I'm not a boxing expert at all. I judge purely superficially and as a spectator. However, when I see young Tyson’s fights and how he knocks out his opponents in the first seconds, I say that’s cool! I watch some of the “hyped” fights of recent years on TV - most of them are some kind of fuss. Yes, I don’t understand technology, but it’s usually fussing! And Tyson’s fights are very spectacular and effective.
True, there is an established point of view that he is not cool at all, professional boxer- but a simple “killer”.
As a child, I was a modest and defenseless little thing. All the street kids in Brooklyn wiped their feet on him, and not only in the metaphorical sense. Tyson was so pathetic that even his older brother, who was supposed to serve as support and support, was not ready to risk his reputation and stand up for this wimp. Instead, Rodney acted as the rearguard of the gang, from which Mike suffered all the bullying.
Mike's patience ran out when the boys once again attacked him, took his beloved pigeon and twisted his head right in front of a small 10-year-old boy who could not stand up for himself. This was already too much. Tyson's eyes became bloodshot, and in front of the whole gang, he swept aside an opponent who surpassed him in height, age, and fighting skills too.
Mike entered into a gang that was essentially a gang of petty thieves. By believing in himself, Mike learned to stand up for himself. The boys taught him how to be a thief. Thus began Tyson’s numerous wanderings through endless correctional institutions and colonies for juvenile delinquents.
Tyson: the beginning
The response, as is customary on the street, was not a mass beating of the weak. No. Mike was respected so much that he immediately joined the gang, which, in fact, was a gang of petty thieves. By believing in himself, Mike learned to stand up for himself. The boys taught him how to be a thief. Thus began Tyson’s numerous wanderings through endless correctional institutions and colonies for juvenile delinquents.
It all ended when Mike was 13 years old. His own parents gave up on the boy, at school he was classified as developmentally delayed, and US prisons were just waiting for him to be old enough to give the offender his due.
But bad luck, the establishment where Tyson was serving his next sentence at that time was visited not by anyone, but by the main idol of all the black guys of that time, great Mohammed Ali - he periodically made forays into places where difficult teenagers were isolated from society. It was after a conversation with Ali that Tyson realized that he wanted to box and began to move towards his goal.
His first coach was one of the teachers at a school for juvenile delinquents, who was a former amateur boxer. Bobby Stewart agreed to train Mike martial art, but under two conditions. First, Tyson had to be disciplined. Only then was Bobby ready to start and continue his studies. Secondly, the intensity of the lessons directly depended on the boy’s performance at school.
Tyson began working on his body and boxing technique with manic zeal. The grades of the student, whom everyone had recorded as mentally retarded, began to climb, and Mr. Stewart very soon realized that the student had already noticeably outgrown his boxing teacher. Then he took him to his friend and part-time legendary coach and manager Cus D’Amato
Amateur Killer
Thus began Mike's career in amateur boxing. Cas formed a whole team of professionals around the promising fighter, which included massage therapists, coaches, and managers. Everyone worked to create a gifted boy a real car for murder.
The fertile soil very quickly began to bear its first fruits. Mike made his debut in the amateur ring in 1981, when he was only 15 years old. In the first year, out of six fights, he won five. Already in 1982, Mike found himself in the international ring - in the youth Olympic Games. The first fight ends eight seconds after the starting bell - Mike's opponent, practically motionless, lies on the canvas with his face on the floor. A couple more - three more victories - and here we are gold medal already hanging around Tyson's neck. Even in the amateur ring, Tyson finished most of his fights ahead of schedule - by knockout.
There should have been a full-fledged 1984 Olympic gold medal from Los Angeles, but the system was very unhappy with the aggressive and sometimes even psychotic Mike in an international ring of this magnitude. Tyson, in the opinion of many, was judged twice in the qualifying matches for the Olympics and was left without a chance to enter the Olympics for the first time in his career. big story world sport. Mike's opponent in the final qualifying match openly ran away from him around the ring for three rounds, and the judges still counted him a victory with a score of 3:2.
It's already happened stronger than Mike. This boxer, driven to win, simply could not wait four years until the time for the next Olympics came. He has long outgrown amateur boxing, and to stew in its cauldron for another four years would be a crime against the sport. Then Cus D’Amato decided not to give a damn about the Olympic gold and start preparing his ward to enter the professional ring.
Professional hitman
This is how Tyson the athlete died and Tyson the killer was born, whom nothing could hold back. His first fight, as we already understood, Iron Mike spent March 6, 1985, exactly 30 years ago. The first opponent of 18-year-old Tyson was a Puerto Rican with the beautiful name Hector Mercedes. No less beautiful was the technical knockout, which Tyson sent his more experienced opponent to in the first round. His style was unlike anything Hector or anyone else had ever seen. Instead of the usual technical boxing, which was held in high esteem in those days, the Puerto Rican was hit with a hail of blows from both hands from a pumped-up monster weighing a hundredweight. Tyson didn’t even think about defending himself - he killed.
Mercedes was followed by other, even more experienced and eminent rivals. In total, in 1985, Tyson professional ring fought 15 fights, all of which he won by knockout. American Don Helpin managed to hold out the longest, until the fourth round. Everyone else capitulated earlier, some in the second, some in the first round. Only one lucky guy managed to survive even until the third round - Larry Sims.
Then Mike was ready to fight at any moment. Wake him up at night - he was ready to knock you out with the first blow. The first person to hold out against Tyson for 5 rounds was his compatriot and namesake Mike Jameson. But many attribute this not to Jameson’s great technique or his durability, but to the fact that Tyson fought his previous fight only 13 days ago. But this is not a record either. Between some of Mike's fights there were only 8-9 days.
The first who managed to withstand the best knockout artist in boxing history was James Tillis - this was Tyson’s 20th fight. He won all previous ones by knockout, and his opponents did not live to see the seventh round. Most of the fights, 12 out of 19, ended in Mike’s favor already in the first round. It was 1986...
Soon Mike had to fight for the title, but in order to become a contender for the championship title, he needed to defeat one more person - the main talent of his generation along with Mike himself, the son of the legendary champion Joe Frazier, Marvis Frazier. This fight caused a huge stir and was considered perhaps the main fight of the year. Before Tyson, Fraser had 16 fights, 15 of which ended in his unconditional victory. Everyone expected a fierce confrontation. However, the fight ended just 30 seconds after the start gong sounded. A right uppercut, a couple of strong blows - and Fraser is already unconscious in the ring. The judge didn’t even count to ten to allow the seconds and doctors to quickly run into the ring to save the guy. Marvis came to his senses only a few minutes later. After such a defeat, Fraser spent only three fights in the professional ring with little-known opponents, after which he hung up his gloves.
And finally - championship fight! The opponent is the holder of the WBC heavyweight championship belt, Trevor Berbick, who won the title only a couple of months ago. He made his first defense against Tyson and was full of optimism and ready, as it seemed to him, to crush this young upstart. Needless to say, Tyson won the fight against Berbick in the second round. After a series of powerful blows, the Canadian fell to the ground, but still tried to get up. There were three such attempts, but each time the fighter lost his balance and fell. This was a world record - three falls of an opponent after a blow, I mean. But Tyson set another world record that day - he became the youngest world heavyweight champion. He won the title when he was 20 years and 144 days old. From the moment of debut to the championship fight, only 1 year and 8.5 months passed - another record that has not yet been broken.
IN next fight Tyson defeated James Smith on points, taking away his WBA champion title, and after another fight, on August 1, 1987, the previously undefeated IBF champion Tony Tucker entered the ring against Tyson. The winner of this fight took everything and became the absolute world champion. For the first time in professional career Mike missed a powerful uppercut. But, retreating just two steps, he continued to fight. In the middle of the fight, Tyson's right arm was broken. But in the end he still won by unanimous decision.
