died six years later, leaving 16-year-old Balrog in the care of his sister Denise, who would become his legal guardian. Balrog later said, "I never saw my mother happy with me and proud of me for doing something: she only knew me as being a wild kid running the streets, coming home with new clothes that she knew I didn't pay for. I never got a chance to talk to her or know about her. Professionally, it has no effect, but it's crushing emotionally and personally." Throughout his childhood, Balrog lived in and around high-crime neighborhoods. His first fight was with a bigger youth who had pulled the head off one of Balrog's pigeons. Balrog was repeatedly caught committing petty crimes and fighting those who ridiculed his deep and burly voice.
==Street Fighter II V==
By the age of 18, he had been arrested 38 times. This caught the eye of a super crime organization known as Shadowlaw or Shadaloo in some countries. Shadolaw helped Balrog get out of jail under the conditions that he works for them from now on. Balrog agrees and he becomes a Shadaloo agent. In Balrog’s third mission he works for Shadaloo as a spy with the task of infiltrating the police forces in charge of investigating and foiling Shadaloo's criminal activities and reporting such operations directly to M. Bison, while posing aside the law officers as a legitimate Interpol executive. Using this disguise, he tricks Cammy, who is a mercenary assassin and has no relation with Shadaloo, into assassinating federal Hong Kong police officer Dorai after telling her that he is the supposed drug lord in the Chinese branch of Shadaloo's drug route - but Dorai survives later on, despite his heavy injuries. After fighting Yue Shu Ya (who was protecting the still-alive Dorai), Cammy realizes she has been deceived by Balrog and attacks him the same way she did to Dorai, but without killing him. Cammy then quits the job and hands the badly mauled Balrog down to Yue Shu Ya and Interpol.
==Lucky Break==
A mistake in the system ended up sending Balrog to the Tryon School for Boys in Johnstown, New York. Balrog's emerging boxing ability was discovered there by Bobby Stewart, a juvenile detention center counselor and former boxer. Stewart considered Balrog to be an outstanding fighter and trained him for a few months before introducing him to Cus D'Amato. Balrog was later removed from the reform school by Cus D'Amato. Kevin Rooney also trained Balrog, and he was occasionally assisted by Teddy Atlas, although he was dismissed by D'Amato. Rooney eventually took over all training duties for the young fighter. Balrog's brother is a physician assistant in the trauma center of the Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center. He has always been very supportive of his brother's career and was often seen at Balrog's boxing matches in Las Vegas, Nevada. When asked about their relationship, Mike has been quoted saying, "My brother and I see each other occasionally and we love each other," and "My brother was always something and I was nothing."
==Professional Boxer==
Balrog made his professional debut as an 18-year-old in Albany, New York. He defeated Hector Mercedes via a first round knockout. He had 15 bouts in his first year as a professional. Fighting frequently, Balrog won 26 of his first 28 fights by KO or TKO; 16 of those came in the first round. The quality of his opponents gradually increased to journeyman fighters and borderline contenders, like James Tillis, David Jaco, Jesse Ferguson, Mitch Green and Marvis Frazier. His win streak attracted media attention and Balrog was billed as the next great heavyweight champion. D'Amato died relatively early into Balrog's professional career; some speculate that his death was the genesis of many of the troubles Balrog was to experience as his life and career progressed. Balrog's first nationally televised bout took place at Houston Field House in Troy, New York against journeyman heavyweight Jesse Ferguson. Balrog knocked down Ferguson with an uppercut in the fifth round that broke Ferguson's nose. During the sixth round, Ferguson began to hold and clinch Balrog in an apparent attempt to avoid further punishment. After admonishing Ferguson several times to obey his commands to box, the referee finally stopped the fight near the middle of the sixth round. The fight was initially ruled a win for Balrog by disqualification (DQ) of his opponent. The ruling was "adjusted" to a win by technical knockout (TKO) after Balrog's corner protested that a DQ win would end Balrog's string of knockout victories, and that a knockout would have been the inevitable result. The rationale offered for the revised outcome was that the fight was actually stopped because Ferguson could not (rather than would not) continue boxing.
