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Mickey Rourke, 62, trounces young fighter

Rourke knocks down 29-year-old fighter twice in two rounds.

By Mary Papenfuss

MOSCOW, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- Actor Mickey Rourke jumped back into the ring 20 years after his last fight to beat a young pugilist less half his age in a Moscow exhibition match Friday night.

Rourke scored two knockdowns against Elliot Seymour, a 29-year-old former California Golden Gloves champion, before the referee stopped the fight to award the victory to Rourke.

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It was supposed to go five rounds, but was called in two.

But some tweeting fans weren't too impressed with either fighter.

"I'm very happy to be back to the boxing ring. Thank God for letting me do this," Rourke said before the fight.

He declined to explain his motivations for returning to the ring, but told Russian TV that boxing had "sort of saved me from myself."

Before he dropped out of acting to become a professional fighter in 1991, Rourke was known as the hunky heartthrob in Diner, Rumble Fish, The Pope of Greenwich Village, 9 1/2 Weeks and Year of the Dragon. He later nabbed a lead role in his comeback in Sin City in 2005 and was nominated for an Academy Award in The Wrestler in 2008.

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Rourke tallied 27 wins and three losses as an amateur fighter in the 1960s and 1970s, and six wins, two draws and no losses as a pro.

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