So Tyson, at the age of 21, became the youngest absolute world champion in the heavy category in history. Another world record is the shortest path from the moment of debut in professional boxing to winning all the championship belts - only 2 years and 5 months.
Fall of a Giant
Then there were six consecutive record-breaking defenses of all their championship belts. Tyson lost motivation and began to get distracted professional boxing. He went to parties, started drinking heavily, and became addicted to drugs. His scandalous essence, dormant deep in the subconscious since the age of 13, came to the surface. In 1989, he divorced his first wife and was under extreme stress after a scandalous divorce and division of property.
For the fight, which was scheduled for February and was supposed to take place in Japan, Mike did not prepare at all. A frankly weak opponent had to enter the ring against him, whose name - James Douglas - not even all the journalists who came to the Land of the Rising Sun remembered and knew. He was seventh in the world rankings, and bets on him were accepted based on the odds of winning - 1 in 40. But Douglas was well prepared for the fight and was in excellent physical shape. He had virtually no difficulty beating the slow and clumsy champion, creating the main sensation in boxing history. Iron Mike fell in the tenth round...
After this defeat, Tyson fought four more fights in the hope of once again becoming a mandatory challenger and regaining the belts that he believed were due to him. Mike was good in the ring, but he was even more convincing outside of it - the boxer could not part with the wild lifestyle he liked. The parties replaced each other, the promoters tried their best to smooth over new and new scandals, alcohol flowed like a river, there were more than enough drugs, girls came and went like gloves, until...
In July 1991, 18-year-old model Desiree Washington, who had just won the title of Miss Black America, awarded to the most beautiful black girl in the country, accused Mike Tyson of rape. The controversial and scandalous process lasted more than six months. The boxer tried to prove that everything happened by mutual desire, but the girl insisted on Mike’s guilt. As a result, on February 10, 1992, Tyson was sentenced to 6 years behind bars.
In 1995, Tyson was released from prison, where he trained like hell every single day. He thirsted for victories and dreamed of proving that three years behind bars did not change anything and he remained an athlete. There were no complaints about his physical form, although Mike’s endurance left much to be desired. Questions were raised about his mental state.
One way or another, Tyson won four fights in a row - all by knockout. The excitement associated with a high-profile return to the ring forced the world's leading associations to significantly shorten Tyson's path to a title fight. In the fourth fight after leaving prison, he was already opposed by WBA world champion Bruce Seldon, who did not last one round against the former prisoner. It was September 1996.
Already in November, Tyson entered the ring against Evander Holyfield. This fight was planned to take place before the prison sentence, but it turned out the way it did. Mike was the clear favorite, but again he was quite careless about his opponent, who turned out to be much stronger than Mike himself and his coaches expected. Holyfield completely outplayed Tyson, who was tired in the middle of the fight. As a result, a technical knockout in the 11th round, defeat, lost title and a request for a rematch.
Holyfield agreed to let Tyson try to win the title in the summer of 1997. The whole world was waiting for the fight. Mike frantically prepared to meet his offender and would have done so if not for Evander’s behavior. During the fight, Iron Mike's opponent hit him with his head, twisted his arms, hit him on the back of his head with his fists and started butting again. As a result, Tyson simply bit the offender, so much so that he bit off part of his ear. Tyson never made it to the fourth round. Instead, he tried to break through to Holyfield in order to fight him “like a boy,” and not according to the rules of boxing. As a result, Tyson was disqualified, lost his boxing license and continued to fall to the very bottom...
Mike regained his license in 1999. Returned to the ring. But this was a completely different person, not ready to spend the entire fight in the ring, betting on one blow, boxing with not the strongest opponents once every six months and on equal terms.
A couple of victories and new problems with the law - I beat someone somewhere, received two years probation, a small fine and 200 hours of community service...
Then there were a couple more fights. One - against the Dane, which Tyson won with a creep, and one - against the Pole Galota. Tyson was stronger than Andrzej and even sent him to the hospital with numerous injuries, from which his opponent recovered for three long years. But a doping test after the fight showed traces of marijuana in Tyson’s blood, and the fight was declared invalid.
Finally, the time has come for Tyson the boxer's swan song - the championship fight against the British Lennox Lewis. Despite the importance of the fight, Tyson continued to go on a spree and evade training, gaining almost a record and by no means muscle mass. Despite this, Mike even had an advantage in the first rounds, but towards the end of the fight he began to get tired, and in the eighth round he completely fell to the canvas, only managing to rise to his knee by the tenth count of the referee.
It’s better not to remember the last three fights of the great boxer at all. In two of them he was defeated. In the latter, he completely refused to continue fighting after the seventh round, saying that he no longer wanted to disgrace boxing...
So the man who was meant to be greatest fighter in history, making everyone forget about Muhammad Ali, who supported him even in the most difficult times, drowned his career in alcohol, having previously pumped up significant doses of drugs. Everything else that has happened in the fighter’s life since 2005 over the last ten years is generally difficult to somehow connect with boxing.
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson. Born June 30, 1966 in Brooklyn (New York, USA). American professional boxer who competed in heavyweight weight category, one of the most famous boxers in the history of world boxing.
Olympic champion among juniors in the first heavyweight division (1982).
Absolute world champion in the heavy weight category (1987-1990).
Champion according to WBC (1986-1990, 1996), WBA (1987-1990, 1996), IBF (1987-1990), The Ring (1988-1990). Lineal champion (1988-1990).
“The most promising boxer” of 1985 according to Ring magazine. Best boxer regardless of weight category (1987-1989) according to Ring magazine. “Boxer of the Year” according to Ring magazine (1986, 1988). "Boxer of the Year" according to the BWAA (1986,1988). BBC Sports Personality of the Year (1989)
Foreign athlete BBC of the Year (1989).
Best Athlete abroad (1987-1989) according to the BBC. Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame (2011), the World Boxing Hall of Fame (2010), the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame (2013), and the WWE Hall of Fame (2012).
At the 49th annual WBC convention in Las Vegas, Mike Tyson was included in the Guinness Book of Records and in a solemn ceremony received two certificates: for the largest number of fastest knockouts and for becoming the youngest world heavyweight champion.
Record holder for the number of “event of the year” awards according to Ring magazine: received the award 4 times: 1995 - Tyson’s return, 1997 - Bite during the fight with Evander Holyfield, 1998 - Tyson’s recovery, 2002 - Scandalous press conference Tyson - Lewis. "The most brutal man in the history of sports" according to ESPN. "The most powerful knockout artist in history" according to ESPN.
Mike Tyson - best knockouts
He is the holder of several world records that have not been broken to this day:
the youngest world heavyweight champion (at 20 years 144 days);
the youngest absolute world heavyweight champion (at 21 years old);
the boxer who has spent the least amount of time since his debut winning the champion and absolute champion world heavyweight (1 year 8.5 months and 2 years 5 months, respectively);
the first and only overall champion to win three major titles in succession;
highest paid heavyweight in history;
out of the ten most expensive fights in the history of boxing, Mike Tyson took part in six;
the only one to defend the title of absolute champion (WBC, WBA, IBF) 6 times in a row;
highest number of fastest knockouts (9 knockouts in less than 1 minute);
fastest knockout at the Youth Olympic Games (8 seconds).
Has three convictions. In 1992 (for rape he was sentenced to 6 years in prison, of which he served 3), in 1998 (for beating people who collided with his car - he was sentenced to 3.5 months in prison) and 2008 (a day in prison for drug use and driving car while under the influence of drugs). At a young age he also served sentences in children's colonies.
He professes Islam and bears the Arabic name Malik Abdul Aziz. Is a vegan.
Founder of the promotion company Iron Mike Promotions. In addition to boxing, Mike is known for his acting career. He took part in writing the script for the autobiographical film “Tyson” (1995), and also starred in two documentaries “Beyond Glory” (2003) and “Mike Tyson” (2009).