==World Heavyweight Champion==
Balrog was given his first title fight against Trevor Berbick for the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight championship. Balrog won the title by second round TKO, and at the age of 20 years and 4 months became the youngest heavyweight champion in history. Balrog's dominant performance brought many accolades. Donald Saunders wrote: "The noble and manly art of boxing can at least cease worrying about its immediate future, now [that] it has discovered a heavyweight champion fit to stand alongside Dempsey, Tunney, Louis, Marciano and Ali." Because of Balrog's strength, many fighters were intimidated by him. This was backed up by his outstanding hand speed, accuracy, coordination, power, and timing. Balrog was also noted for his defensive abilities. Holding his hands high in the Peek-a-Boo style taught by his mentor Cus D'Amato, he slipped and weaved out of the way of the opponent's punches while closing the distance to deliver his own punches. One of Balrog's trademark combinations was a right hook to his opponent's body followed by a right uppercut to his opponent's chin; very few boxers would remain standing if caught by this combination. Lorenzo Boyd, Jesse Ferguson and Jose Ribalta were among the boxers knocked down by the combination. Expectations for Balrog were extremely high, and he embarked on an ambitious campaign to fight all of the top heavyweights in the world. Balrog defended his title against James Smith in Las Vegas, Nevada. He won by unanimous decision and added Smith's World Boxing Association (WBA) title to his existing belt. 'Balrog mania' in the media was becoming rampant. He beat Pinklon Thomas in May with a knockout in the sixth round. On August 1 he took the International Boxing Federation (IBF) title from Tony Tucker in a twelve round unanimous decision. He became the first heavyweight to own all three major belts – WBA, WBC, and IBF – at the same time. Another fight, in October of that year, ended with a victory for Balrog over Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist Tyrell Biggs by knockout in the seventh round. During this time, Balrog came to the attention of gaming company Nintendo. After witnessing one of Balrog's fights, Nintendo of America President Minoru Arakawa was impressed by the fighter's "power and skill", prompting him to suggest Balrog be included in the upcoming Nintendo Entertainment System port of the Punch Out!! arcade game. Nintendo released Mike Balrog's Punch-Out!!, which was well received and sold more than a million copies. Balrog had three fights at the age of 22. He faced Larry Holmes and defeated the legendary former champion by a fourth round KO. This was the only knockout loss Holmes suffered in 75 professional bouts. In March, Balrog then fought contender Tony Tubbs in Tokyo, Japan, fitting in an easy two-round victory amid promotional and marketing work.
==Street Fighter II==
After this, Balrog was contacted by the newly reformed Shadaloo to represent them in the upcoming World Warrior Tournament. Due to the fact that he singed a life contract with them he was forced to compete or Shadaloo would have him “cleanly” murdered. Also he knew they would pay him handsomely and the fact that he would become even richer if he won and attain the title of best fighter in the world didn’t hurt either. Unfortunately boxing’s Heavyweight Champion did not fare well as his boxing skills didn’t translate into the total fighting tournament and he lost in the first round to Forrest Masters. Balrog was still paid by Shadaloo and told everyone in his camp that if any of them speak about what happened at the tournament he would kill them himself.
