The following piece was submitted to J.School by John Horne, Mike Tyson’s former co-manager.

The most dangerous and difficult fighter to beat is the confident, undefeated champion. I worked with one for several years, Iron Mike Tyson.

After watching Ronda Rousey break down in tears on The Ellen Degeneres Show, I don’t think she has any business getting back in the ring with Holly Holm at this time. She’s too wounded, too vulnerable.

Fight champions historically come from poverty and depressing upbringings. Beating every opponent put in front of them is their path to a better life. When they finally reach that goal and receive the accolades and attention they never thought possible, there is only one thing they truly fear will take everything away from them: Losing.

Stripped of their mythical invincibility, they fear returning back to what and where they once were. In the moments after losing to Holm, Ronda said she thought she was nothing without her belt, without her title as world champion. When she said those words to Ellen, it made me immediately think of Mike Tyson and his February 1990 loss to Buster Douglas.

Ronda and Mike were both overwhelming favorites to win, so much so that oddsmakers could hardly find customers to bet on their opponents. They both were undefeated, confident and cocky. Their attitudes dared reporters to even ask about the remote possibilities of them losing. One more amazing similarity is that Ronda and Mike both loss in a faraway land. Mike lost in Japan. Ronda was beaten in Australia.

When a world champion loses for the first time, he or she will never be as difficult to beat again. They can return to greatness. Muhammad Ali did. But they’re easier to beat, no question about it.

Rousey took everything she could possibly muster into that ring with her in Australia. When things got tough and began to go in a direction she could have never imagined, she dug deeper. She’s a true warrior. She would’ve chosen death rather than walk out of the octagon a loser. Holly Holm destroyed Rousey. It was a one-sided fight. Ronda knows this. That’s why the pain is so deep. Being the baddest woman on the planet meant everything to Ronda Rousey. That’s what she shared with Ellen.

You may not want to rush back into this mess, Ronda.

But, in the fight game, whether it be boxing or MMA, the prerequisite conditions that should determine whether there should be a rematch is whether the original fight was close. There should be clear evidence that the first fight was truly competitive. Maybe a judge’s scoring was really questioned. Maybe a referee stopped the fight way too soon, a questionable disqualification.

What most of the world does not know about Mike Tyson’s career is that if everything would have been executed from management’s agenda rather than Mike making the final decision, the second Evander Holyfield fight — The Bite Fight — never would have occurred when it did. The world saw Mike get beat soundly by Holyfield in the first fight. Behind the scenes we had a clear path both professionally and financially laid out for Mike in case of a devastating loss.

Even in defeat, Mike was a box-office draw. The deal that we created for Mike with Showtime and MGM allowed for Mike to go into his next fight immediately with then-IBF champion Michael Moorer with a guaranteed purse of at least $25 million. We implored Mike to take his time and take advantage of his negotiated benefits. We wanted Mike to take on an easier opponent before hopping back into the ring with Holyfield. I believe Mike recognized this as much as we did, but what Mike faced everywhere he went was all the noise pushing him to immediately fight Holyfield again. The noise, the outside voices challenged Mike’s manhood. Mike gave into the noise and decided to immediately fight Holyfield again.

Let’s don’t challenge Ronda’s womanhood. Let’s hope she makes a smart decision.

Ronda is in no condition to be the one to make the decision that she should fight Holly Holm in a rematch. The prerequisites are not set at all. The first fight wasn’t close. Ronda was overwhelmed. She did no damage to Holly at all.

This rematch is being pushed by the public. It’s our selfishness and desire to understand how could we have been so wrong. Did that really happen in that ring? Can we see it again to be sure we were not right? Ronda Rousey is the last person on earth to decide on a rematch. But what can she do? Everywhere she goes, everyone is pushing her. Before they even ask is she OK, they’re telling her the first fight must have been a fluke. But Ronda knows better. She was there. She felt every blow, every kick. What is Ronda to do? Be looked upon as a coward by the same people that she always wanted to make proud? She would rather die in that ring.

No, this decision is supposed to be made by the people who not only want to protect Ronda, but also protect the reputation of the already-fractured fight game. Pump the brakes on a Holm-Rousey rematch.

Photo credits: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images (top); Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images (bottom)