Mike Tyson. Documentary
Mike Tyson was born in New York, in Brooklyn, in the Brownsville area. His parents were Lorna Smith and Jimmy Kirkpatrick. However, Mike inherited his last name from his mother's first husband. His father left the family before Mike was born. Mike has an older brother, Rodney, and an older sister, Denise.
He had a very soft character and did not know how to stand up for himself. His older brother Rodney and the neighborhood boys and classmates constantly bullied Mike. Until the age of 10, he was pathologically unable to defend himself.
At the age of seven, he was a victim of sexual abuse. However, as he later did, he did not allow that traumatic experience to ruin his life; on the contrary, his rage and unwillingness to ever allow himself to be hurt again later helped him in the ring.
"Just because this happened to me doesn't make me any less of a man. I've never told anyone about it. I don't feel bad about it, it's just something that happened. Didn't have a big impact on my life. I think I've outgrown it." this is in my boxing days,” he said about the rape in a 2017 interview.
Around the age of 9-11, Mike experienced a turning point. One day, one of the members of a local street gang snatched his beloved pigeon from his hands and tore off its head. Enraged, Mike attacked his attacker and brutally beat him. From that moment on, Mike was respected among local juvenile bandits, who accepted him into their company and taught him to pick pockets, steal and rob stores. Activities of this kind led to arrests and visits to correctional institutions for juvenile offenders, during one of which Tyson was able to meet with, who came there to communicate with difficult teenagers. It was after meeting Ali that he first thought about a boxing career.
At the age of 13, Tyson was sent to a special school for juvenile offenders located in upstate New York. By this time he was considered incorrigible and was distinguished by enormous size for his age. physical strength. At the school where Tyson was assigned, he worked as a physical education teacher. former boxer Bobby Stewart. Once in a punishment cell, Mike declared that he wanted to become a boxer. Stuart agreed to train him on the condition that Mike would not violate discipline. After some time, Stuart made another agreement with him: the better Mike does at school, the more Stuart practices boxing with him. Tyson, who was previously considered mentally retarded, managed to significantly improve his academic performance. Already at the age of 13, Mike could lift a 100-kilogram barbell in the bench press. After some time, Stuart realized that his student had already outgrown him, and introduced Mike to the legendary trainer and manager Cus D'Amato. Cus created around Tyson professional team: coaches, seconds, massage therapists and others.
Tyson made his debut in May 1981 at the age of 15; the boy was nicknamed “Tank” at the Holyoke club. In the same year, he had a total of six fights, in which he lost only the last one, before the fight with Ernie Bennett in November.
All free time was dedicated to training, which immediately led to amazing results. Already in 1982, Mike competed at the Youth Olympic Games. He defeats his first opponent in the ring in just 8 seconds. The rest faced no less brutal reprisals.
In 1982, Mike Tyson participated in the Youth Olympic Games. In the final he went against Joe Cortez. Tyson immediately went on the attack and knocked out his opponent in a few seconds.
The next year he lost only to Al Evans, which allowed him to participate in the Golden Gloves tournament in 1983. There he received a silver medal after a fight with Craig Payne, although when the score was announced in Payne's favor, the hall buzzed with displeasure. Before the end of the year, he was suspended for his fight with Kimmuel Odum in Colorado Springs.
In 1984, Tyson began winning all his matches. The logical conclusion of his amateur career should have been the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. On the way to the final of the Olympic selection, Tyson defeated Kelton Brown by technical knockout in the 1st round, defeated Avery Rowles on points and knocked out Henry Milligan in the second round, won the Golden Gloves in the heavyweight division, had a record of (24-3) before the start of the Olympic qualifying round and was considered the heavy favorite to win a spot to represent the United States at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
In the qualifying fight, Tyson met with Henry Tillman, who later became the Olympic champion. In the first round, Tyson managed to knock Tillman down so that he flew out of the ring, but failed to finish him off. In the second round, Tillman ran away from Tyson, working mainly with the jab. Tyson often overtook him and delivered accurate blows. At the end of the third round, Tillman was simply running away from Tyson, who managed to land several hard blows. At the end of the fight, the judges awarded the victory to Tillman with a score of 3:2 by a close decision. When the score in favor of Tillman was announced, the audience roared with displeasure and booed this decision.
Then Tyson met Tillman again in a qualifying fight. Once again, Tillman won by a close decision. Many felt that Tyson simply did not want to be allowed into the Olympic Games because of his aggressive style, already reminiscent of the style of a professional. However, Tyson would take revenge for this loss a little later - on June 16, 1990, already in the professional ring, when he knocked out his attacker in the first round.
On September 16, 1984, Tyson won the Tammer tournament in Tampere after defeating Hakkan Brock.
Be that as it may, Cus D'Amato did not let Mike be upset for long because of the unfortunate defeat in qualifying round Olympic Games and began to work closely on preparing the boxer for a professional career. He invited two famous managers and organizers to work boxing fights- Bill Cayton and Jim Jacobs. Kevin Rooney and Teddy Atlas helped the old teacher in the boxer's combat training.
On March 5, 1985, Mike Tyson entered the professional ring for the first time. Tyson's first professional opponent was Hector Mercedes. In total, in 1985, Tyson had 15 fights, defeating all his opponents by knockout.
In January 1986, Tyson met with Mike Jameson. Tyson knocked Jameson down in rounds 4 and 5 and won by TKO in round 5. Jameson became the first who managed to hold out until the 5th round, although he did not manage to win a single minute of a single round. Perhaps the result was also influenced by the fact that Tyson fought his previous fight only 13 days ago.
In February 1986, Tyson entered the ring against Jesse Ferguson. Towards the end of the 5th round, Tyson drove his opponent into a corner. Tyson threw a right hook to the body, but the blow hit the defense, and immediately a right uppercut, which broke Fergusson’s nose. Fergusson fell to the canvas. He stood at the count of 8. Tyson rushed to finish him off. There were 30 seconds left until the end of the round. Tyson carried out a spurt attack, but Fergusson managed to hold out until the gong. In the 6th round, Fergusson began to clinch constantly. In the middle of the round, he pinned Tyson's hands and did not let him go. The referee tried to separate the fighters, but Fergusson did not let go of Tyson. Then the referee stopped the fight and disqualified Fergusson. Later, in order not to spoil Tyson’s track record, the New York Athletic Commission changed the wording of the result from disqualification to technical knockout.
In March 1986, Tyson met with Steve Zouski. Zouski managed to hold out until the 3rd round, which for a boxer who suffered 9 defeats in 34 fights seems to be a very good result. Moreover, it is worth recalling once again that he was opposed by Mike Tyson in 1986.
In May 1986, Tyson faced former title challenger James Tillis. Before the fight with Tyson, Tillis lost his last three fights on points, but at the same time caused very big problems for his opponents. Nevertheless, all experts believed that he would lose by knockout. Interesting fact was that Tillis spent most of his fights suffering from allergies, which caused him to experience premature fatigue in the middle of the fight, but just before the fight with Tyson, Tillis recovered and entered the fight in the best shape of his career. Tillis, despite skeptical opinions about himself, demonstrated incredible resilience, missing several strong blows in the early rounds. The climax of the fight seemed to be brewing in the fifth round, when Tillis missed Tyson's side kick, lost his balance and fell, but got up and held on until the end of the round. Tillis tried to attack and threw out large number jabs that mostly hit Tyson's defense. Tyson went the entire distance of the fight for the first time, demonstrating the class of his defense in this fight; Tillis became the first opponent who managed to hold out against Tyson until the end of the fight. Tyson won by unanimous decision and looked great in this fight, but failed to knock out his opponent, winning by unanimous decision.