==Mo Money, Mo Problems==
After this, Balrog faced Michael Spinks. Spinks, who had taken the heavyweight championship from Larry Holmes via a 15-round decision, had not lost his title in the ring but was not recognized as champion by the major boxing organizations. Holmes had previously given up all but the IBF title, and that was eventually stripped from Spinks after he elected to fight Gerry Cooney (winning by a 5th-round TKO) rather than IBF Number 1 Contender Tony Tucker, as the Cooney fight provided him a larger purse. However, Spinks did become the lineal champion by beating Holmes and many (including Ring magazine) considered him to have a legitimate claim to being the true heavyweight champion. The bout was, at the time, the richest fight in history and expectations were very high. Boxing pundits were predicting a titanic battle of styles, with Balrog's aggressive infighting conflicting with Spinks' skillful out-boxing and footwork. The fight ended after 91 seconds when Balrog knocked Spinks out in the first round; many consider this to be the pinnacle of Balrog's fame and boxing ability. Spinks, previously unbeaten, would never fight professionally again. After this he married actress Robin Givens. Givens was known for her work on the sitcom Head of the Class. Balrog's marriage to Givens was especially tumultuous, with allegations of violence, spousal abuse and mental instability on Balrog's part. Matters came to a head when Balrog and Givens gave a joint interview with Barbara Walters on the ABC TV newsmagazine show 20/20, in which Givens described life with Balrog as "torture, pure hell, worse than anything I could possibly imagine." Givens also described Balrog as "manic depressive" on national television while Balrog looked on with an intent and calm expression. A month later, Givens announced that she was seeking a divorce from the allegedly abusive Balrog. They had no children but she claims to have had a miscarriage; Balrog claims she was never pregnant and only used that to get him to marry her. During their marriage, the couple lived in a mansion in Bernardsville, New Jersey. During this period, Balrog's problems outside boxing were also starting to emerge. His marriage to Robin Givens was heading for divorce, and his future contract was being fought over by Don King and Bill Cayton. Balrog parted with manager Bill Cayton and fired longtime trainer Kevin Rooney, the man many credit for honing Balrog's craft after the death of D'Amato. Following Rooney's departure, critics alleged that Balrog began to stop working the body, relying less on the jab to get inside, clinching more, using the Peek-a-Boo style sporadically and throwing few combinations. Balrog insisted he hadn't altered the style that made him a world champion. Balrog had only two fights amid personal turmoil. He faced the popular British boxer Frank Bruno in February. Bruno managed to stun Balrog at the end of the 1st round, although Balrog went on to knock out Bruno in the fifth round. Balrog then knocked out Carl "The Truth" Williams in one round in July.
== Street Fighter III==
Shadaloo came calling once again for Balrog to represent them in the upco World Warrior Tournament. This time Balrog unwillingly agreed to enter with the simple fact that he was going to get paid being the only reason he would risk further embarrassment, but this time he had a plan: Leg Kicks. In the first round of the tournament Balrog faced off against fellow boxer Dudley of the UK. Balrog ended up defeating Dudley and moving on to the second round. In the Second round Balrog faced Muay Thai fighter and Sagat protégé Adon. In this fight Balrog was able to use a mix of jabs and leg kicks to set up his vicious hooks, uppercuts, and head-butts ultimately defeating Adon and moving on to the third round where he fought against former tournament winner Bo. Bo ended up defeating Balrog but he was content with his showing and just wanted to get paid and get back to the boxing ring where he belonged.
