Saturday night was about building fighters. Some of them flew high. Others crashed and burned.

The messiest crash occurred in Washington, D.C., where Mike Tyson quit on his stool after six rounds against Kevin McBride. Prior to meeting Tyson, the “Clones Colossus” was widely regarded as a human punching bag. British boxing writer Hugh McIlvanney once wrote that heavyweight Joe Bugner was “built like a Greek statue but with fewer moves.” McBride has fewer moves than Bugner.

But Tyson had nothing. From the opening bell, he looked worse than he has ever looked before. His timing was nil. His punches lacked power. In Round 6, after five lumbering stanzas, he tried to hyperextend McBride’s elbow in a clinch. Then he was penalized two points for an intentional head butt, repeated both fouls, and fell to the canvas in exhaustion. Following the round, he quit on his stool.

“I don’t have the guts to be in this sport anymore,” Tyson said afterward. “I’d liked to have continued, but I saw that I was getting beat on. I just don’t have this in my heart anymore. I don’t have the stomach for it. I’m not going to disrespect the sport by losing to this caliber of fighter. I’m sorry for the people who paid for this. I wish they could get their money back. It’s time to move on with my life.”

The bloodsuckers around Tyson are always looking for one more payday, and some people will always be willing to pay to see Iron Mike fight. But at last, Tyson himself seems to understand that these fights are hurting his legacy. They obscure the memory of how good he was when he was young and, worse, they detract from his dignity as a fighter. They’re also dangerous to his health.

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As depressing as Tyson’s fight was, it was nice to see boxing building for the future at Madison Square Garden. In the first of two headline bouts, lightweight Almazbek Raiymkulov (known as “Kid Diamond”) tried to take the next step up the ladder against former World Boxing Organization champion Joel Casamayor.

Casamayor was a moving target who boxed defensively for most of the night. Diamond fought aggressively, but tired as the fight wore on.

Unfortunately, this was a bout where poor refereeing influenced the outcome. Diamond hit the canvas in Round 1, when the fighters got their feet tangled. Referee Pete Santiago mistakenly called the incident a knockdown, which cost Diamond a point. Santiago also ignored the fact that Casamayor fired numerous low blows and appeared to deliberately head-butt his opponent throughout the fight, all of which forced Diamond into a more cautious game plan than he would have liked. The judges scored the bout a draw, which was the best they could do given the flow of the fight.

In the main event, WBO 140-pound champion Miguel Cotto was seeking revenge against Mohammad Abdullaev, who defeated him en route to a gold medal at the 2000 Olympics.

It was a good action fight. Abdullaev was the aggressor and shook Cotto several times with left hooks to the body and chopping overhand rights. But Cotto was faster, kept countering successfully, and shut Abdullaev’s right eye in the eighth round. Finally, 57 seconds into Round 9, Abdullaev indicated to referee Johnny Callas that he’d had enough, and the fight was stopped.

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Finally, there was Irish middleweight John Duddy, who fought just prior to the co-featured bouts. Outside the ring, Duddy looks more like a 1940s movie version of a professional fighter than a real one; prior to Saturday’s night, he had also built a 9-0 record with 9 knockouts. But at the Garden, he was facing his most difficult test, a well-conditioned pro named Patrick Thompson.

Duddy arrived at the arena two hours before fight time and sat quietly in his dressing room. Neither he nor trainer Harry Keitt spoke as Keitt taped his fists.

“The entire day of a fight, I’m in a zone,” Duddy said afterward. “I don’t like talking. I’m focusing on what has to be done. It’s like a dream, really. The world gets narrower and narrower until all I see is the ring and me and my opponent.”

When the taping was done, Duddy examined his fists the way a gunfighter in the Old West might have examined his guns. Then he went out and gave his best professional performance to date. He threw a good mix of punches, kept his power late, was the aggressor throughout, and won every minute of every round. All three judges scored the bout 80-72 in his favor.

Duddy still has flaws. He doesn’t move his head enough, which enabled Thompson to land lead right hands when he got off first. He also stands upright and is disinclined to bend at the knees, which leaves him susceptible to left hooks. That’s part of what has led critics to contend that “Clan Duddy” is made up of amateurs. But Keitt, Irish Ropes promoter Eddie McLoughlin, and advisor Jim Borzell just keep doing their job. Meanwhile, powers-that-be like Top Rank, Don King Productions, and Main Events are calling.

“If I keep doing the business in the ring, the business outside the ring will take care of itself,” Duddy said on Saturday night. “Everything is good. I’m on track. I’ve gone eight rounds now and I’ve won in Madison Square Garden.”