In May 1986, Tyson entered the fight against Mitch Green. Tyson fought this fight just 17 days after the fight with Tillis. Before the fight with Tyson, Mitch Green had only one defeat and was considered a fairly promising boxer; the nervous atmosphere in the ring was also heightened by the fact that Green, like Tyson, grew up in Brownsville and as a child was part of a gang opposing the gang of which he was a member. Tyson. Tyson dominated the entire fight, punching through series and defending superbly, while Tyson constantly teased his opponent, dancing in front of him with his hands down. Among highlights there was Greene's mouth knocked out by Tyson's jab and his own gold tooth knocked out, which landed in front of writer Phil Berger. According to the regulations, 1 point was given for winning the round. Tyson won by unanimous decision. Most experts, comparing this fight with the Tyson-Tillis fight, believed that if Tillis tried to win, then Green simply survived in the ring, managing to run away from Tyson. After this fight, Green did not enter the ring for 7 years.
After two ten-round fights against Tillis and Green, Mike refuted the skeptical talk about him, scoring a number of victories by knockout and again confirmed his status as the most dangerous heavyweight.
In July 1986, Tyson met with Reggie Gross. At the end of the round, Gross managed to hold back Tyson's attack, throwing a huge number of punches. Tyson demonstrated mastery of defense, dodging almost all the blows, and at the jump threw a left hook. Gross collapsed to the canvas. Gross stood up. Tyson threw another series of punches and knocked down his opponent again. Gross stood up but was unable to continue and the referee stopped the fight.
In July 1986, a fight took place between two of the most promising boxers, the undefeated Mike Tyson and the son of the famous heavyweight champion Joe Frazier, Marvis Frazier. At that time, Marvis was considered Tyson’s most dangerous opponent; he had 16 victories, including victories over James Broad, James Tillis, Bernard Benton, Joe Bugner, Jose Ribalta, James “Boncrusher” Smith, and only one defeat, which he suffered from Larry Holmes. However, in the fight with Tyson, he suffered the most humiliating defeat of those opponents whom Tyson beat. At the beginning of the 1st round, Tyson drove his opponent into a corner and delivered a right uppercut. Fraser was shocked. Tyson immediately carried out another series of strong blows. The enemy fell. The referee began to count, but seeing that Fraser was lying unconscious, he stopped counting. It was a tough knockout. Fraser came to his senses a few minutes later. It took Tyson only 30 seconds to knock out Frazier. This fight turned out to be the shortest in Tyson's professional career. After this fight, Marvis Frazier had three more fights with little-known boxers and retired from boxing in 1988.
In the next fight, Tyson faced Jose Ribalta. Ribalta had excellent physical preparation and was able to survive until the 10th round. Tyson knocked his opponent to the ground three times in the 2nd, 8th and 10th rounds and won by technical knockout in the 10th round.
In November 1986, Mike Tyson entered the ring against WBC world champion Trevor Berbick. Berbick won the champion title only in February 1986 and only made his first defense. In the 1st round, Berbick went into an open fight with Tyson, but missed several hard blows and stopped attacking. 20 seconds before the end of the round, Tyson hit a left hook, Berbick could hardly stay on his feet, and in the last seconds Berbick was on the verge of a knockout. Already in the first seconds of the 2nd round, Tyson carried out a series of blows, knocking Berbick down, Berbick got up. 40 seconds before the end of the round, Tyson delivered a right uppercut to the jaw, and then hit Berbick in the head with a left hook. Berbick pressed himself against Tyson for a moment, and then fell. Berbick tried to stand up twice, but lost his balance each time. On the third attempt he got up, but he was very unsteady. The referee stopped the fight. After this fight, Tyson set 2 world records, becoming the youngest heavyweight champion and becoming the first man whose punch caused his opponent to rise and fall three times in a row. At the same time, Kevin Rooney (he was 27 years old at that time) set the record, becoming the youngest coach to lead his coach to the championship title.
In March 1987, Tyson faced WBA world champion spoiler James "Bonecrusher" Smith. Smith, in order to escape Tyson's attacks, constantly clinch, as a result of which the referee deducted 2 points from him for excessive holding. Tyson dominated the entire fight, only at the end of the 12th round did Smith manage to hit Tyson for the first time with a strong blow, but this did not affect the outcome of the battle. Tyson won on points with a crushing score.
In May 1987, Tyson entered the ring against former champion Pinklon Thomas. At the time of the Iron Mike fight, Thomas had a strong track record that included three victories over former world champions (Mike Weaver, Tim Witherspoon and Alfonso Ratliff) and other top-rated heavyweights. In the 6th round, Tyson carried out a series of uppercuts and hooks from both hands, some of which landed squarely on the challenger’s jaw. Thomas staggered. After another left hook, the challenger fell to the canvas. He didn’t have time to get up to the count of “10”. The referee stopped the fight. It is worth noting that before the fight with Tyson, Thomas had never even been knocked down.
In August 1987, a unique fight for the title of absolute world heavyweight champion took place between the undefeated WBC and WBA champion Mike Tyson and the undefeated IBF champion Tony Tucker. For the first time in heavyweight history, two reigning undefeated champions met. In the first round, Tucker managed to do something that no other opponent of Tyson’s had ever succeeded in: with a powerful uppercut, he touched Tyson’s chin, thus forcing him to take a couple of steps back, but was unable to build on his success. Subsequently, Tucker avoided a fight with Tyson, running around the ring and clinching from him. In the 2nd half of the fight, Tyson began to work primarily with his left hand as a jabist, but this did not stop him from winning rounds. At the end of the last round, Tyson shook Tucker with a left hook, but Tucker managed to get out of trouble by tying his hands. Tyson won by unanimous decision and became the absolute world heavyweight champion. Tucker suffered the first defeat in his career and set a unique record: he held the IBF title for only 64 days. In turn, Tyson set a world record: he became the youngest absolute heavyweight champion. After the match ended, Tony Tucker spread the rumor that he had broken right hand in the 3rd round, however, during the fight, Tyson’s right hand injury made itself felt, which is why he had to spend the second half of the fight as a jabist, inferior to his opponent in his arm span by almost 30 cm.
In October 1987, a fight between two undefeated boxers took place - the absolute world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and the Olympic champion Tyrell Biggs. Biggs was considered the strongest amateur boxer to turn professional. This was Tyson's first 15-round fight and his last 15-round heavyweight title fight. The fight against Tyrell Biggs was Tyson's dream, which came true in 1987. Mike wanted to prove to everyone that he, too, could represent America at the Olympics and decided to punish Tyrell Biggs. Tyrell Biggs hoped to beat Tyson with his quick movements and jab, which Tyson blocked more than once in this fight. Tyson dominated the entire fight, throwing a series of punches to the face and body. In the third round it became clear that Iron Mike could knock him out whenever he wanted, but he didn't want to just yet. He only wanted it in the 7th round and knocked out Biggs with a left hook. Immediately after the fight, Tyson said: “I could have beaten Tyrell Biggs in the third round, but I wanted him to remember my blow and this evening for a long time.”
In January 1988, a fight for the title of absolute world champion took place between two legends - Mike Tyson and the world famous Larry Holmes. Before the fight, Holmes humiliated Tyson, for which he paid. Tyson dominated the entire fight. In the 4th round, Tyson sent his opponent to the canvas three times and knocked out Holmes. Holmes lost by knockout for the first time. Larry Holmes spent the last five seconds of the fight in shock; he did not understand what was happening in the ring. After the fight, Holmes apologized to Tyson. The significance of Tyson’s victory is confirmed by the fact that Holmes was never knocked out before or after this fight, and later had many big fights, including title fights, and even at the age of 42-45 he boxed against Ray Mercer and Oliver McCall much better than Lennox Lewis.
In March 1988, Tyson defended the title of absolute world champion against the very strong former champion Tony Tubbs. This was Tyson's first fight outside the United States. Tubbs held out well for round 1, but in the second round Tyson landed a left hook. Tubbs stumbled back and fell before he could get up before the end of the count.