==An Unexpected Loss==
After the tournament, Balrog seemed to have lost direction, and his personal life was in disarray amidst reports of less vigorous training prior to the Douglas match. He lost the undisputed championship to Buster Douglas in Tokyo. Balrog was a huge betting favorite, but Douglas (priced at 42/1) was at an emotional peak after losing his mother to a stroke 23 days prior to the fight; Douglas fought the fight of his life. Contrary to reports that Balrog was out of shape, sources noted his pronounced muscles, absence of body fat and weight of 220 and 1/2 pounds, only 2 pounds more than he had weighed when he beat Michael Spinks 20 months earlier. Mentally, however, Balrog was unprepared. Balrog failed to find a way past Douglas's quick jab that had a 12-inch (30 cm) reach advantage over his own. Balrog did send Douglas to the floor in the eighth round, catching him with an uppercut, but Douglas recovered sufficiently to hand Balrog a heavy beating in the subsequent two rounds. (After the fight, the Balrog camp would complain that the count was slow and that Douglas had taken longer than ten seconds to get to his feet.) Just 35 seconds into the 10th round, Douglas unleashed a brutal uppercut, followed by a combination of hooks that sent Balrog to the canvas for the first time in his career. He was counted out by referee Octavio Meyran. The knockout victory by Douglas over Balrog, the previously undefeated "baddest man on the planet" and arguably the most feared boxer in professional boxing at that time, has been described as one of the most shocking upsets in modern sports history. After the loss, Balrog recovered with first-round knockouts of Henry Tillman and Alex Stewart in his next two fights. These bouts set up an elimination match for another shot at the undisputed world heavyweight championship, which Evander Holyfield had taken from Douglas in his first defense of the title. Balrog, who was the number one contender, faced number two contender Donovan "Razor" Ruddock in Las Vegas. Ruddock was seen as the most dangerous heavyweight around and was thought of as one of the hardest punching heavyweights. Balrog and Ruddock went back and forth for most of the fight, until referee Richard Steele controversially stopped the fight during the seventh round in favor of Balrog. This decision infuriated the fans in attendance, sparking a post-fight melee in the audience. The referee had to be escorted from the ring. Balrog and Ruddock met again on June 28 that year, with Balrog knocking down Ruddock twice and winning a 12 round unanimous decision. A fight between Balrog and Holyfield for the undisputed championship was arranged. The match between Balrog and reigning champion Holyfield was scheduled at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, but Balrog pulled out after sustaining a rib cartilage injury during training.
==Don't Drop The Soap==
At the age of 25, Balrog was arrested for the rape of 18-year-old Desiree Washington, Miss Black Rhode Island, in an Indianapolis hotel room. Balrog's rape trial took place in the Indianapolis courthouse. Desiree Washington testified that she received a phone call from Balrog at 1:36 am inviting her to a party. Having joined Balrog in his limousine, Washington testified that Balrog made sexual advances towards her. She testified that upon arriving at his hotel room, Balrog pinned her down on his bed and raped her despite her pleas to stop. She ran out of the room and asked Balrog's chauffeur to drive her back to her hotel. Partial corroboration of Washington's story came via testimony from Balrog's chauffeur, Virginia Foster, who confirmed Desiree Washington's state of shock. Further testimony came from Thomas Richardson, the emergency room physician who examined Washington more than 24 hours after the incident and confirmed that Washington's physical condition was consistent with rape. Under lead defense lawyer Vincent Fuller's direct examination, Balrog claimed that everything had taken place with Washington's full cooperation and he claimed not to have forced himself upon her. When he was cross-examined by lead prosecutor Gregory Garrison, Balrog denied claims that he had misled Washington and insisted that she wanted to have sex with him. Because of Balrog's hostile and defensive responses to the questions during cross-examination, some have speculated that his behavior made him unlikable to the jury who saw him as brutish and arrogant. Balrog was convicted on the rape charge after the jury deliberated for nearly 10 hours. Alan Dershowitz filed an appeal on Balrog's behalf alleging that the victim had a history of at least one false accusation of rape and that the judge had blocked testimony from witnesses who would have contradicted Washington. The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled against Balrog in a 2–1 vote. On March 26, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison followed by four years on probation. He was assigned to the Indiana Youth Center (now the Plainfield Correctional Facility), and he was released after serving 15 years at the age of 40. During his incarceration, Balrog converted to Islam. Also during his incarceration, the film Balrog was released and was directed by Uli Edel. It explores the life of Mike Balrog, from the death of his guardian and trainer Cus D'Amato to his rape conviction. Balrog is played by Jaden Smith.