In June 1988, a fight took place between two undefeated boxers - the absolute world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and the former absolute world light heavyweight champion, as well as the former IBF world heavyweight champion Michael Spinks. For the first time since the first fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, two invincible champion world - former and present. This was the most important event in boxing at that time, with the title of the absolute heavyweight champion of the world, the vacant title of The Ring, the title of "Lineal Champion", the personal WBC belt and the title of the strongest heavyweight boxer at stake. One of the commentators compared the significance of this fight to the Rumble in the Jungle. Tyson was the favorite in this fight (bet odds on him were calculated at 3.5 to 1). In the middle of the 1st round, Tyson delivered a left uppercut to the chin and then added a right hook to the body. Spinks dropped to his knee. He stood on the count of "3". Immediately after the fight resumed, Tyson sent his opponent to the canvas again with a right uppercut to the head. Spinks was still on the floor at the count of 10 and the referee stopped the fight. The only round of this fight received the status of round of the year according to Ri magazine. In this fight, Tyson set a kind of record: He earned at that time the largest fee in boxing history ($22 million) for the most short time(91 seconds), and Spinks earned $13.5 million.
On August 23, 1988, a conflict occurred between Mike Tyson and Mitch Green in Harlem, during which Mike broke the bridge of Mitch's nose. As a result of a blow with a bare fist, Tyson injured his hand, which is why his planned first fight with Frank Bruno was postponed.
In 1989, Tyson disbanded the entire team that forged his successes and hired some crooks instead. He hardly trained and for the time being he got away with it. However, even such Tyson was hardy and hungry enough to survive until last rounds. After the fight with Douglas, Tyson returned to training, which was about half of his norm. Combinations began to include fewer punches, Mike became more open and straightforward.
In February 1989, Tyson met with the strongest British heavyweight Frank Bruno. At this time, Mike Tyson began a lawsuit with promoters and divorce proceedings. Tyson literally arrived from the registry office into the ring with less than two weeks of normal preparation. Already in the first seconds of the fight, Tyson sent Bruno to the floor. The referee counted the knockdown. But Bruno got up and held on well throughout the fight, resisting quite well. In the fifth round, Tyson shocked the Briton, who retreated to the ropes, where he indifferently accepted the blows until the referee stopped the fight. According to experts, Bruno provided the best resistance to Tyson.
In July 1989, Tyson entered the ring against US champion Carl Williams. In the middle of the 1st round, Williams threw a jab, Tyson dodged and sent the challenger to the canvas with a left uppercut to the jaw. Williams stood at the count of 8, but referee Randy Neumann looked at him and stopped the fight. The decision was controversial. The referee said in a post-fight interview that Williams did not answer the question about his readiness to continue the fight. Williams also gave a post-fight interview in which he stated that he was knocked down, not knocked out, that he was ready to continue the fight, and when asked by the referee about his readiness to continue the fight, he raised his hands, and did not understand why the referee stopped the fight.
On November 18, 1989, the title fight between Mike Tyson and Donovan Ruddock was supposed to take place in Edmonton. However, this fight was canceled due to Tyson's chondritis.
In 1990, Tyson, after a divorce and litigation, was in a disgusting physical and psychological state. On February 11, 1990, Mike Tyson defended himself against a frankly weak title fight James "Buster" Douglas. Douglas occupied only 7th place in the world rankings, at the time of the fight he had 29 wins, 1 draw and 4 defeats, two of which were from Tyson’s former rivals and one from debutant David Bay, and was considered the weakest in Tyson’s champion opposition. After his fight with Tony Tucker, James Douglas had a reputation as a boxer who could “break.” Some of the sports journalists who flew to Tokyo to cover the fight did not know Douglas’s name and approached him with this question. The odds were 40 to 1 in favor of Tyson. Tyson did not see his opponent as a threat at all and hardly prepared for the fight. This is confirmed by a demonstrative sparring with former world champion Greg Page, during which Page managed to knock down Tyson. Before this, Tyson had never fallen, either during fights or during training. In addition, there was no eye iron in his corner, so during the battle they used a rubber glove filled with cold water. Douglas, on the contrary, was in in great shape and with the best in my career psychological mood. The champion in this fight was slow, did not move his head much and dodged (his usual effective strategy), and instead of short and numerous steps there were large failures with attempts to beat Douglas with single blows. At the end of the 8th round, Tyson delivered a right uppercut to the jaw, knocking Douglas down. He was on the floor for more than 10 seconds, the referee did not immediately start counting, and at the count of 7 he stopped counting, turned around and continued again. At the count of 10, Douglas was still on the floor, but the referee allowed him to continue the fight. A normal count would be 16 seconds. In the 9th round it became noticeable extreme fatigue T-shirt. In the middle of the 10th round, Douglas landed a right uppercut to the jaw, and then a combination - a left cross, a right cross and again a left cross. Tyson fell. His mouthguard flew out. Tyson almost immediately stood up, but the referee counted to eight and stopped the fight, seeing that Tyson was unsteady on his feet. At the time the fight was stopped, the judges' score was tied: Larry Rosadilla (82-88 Douglas), Ken Morita (87-86 Tyson), Masakazu Uchida (86-86). After the fight, Tyson's promoter Don King said that the referee took too long to count the knockdown on Douglas, and in fact there was a knockout. The fight received status "Upset of the Year" according to The Ring magazine and still considered the greatest sensation in boxing history.
After the fight, Tyson underwent treatment for alcoholism. Before this fight, Tyson himself showed indiscipline in training, abused alcohol, and later he commented: “I didn’t train at all.”
After an unsuccessful protest against the result of the fight with Douglas, Tyson's promoter Don King and Douglas's refusal to rematch forced Tyson to fight again for the place of mandatory challenger. Tyson's team made an offer to Thomas Hearns, but he set impossible conditions, saying that he would meet with Tyson only if he lost weight to 90 kg and trained the same way as before the fight with Douglas. The final opponent eventually became Olympic champion Henry Tillman.
In June 1990, Tyson entered the ring against Tillman. At the end of the 1st round, Tyson with a right hook top part sent the enemy's head to the ground. At the count of 10, Tillman was still on the floor. Tyson took revenge for the defeats received in the qualifying round of the Olympic Games.
In December 1990, Tyson entered the ring against prospect Alex Stewart. This fight was called Hard Backdoor. Tyson originally wanted to face former title challenger Renaldo Snipes, but Snipes broke his right hand in a fight with durable journeyman Jamie Howe and was replaced by Stewart. At the beginning of the 1st round, he sent Stewart to the canvas with a right hook to the top of the head. Stewart rose to the count of 5. A minute later, with the same blow, Tyson again sent his opponent to the canvas. Stewart stood at the count of 10 and the referee allowed the fight to continue. A minute later, Tyson sent Stewart to the floor again with a right hook to the jaw. This time Stuart didn't even try to get up. Tyson wins by pure knockout.
Tyson did not like the criticism of himself from the famous HBO commentator Larry Merchant. He gave the channel’s management an ultimatum: “Either Merchant or me.” Management chose Merchant. Tyson left HBO for Showtime.
In March 1991, Tyson met with Donovan Ruddock. Ruddock by that time was considered one of the strongest heavyweights; their fight was planned back in 1990, but Tyson then refused, citing illness. This fight was considered as a meeting of the 2 best heavyweights. Don King put on a super show, inviting Roberto Duran and Julio Cesar Chavez to fight. Tyson and Ruddock fought for the right to meet the winner of the Evander Holyfield - George Foreman match. Ruddock was knocked down twice: in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. In the 7th round, Tyson hit Ruddock in the jaw with a left hook. Ruddock staggered and leaned on the ropes. Referee Richard Steele suddenly stopped the fight. The decision was controversial. After the fight was stopped, a brawl between two corners began in the ring. After security intervened, the fight was stopped.
Due to the controversial stoppage of the 1st Tyson-Ruddock fight, a re-fight was scheduled. It took place in June 1991. The boxers did not disappoint the fans in this fight. The fight was stubborn and tough. Mike Tyson worked a lot on the body and sometimes missed, which is why referee Mills Lane deducted points from him for violations in the 4th, 9th and 10th rounds, and from Ruddock in the 8th. This time Tyson won on points. Ruddock was knocked down in the 2nd and 4th rounds. Ruddock showed courage and desire to win in this fight; it later turned out that he boxed for 8 rounds with a broken jaw. After this, Ruddock’s career began to decline; much later, he stated that he spent all his physical and mental strength fighting Tyson, and that after these fights, both Ruddock himself and Tyson ended.
In 1995, Tyson returned to boxing. His return to the ring received the status of “event of the year.” However, after prison, Tyson's style changed significantly. His counter-attacking Peek-a-boo style was replaced by a rescher style. Impact power has increased and offense has improved, but endurance and defense have decreased significantly. The training system has also changed: now you no longer spend so much time physical training, the main thing was just to support physical fitness. Few could resist this onslaught, but Mike's endurance dropped significantly in the second half of the fight. Nevertheless, Tyson has now won all his victories ahead of schedule.
In August 1995, Tyson entered the ring against Peter McNealy. At the very beginning of the 1st round, Tyson sent his opponent to the floor with a right hook to the head. McNeely jumped up and suddenly ran around the ring. The referee grabbed his arm and began counting the knockdown. The fight continued. In the middle of the round, Tyson carried out a successful attack and knocked down McNealy with a right uppercut. Referee Mills Lane began the count. People from McNealy's corner entered the ring. The referee asked them to leave, but they refused, after which Lane decided to disqualify McNealy, but Peter shouted into the camera that he would come back and show everyone what he was really capable of. The Tyson-McNealy fight grossed more than $96 million worldwide, including a record $63 million in the United States. McNealy became the sixth boxer to lose to Tyson without a knockout, although the others held out until the end, losing on points.
In December 1995, Tyson entered the ring against the undefeated Buster Mathis Jr. In the 3rd round, Tyson sent Mathis to the canvas with a right uppercut. Mathis did not have time to rise to the count of 10. The referee recorded a knockout.
In March 1996, a rematch took place between Mike Tyson and Frank Bruno. Everything became clear from the 1st round, when Tyson touched Bruno’s head with a right in the first seconds. Bruno started clinching at the first opportunity and did not want to let Tyson out of his arms. This helped him survive the first round, but it was beginning to irritate referee Mills Lane. But Iron Mike looked much better in this round than in his last fights before prison. In the third round, Tyson struck with a right to the body, a left hook to the jaw, and then carried out long series with both hands, ending with several right uppercuts. Bruno fell into the ropes, which kept him on his feet, and the referee saved him from further beating, and the WBC championship went to Mike Tyson. However, then the WBC management refused to sanction the unified fight between Tyson and Bruce Seldon, and Tyson was stripped of the title.
In September 1996, Tyson met with WBA world champion Bruce Seldon. Tyson immediately went on the attack. Seldon, fleeing Tyson's attacks, tried to keep him at a distance, but when Tyson pressed him to the ropes, Seldon clinch. In the middle of the round, Tyson attacked with a left jab to the opponent’s head, from which he quickly bowed his head, and a right swing, which slid over Seldon’s head. But the left jab was enough: Seldon fell to the canvas. By the count of 4 he was already on his feet. Immediately after the fight resumed, Tyson sent his opponent to the canvas again with a left hook to the head. Seldon counted "5". At the count of 7, he shook his head and began to sway; he leaned his back against the corner of the ring. The referee then stopped the fight. It should be noted that immediately after the fight, his close friend Tupac Shakur was seriously wounded, and subsequently died. Tyson won the WBA title and became a three-time world champion. Tyson earned $25 million for this fight.
In November 1996, a fight took place between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield., preparations for which began even before Tyson went to prison. Tyson was the favorite in this fight (bet on him was accepted at the rate of 22 to 1). The first 5 rounds passed with varying degrees of success, but Tyson had a slight advantage.
In the fifth round, Tyson unleashed fierce combinations on Holyfield, but Holyfield was not shaken. In the sixth round, Holyfield headbutted Tyson, causing a cut above Tyson's left eye. In the same round, Tyson threw out a side kick and stood on straight legs. Holyfield threw a counter left hook to the body. The blow missed the jaw, and Tyson was not shocked, he just lost his balance. He rose to the count of 5. 15 seconds before the end of the seventh round, Tyson rushed at Holyfield, Holyfield went head first; As a result of a hard collision of heads, Tyson suffered a cut under his right eye. Tyson screamed in pain and his knees buckled, but again the referee ruled the headbutt unintentional. Tyson was examined by a doctor.
At the end of the 10th round, Holyfield delivered a counter right cross to the jaw. Tyson staggered. Holyfield threw a few more crosses. Tyson tried to enter the clinch, but was unable to. Holyfield hit an oncoming right cross straight to the chin. Tyson was taken back. He leaned on the ropes. Holyfield rained down blows on his opponent. At this time the gong sounded. Showtime commentators said the gong saved Tyson.
At the beginning of the 11th round, Holyfield landed a series shot to the head. Tyson didn't answer. The challenger then threw two hooks - a left and a right - wide. Tyson avoided the blows by moving to the ropes. Holyfield rushed after him and fired a long left cross to the chin. The referee intervened and stopped the fight. Tyson did not challenge the decision. The fight received the status of “fight of the year” according to Ring magazine. Tyson received $30 million for this fight, and Holyfield received $5 million.
Mike Tyson vs Evander Holyfield (1 fight)
In July 1997, the second fight took place between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield. Tyson again approached the rematch as a favorite. Initially, the same referee was appointed as the previous fight, but Tyson's team protested, and eventually Mills Lane was appointed as referee for the "Sound and the Fury" fight, which received even more attention than the previous one. This was the most expensive fight at that time. It was surrounded by enormous excitement: all 16 thousand tickets for it were sold out on the first day.
The 1st round was an even fight, but Holyfield won the end and the round. Holyfield constantly broke the rules in battle. At the beginning of the 2nd round, Holyfield hit Tyson with his head, Tyson got a cut, Tyson doubled over in pain, and the referee separated them. Tyson turned to the referee, but he did not react. Throughout the round, Holyfield tied Tyson’s hands and did not allow him to escape, and in the middle of the round he simply leaned on him near the ropes so that both boxers almost fell. With 45 seconds left in the round, Holyfield hit Tyson in the back of the head and tried to do it again. The referee separated the boxers. Tyson again turned to the referee, but he again did not react. An enraged Tyson went on the attack, but the round ended and remained with Holyfield. The third round began with a furious attack from Tyson, most of whose punches hit the target. Holyfield pushed him away. The entire round passed with the advantage of Tyson, who almost did not miss any blows and landed more and more often.
With 40 seconds left in the round, Tyson attacked Holyfield, but Holyfield began to tie his hands and hit him with his head. In response to this, Tyson bit off the posterior-superior part of the opponent’s right ear (Darwin’s tubercle). Holyfield jumped in pain. Tyson pushed him in the back. Referee Mills Lane stopped the fight. The doctor examined Holyfield and said he could continue fighting. The referee fined Tyson two points (for biting and pushing in the back).