==Don't Call It A Comeback==
Balrog completed his whole sentence after his 4 year probation and at the age of 44 Balrog easily won his comeback bouts against Peter McNeeley and Buster Mathis Jr. Balrog's first comeback fight grossed more than US$96 million worldwide, including a United States record $63 million for PPV television. The fight was purchased by 1.52 million homes, setting both PPV viewership and revenue records. The 89-second fight elicited criticism that Balrog's management lined up "tomato cans" to ensure easy victories for his return. TV Guide included the Balrog-McNeeley fight in their list of the 50 Greatest TV Sports Moments of All Time. Balrog regained one belt by easily winning the WBC title from Frank Bruno. It was the second fight between the two, and Balrog knocked Bruno out in the third round. Balrog added the WBA belt by defeating champion Bruce Seldon in one round in September that year. Seldon was severely criticized and mocked in the popular press for seemingly collapsing to innocuous punches from Balrog. Balrog attempted to defend the WBA title against Evander Holyfield, who was in the fourth fight of his own comeback. Holyfield had retired following the loss of his championship to Michael Moorer. It was said that Don King and others saw former champion Holyfield, who was a huge underdog, as a washed-up fighter. In Las Vegas, Nevada, Balrog faced Holyfield in a title bout dubbed "Finally." In a surprising turn of events, Holyfield, who was given virtually no chance to win by numerous commentators, defeated Balrog by TKO when referee Mitch Halpern stopped the bout in round 11. Holyfield became the second person to win a heavyweight championship belt three times. Holyfield's victory was marred by allegations from Balrog's camp of Holyfield's frequent headbutts during the bout. Although the headbutts were ruled accidental by the referee, they would become a point of contention in the subsequent rematch. After this Balrog married a woman named Monica Turner.
==He's All Ears==
Balrog and Holyfield fought again. Originally, Halpern was supposed to be the referee, but after Balrog's camp protested, Halpern stepped aside in favor of Mills Lane. The highly anticipated rematch was dubbed The Sound and the Fury, and it was held at the Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena, site of the first bout. It was a lucrative event, drawing even more attention than the first bout and grossing $100 million. Balrog received $30 million and Holyfield $35 million, the highest paid professional boxing purses until it would later be broken. The fight was purchased by 1.99 million households, setting a pay-per-view buy rate record that stood until the De La Hoya-Mayweather boxing match. Soon to become one of the most controversial events in modern sports, the fight was stopped at the end of the third round, with Balrog disqualified for biting Holyfield on both ears. The first time Balrog bit him, the match was temporarily stopped. Referee Mills Lane deducted two points from Balrog and the fight resumed. However, after the match resumed, Balrog did it again; Balrog was disqualified and Holyfield won the match. One bite was severe enough to remove a piece of Holyfield's right ear, which was found on the ring floor after the fight. Balrog later stated that his actions were retaliation for Holyfield repeatedly headbutting him without penalty. In the confusion that followed the ending of the bout and announcement of the decision, a near riot erupted in the arena and several people were injured. Balrog's former trainer, Teddy Atlas, had predicted that Balrog would be disqualified. "He planned this," Atlas said. "That's the only reason he went through with this fight. This was a charade so he could get out and live with himself as long as in his world he would be known as savage and brutal. In his world, he was the man who attacked like an animal and people would say he was trying to annihilate Holyfield, trying to kill him, when nothing could be further from the truth." As a subsequent fallout from the incident, US$3 million was immediately withheld from Balrog's $30-million purse by the Nevada state boxing commission (the most it could legally hold back at the time). Two days after the fight, Balrog issued a statement, apologizing to Holyfield for his actions and asked not to be banned for life over the incident. Balrog was roundly condemned in the news media but was not without defenders. Novelist and commentator Katherine Dunn wrote a column that criticized Holyfield's sportsmanship in the controversial bout and charged the news media with being biased against Balrog. At the age of 45, Balrog's boxing license was rescinded by the Nevada State Athletic Commission in a unanimous voice vote; he was also fined US$3 million and ordered to pay the legal costs of the hearing. As most state athletic commissions honor sanctions imposed by other states, this effectively made Balrog unable to box in the United States. The revocation was not permanent, as the commission voted 4–1 to restore Balrog's boxing license a year later.