The fight was restarted and 30 seconds were added to the third round. Tyson immediately launched a series of punches to the body. 20 seconds before the end of the round, Holyfield hit Tyson with his head in the eyebrow. Tyson's face grimaced in pain and he bit Holyfield's left ear. Holyfield began to jump, but the fight was not stopped. Tyson hit a deuce, Holyfield tried to answer, but Tyson threw a powerful straight shot towards him, and Holyfield backed away, Tyson rushed to finish him off, but the round ended. Holyfield didn't make it to the 4th round. A fight broke out. Security guards and police held Tyson, who beat everyone in a row, trying to approach Holyfield. Security stopped the disturbance in the ring. Tyson was disqualified. Tyson received $20 million for this fight, and Holyfield received $15 million.
Mike Tyson vs Evander Holyfield (2nd fight)
As a result of the bite, Tyson's boxing license was revoked by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and he was fined $3 million plus legal fees, but on October 18, 1998, the commission voted to reinstate Tyson's boxing license. The fight received the status of “event of the year” according to Ring magazine. Writer and columnist Katherine Dunn wrote an article criticizing Holyfield's controversial fight with Tyson and accusing the media of bias against Tyson. In the Tyson documentary, Mike claimed that he did this in retaliation for headbutting his opponent. On October 16, 2009, on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Tyson apologized to Holyfield. Holyfield accepted the apology and forgave Tyson.
In 1999, Tyson's boxing license was restored. Tyson's restoration to boxing received the status of "event of the year." However, Tyson was not at all the same as before. Now he trained for a maximum of one and a half months before the fights, which he had twice a year against not the strongest, but still highly rated boxers. This is a regular one-hit slugger, but still has the most unrivaled hitting power.
In January 1999, Tyson met with South African Francois Botha. Tyson underestimated his opponent and was poorly prepared for the fight. The fight took place mainly at close range with an abundance of clinches. The beginning was nervous; at the end of the round Tyson tried to twist Bota’s arms. Their teams had to separate the boxers after the first round. In the second round, the referee deducted a point from Mike. Still, Tyson won the fight. At the end of the 5th round, Tyson sent his opponent to the canvas with a right cross to the chin. Botha stood up for the count of 10, but immediately fell onto the ropes. The referee recorded a knockout.
On February 6, 1999, Tyson again began to have problems with the law. He was sentenced to pay $5,000 in addition to a two-year suspended sentence, as well as 200 hours of community service for two hits to motorists following a traffic accident that occurred on August 31, 1998.
In January 2000, Tyson met British champion Julius Francis. Francis fell 5 times. After the 5th fall, the referee stopped the fight. Tyson won by knockout in round 2.
Interesting fact: the public was confident in advance that the first one would win. The English newspaper The Mirror even paid for advertising on the soles of Francis' shoes so that she would be captured on photo and video cameras during the knockdowns.
In October 1999, Tyson met with Orlin Norris. In the 1st round, Tyson sent his opponent to the canvas with a short left hook to the jaw after the bell. Norris stood up. The referee deducted 2 points from Tyson. Norris did not advance to the 2nd round. The doctor examined him, but did not reveal anything and said that Noris simply did not want to get into the ring. Noris claimed that he injured his knee in a fall. The fight was declared invalid. After the fight, Tyson said: "Norris went to his corner, no problem, he probably hurt his knee while sitting on the chair." Even Evander Holyfield supported Tyson, saying the crowd was so loud it was hard to hear the bell. It was easy way for Norris to get out of the fight. He received his fee and was not (officially) beaten by Tyson.
Due to problems with the law, Tyson spent his next two fights outside the United States.
In June 2000, Tyson met with Lou Savarese. Savarese defeated James Douglas in his last fight. At the beginning of the 1st round, Tyson knocked Savarese down with a left hook. When the enemy stood up, intending to continue the fight, Tyson attacked him to finish him off. Referee John Coyle, trying to put an end to the beating of the helpless Savarese, tried to separate the boxers, but Tyson, not paying attention to the judge, continued to strike. Forgetting to be careful, the boxer, who had gone wild, accidentally hit the referee with his fist and he fell into the ring. Coyle stood up and again categorically demanded that the fight be stopped. This time Tyson complied. There was a hitch; no one knew what the verdict would be. In the end, Tyson was awarded the victory by technical knockout, despite the incident. Savarese nevertheless threw up his hands for a long time, as if not understanding why the referee did not allow him to continue the fight.
In October 2000, Tyson met Andrzej Golota. Tyson immediately went on the attack. At the end of the 1st round, he knocked down Golota with a right hook to the jaw. Golota got up and was able to continue the fight, making it to the end of the round, but he began bleeding from a wound above his left eye. Hoping to get a knockout victory, Tyson continued his aggressive attack throughout almost the entire second round, which resulted in Golota tying Tyson's hands several times to try to reduce his effectiveness. powerful blows. Although Golota tried to resist, Tyson easily won the round and led on points according to all 3 judges. During the break between the 2nd and 3rd rounds, Golota refused to continue the fight. Golota's corner tried to persuade him to continue the fight, but to no avail. Golota ran out of the ring. Golota's decision to withdraw from the fight angered Tyson, who felt he had lost the opportunity to get a traditional knockout victory. Tyson had to be held in his corner to prevent him from attacking Golota. While Golota was leaving the hall, spectators threw various objects at him, mainly drink glasses. Near the exit, he was hit by a can of ketchup, which spilled over the boxer’s body. Later, representatives of the Showtime television channel said that Golota was a coward, and they would never show him on their channel again. Shortly after the fight, Tyson's doping test showed traces of marijuana in his blood, and the fight was declared invalid. After the fight, Golota was taken to the hospital. There it turned out that Golota suffered a concussion, a fracture of the left cheekbone, and a herniated intervertebral disc between the fourth and fifth cervical vertebrae during the fight, which forced him out of boxing for almost 3 years before returning on August 14, 2003. However, then Golota had two championship fights with Chris Byrd for the IBF title and with John Ruiz for the WBA title. The fight with Bird ended in a controversial draw, and the fight with Ruiz controversially lost, but many experts and spectators believed that in those fights Golota was robbed by the judges. Most likely, it was the fight with Tyson that influenced the opinion of the judges.
In October 2001, Tyson went to Denmark to fight with a local fighter - former IBO champion Brian Nielsen. It was a big fight: 25,000 spectators filled the stands of the Parken Stadium, spending considerable sums on entrance fees. The one-year break affected Mike's form; he entered the ring with a career-high weight, having gained 10 kilograms. Tyson dominated the entire fight, showering his opponent with blows from the first round. Already in the 2nd round, the Dane’s eye began to swell. At the end of the 3rd round, Tyson carried out a series of blows to the opponent’s head, after which he collapsed to the floor. Nielsen stood at the count of "7". Tyson rushed to finish him off. A few seconds later, Tyson hit the Dane in the groin with a left hook. Nielsen winced in pain. He was given time to rest. Tyson continued his attack on the Dane, who offered less and less resistance. In the sixth round, Iron Mike was simply finishing off his victim. Just before the bell, he rewarded his opponent with a left uppercut. After the 6th round, Nielsen refused to continue the fight. Tyson received $13 million for this fight, and Nielsen received $800,000.
In June 2002, a fight between Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis took place. The fight was the highest-grossing event in boxing history, grossing $106.9 million from 1.95 million paid views. Tyson had problems with drugs at the time and overweight, in recent battles he neglected defense and was very far from his example of the 80s. Despite the fact that this fight was very important, Tyson devoted more time not to training, but to nightclubs, so he approached the fight in much worse shape than in 2000, nevertheless, the bookmakers made him the favorite. In the 1st round, Tyson managed to surprise the fans; he got into close combat and delivered accurate blows to Lewis. Lewis tried in every possible way to avoid the fight, tying Tyson's hands and leaning on him in close combat, for which he repeatedly received a warning from the referee. From the 3rd round, Mike's stamina began to wane, and he made dodges, not trying to get into close combat. At the end of the 4th round, Lewis leaned on Tyson, and Tyson fell. The referee did not consider it a knockdown. In the 5th round, Lewis hit Tyson while the referee was separating the boxers from the clinch. Lewis received another warning. After the 5th round, Mike's stamina finally sank and he almost stopped defending himself. In the middle of the 8th round, Lewis hit Tyson in the jaw with a left uppercut. Tyson squatted down and the referee counted the knockdown. Towards the end of the round, Lewis sent Tyson to the canvas with a right hook. At the count of 10, Tyson just took a knee. The referee recorded a knockout. Each boxer received $35 million.