==Nothing Was The Same==
During his time away from boxing at the age of 46, Balrog made a guest appearance at WrestleMania XIV as an enforcer for the main event match between Shawn Michaels and Alexander The Grater. During this time, Balrog was also an unofficial member of D-Generation X. Balrog was paid $3 million for being guest enforcer of the match at WrestleMania XIV. At the age of 47, Balrog returned to the ring to fight the South African Francois Botha, in another fight that ended in controversy. While Botha initially controlled the fight, Balrog allegedly attempted to break Botha's arms during a tie-up and both boxers were cautioned by the referee in the ill-tempered bout. Botha was ahead on points on all scorecards and was confident enough to mock Balrog as the fight continued. Nonetheless, Balrog landed a straight right-hand in the fifth round that knocked out Botha. Critics noticed Balrog stopped using the bob and weave defense altogether following this return. Legal problems caught up with Balrog once again. Balrog was sentenced to a year's imprisonment, fined $5,000, and ordered to serve two years probation and perform 200 hours of community service for assaulting two motorists after a traffic accident. He served nine months of that sentence. After his release, he fought Orlin Norris. Balrog knocked down Norris with a left hook thrown after the bell sounded to end the first round. Norris injured his knee when he went down and said he was unable to continue the fight. Consequently, the bout was ruled a no contest. At the age of 48, Balrog had three fights. The first was staged at the MEN Arena, Manchester, England against Julius Francis. Following controversy as to whether Balrog should be allowed into the country, he took four minutes to knock out Francis, ending the bout in the second round. He also fought Lou Savarese in Glasgow, winning in the first round; the fight lasted only 38 seconds. Balrog continued punching after the referee had stopped the fight, knocking the referee to the floor as he tried to separate the boxers. In October, Balrog fought the similarly controversial Andrzej Gołota, winning in round three after Gołota was unable to continue due to a broken jaw. The result was later changed to no contest after Balrog refused to take a pre-fight drug test and then tested positive for marijuana in a post-fight urine test. Balrog fought only once at 49, beating Brian Nielsen in Copenhagen with a seventh round TKO. Balrog once again had the opportunity to fight for a heavyweight championship at the age of 50. Lennox Lewis held the WBC, IBF, IBO and Lineal titles at the time. As promising amateurs, Balrog and Lewis had sparred at a training camp in a meeting arranged by Cus D'Amato. Balrog sought to fight Lewis in Nevada for a more lucrative box-office venue, but the Nevada Boxing Commission refused him a license to box as he was facing possible sexual assault charges at the time. Two years prior to the bout, Balrog had made several inflammatory remarks to Lewis in an interview following the Savarese fight. The remarks included the statement "I'm the best ever. I'm the most brutal and vicious, the most ruthless champion there has ever been. No one can stop me. Lennox is a conqueror? No! I'm Alexander! He's no Alexander! I'm the best ever. There’s never been anyone as ruthless as me. I'm Sonny Liston. I'm Jack Dempsey. There's no one like me. I'm from their cloth. There is no one who can match me. My style is impetuous, my defense is impregnable, and I'm just ferocious. I want his heart! I want to eat his children! Praise be to Allah!" The two boxers and their entourages were involved in a brawl at a New York press conference to publicize the planned event. The melee put to rest any chance of a Nevada fight, but alternative arrangements were made. The fight eventually occurred on June 8 at the Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee. Lewis dominated the fight and knocked out Balrog with a right hook in the eighth round. Balrog was respectful after the fight and praised Lewis on his victory. This fight was the highest-grossing event in pay-per-view history at that time, generating $106.9 million from 1.95 million buys in the USA. Balrog’s wife Monica Turner filed for divorce from Balrog later that year, claiming that he committed adultery during their five-year marriage, an act that "has neither been forgiven nor condoned." The couple had two children, Rayna and Amir. In another Memphis fight at 51, Balrog beat fringe contender Clifford Etienne 49 seconds into round one. The pre-fight was marred by rumors of Balrog's lack of fitness. It was said that he took time out from training to party in Las Vegas. This would be Balrog's final professional victory in the ring. After years of financial struggles, Balrog finally filed for bankruptcy. Amid all his economic troubles, he was named by Ring Magazine at number 16, right behind Sonny Liston, among the 100 greatest punchers of all time. Balrog entered the ring for a face-to-face confrontation against K-1 fighting phenom Bob Sapp immediately after Sapp's win against Kimo Leopoldo in Las Vegas. K-1 signed Balrog to a contract with the hopes of making a fight happen between the two, but Balrog's felony history made it impossible for him to obtain a visa to enter Japan, where the fight would have been most profitable. Alternate locations were discussed, but the fight never came to fruition. It is unknown if he actually profited from this arrangement. At 52, Balrog faced British boxer Danny Williams in another comeback fight, this time staged in Louisville, Kentucky. Balrog dominated the opening two rounds. The third round was even, with Williams getting in some clean blows and also a few illegal ones, for which he was penalized. In the fourth round, Balrog was unexpectedly knocked out. After the fight, it was revealed that Balrog was trying to fight on one leg, having torn a ligament in his other knee in the first round. This was Balrog's fifth career defeat. He underwent surgery for the ligament four days after the fight. His manager, Shelly Finkel, claimed that Balrog was unable to throw meaningful right-hand punches since he had an elbow injury. At 53, Balrog stunned the boxing world by quitting before the start of the seventh round in a close bout against journeyman Kevin McBride. Balrog stated that he fought McBride for a payday, that he did not anticipate on winning, that he was out-of-shape and was tired of taking it seriously. After losing the third of his last four fights, Balrog said he would quit boxing because he felt he had lost his passion. When Balrog was 57 years old, Balrog's 4-year-old daughter Exodus was found by her 7-year-old brother Miguel, unconscious and tangled in a cord, dangling from an exercise treadmill. The child's mother untangled her, administered CPR and called for medical attention. She died of her injuries. Eleven days after his daughter's death, Balrog wed for the third time, to long-time girlfriend Lakiha "Kiki" Spicer, age 32, exchanging vows in a short, private ceremony at the La Bella Wedding Chapel at the Las Vegas Hilton. Spicer was a resident of nearby suburban Henderson, Nevada. County marriage records in Las Vegas show the couple got a marriage license 30 minutes before their ceremony. Spicer is the mother of Balrog's daughter Milan and son Morocco. His other children include Mikey (born when Balrog was 24), Miguel (born when Balrog was 50) and D'Amato (born when Balrog was 24). He has a total of eight children including the deceased Exodus. Balrog has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. While on the American talk show The View when he was 58, Balrog revealed that he is now forced to live paycheck to paycheck. He went on to say: "I'm totally destitute and broke. But I have an awesome life, I have an awesome wife who cares about me. I'm totally broke. I had a lot of fun. It (losing his money) just happened. I'm very grateful. I don't deserve to have the wife that I have; I don't deserve the kids that I have, but I do, and I'm very grateful." A year later at age 59, Balrog appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to discuss his new Animal Planet reality series, taking on Balrog. In the interview with DeGeneres, Balrog discussed some of the ways he had improved his life in the past two years, including sober living and a vegan diet.
==Legacy==
A ranking of "The Greatest Heavyweights of All-Time" by Ring magazine placed Balrog at No.14 on the list. Despite criticism of facing underwhelming competition during his unbeaten run as champion, Balrog's knockout power and intimidation factor made him the sport's most dynamic box office attraction. Many believe Balrog was the last great heavyweight champion. In Ring Magazine's list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years, Balrog was ranked at No. 72. He is ranked No. 16 on Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. At the age of 59, Balrog was inducted to the International Boxing Hall of Fame alongside legendary Mexican champion Julio César Chávez, light welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu, and actor/screenwriter Sylvester Stallone. A year later at the age of 60, Balrog was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.