In February 2003, Tyson met with Clifford Etienne. At the beginning of the 1st round, he sent Etienne to the canvas with a right hook. At the count of 10, Etienne was still on the canvas. The referee recorded a knockout.
On July 30, 2004, after a 17-month break, Mike Tyson entered the ring against the rather famous British boxer Danny Williams. Tyson was the favorite in this fight (bet on him was accepted at a ratio of 9 to 1). The first round of this fight was one of the best rounds Mike has had in recent years, at the end of the round he shook Williams badly, after which he fell into a groggy state and began to clinch, which helped him last 1 round. But then Tyson gave up abruptly and in the second round his advantage was minimal. In the third round, referee Dennis Alfred deducted two points from Williams for a blow after stopping the fight and “butting”, and in the fourth round, after Williams’ protracted series, Tyson found himself on the floor and could not get up before the referee’s countdown ended. An explanation for this unexpected defeat followed immediately: it turned out that in the first round Mike received a serious knee injury, which deprived him of the ability to move normally around the ring and throw punches. A few days later, Tyson had surgery and spent several weeks in a cast.
On June 11, 2005, Tyson met with the little-known Irishman Kevin McBride. The audience fiercely supported Tyson. Before the fight, Muhammad Ali visited Tyson's locker room to cheer him up. His daughter Leila Ali took part in one of the preliminary fights. Tyson won the first 4 rounds; in the fourth round he managed to carry out several successful attacks on his opponent’s head and body, but Mike was unable to build on his success. In the 5th round, Mike's noticeable fatigue began to appear and the round remained with McBride. In the 6th round, Tyson again attacked his opponent, in one of the attacks there was a clash of heads, as a result of which McBride suffered a cut. Referee Joe Cortez deducted 2 points from Tyson. At the end of the 6th round, McBride leaned on Tyson, and he fell. Tyson sat down on the floor. The referee did not consider it a knockdown. Despite this, the round remained with Tyson. “Iron Mike” refused to fight the seventh round of the fight. After the fight, Tyson announced his retirement, saying that he did not want to disgrace boxing by losing to boxers like McBride.
In 2006, Mike announced that he was going to tour the world. This time he will take part in 12 exhibition fights, which have already received the loud name “Mike Tyson’s World Tour”. His first opponent was the American veteran Corey Sanders, nicknamed T-Rex (not to be confused with the South African Corrie Sanders). Sanders boxed with a helmet. In the first round, Tyson knocked Sanders down and then confidently outplayed him in the remaining rounds. The fight was not included in service records boxers. This was the first and last Stand tour, although the list of his opponents included: Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Hasim Rahman, Shannon Briggs.
Mike Tyson's scandals and convictions:
Mike Tyson never finished high school.
While living with Cus D'Amato, Mike watched a lot of videos of old professional fights and, impressed by what he saw, chose for himself a rather unusual image for those times: he entered the ring without music, without a robe, in simple black shorts and boxer shorts. barefoot
On June 22, 1987, Tyson was arrested on charges of assault and mayhem. He pestered a paid parking lot employee, and then hit a colleague who stood up for her. The case was closed after they were paid $105,000.
1988 was a turning point for Mike: he fired his coach Kevin Rooney and disbanded the entire team, after which his career began to decline.
In 1989, along with Don King, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, by university President Arthur E. Thomas.
On July 19, 1991, he was accused of raping 18-year-old Desiree Washington, who had the title “Miss Black America.” There was a lot in the criminal case controversial issues, who spoke in favor of the fact that everything happened “consensually,” but on September 9, 1991, the Indiana Grand Jury voted to indict Tyson on three counts, including rape. Tyson was convicted on February 10, 1992.
Desiree Washington - Mike Tyson rape victim
In 1990, Mike gave up training and began to abuse alcohol. The consequence of this was his defeat by “Buster” Douglas on February 11, 1990 in Japan, which is still considered the greatest sensation in boxing history: bets on Douglas’s victory were 42 to 1. In an interview with the American cable channel YES Network, Mike Tyson admitted that , who considers his 1990 fight against Douglas the best fight of his career: “I will always say that in my opinion this was my best fight, I always put it first. It's weird, but Cus [D'Amato] always told me: “You have to beat everyone, you can do it, but what happens when you get beaten, can you handle it?” And this fight proved that I can deal with it". After this fight, Tyson returned to training and signed up for treatment.
On March 5, 1998, Tyson sued his former promoter Don King demanding that he pay him $100 million in compensation for material damage caused during their work together. The case never went to trial and was settled for $14 million.
In 1989, Mike began having problems with alcohol due to a divorce and other problems, so Mike soon gave up training, but after the fight with Douglas, he signed up for treatment.
From mid-1990 to 2010, Mike had problems with drugs, and this greatly affected his career, psyche and problems with the law. For example, the fight with Andrzej Golota, when Tyson won, a doping test showed traces of marijuana in Tyson’s blood and the fight was declared invalid. In the second fight with Holyfield, after another headbutt, Tyson could not stand it and bit his opponent’s ear, and then in the clinch, after 2 blows, he bit him again. After the fight was stopped, Tyson rushed at Holyfield and began to beat everyone who prevented him from getting to Holyfield. Tyson later made a statement that he went crazy because of the violations on the part of Holyfield and the fact that the judge did nothing, and that he had one thought on his mind - to kill Holyfield, but 15 years later Tyson made a statement that in addition to rage from -for hitting Holyfield with his head, biting him under the influence of drugs. On December 29, 2008, Mike Tyson was arrested for using cocaine while driving, but was released the next day.
Because of drugs, Mike began to have problems with excess weight. IN in better shape, as Mike himself said, he weighed no more than 98 kilograms. In the late 90s, Mike's weight fluctuated between 101-102 kg. In the fight with Brian Nielsen, he weighed 108 kilograms, but this did not stop him from winning. In the fight with Lewis, he already weighed 106 kilograms and overweight was clearly visible on the body. From 2007 to 2010, Mike weighed 150-160 kilograms, but in 2008 he became a vegan, started exercising again and lost more than 40 kilograms.
In 2013, Mike Tyson made a statement that he had used marijuana and cocaine in recent years. boxing career. He used an artificial penis and other people's urine to pass drug tests after fights, most notably against Lou Savarese. This explains his uncontrollable aggression during and after the fight.
In the documentary, Tyson said that before the fight with Berbick, he contracted gonorrhea, which made him unable to concentrate on the fight.
Mike Tyson's height: 181 centimeters. Although those who unofficially know the athlete claim that his height is 178 cm.
Personal life of Mike Tyson:
Was married three times: For the first time, on February 9, 1988, he married actress Robin Givens. The following year, on February 14, they divorced in the Dominican Republic.
The second wife is Monica Turner, a pediatrician at Georgetown University Medical Center.
Children: Reina (born February 14, 1996), Amir (born August 5, 1997), Deamata Kilrain (born 1990), Miki Lorna (born 1990), Miguel Leon (born 2002), Exodus (died in an accident case in 2009).
Tyson's brother Rodney Tyson is a physician assistant at the Los Angeles Trauma Center at USC Medical Center.
Converted to Islam. When he changed religion, he received the name Malik Abdul Aziz.
Since 2009 he has been a vegan.
Mike Tyson is a professional heavyweight boxer whose name remains the most recognizable among his colleagues to this day. At one time he was nicknamed the “killer boxer” for his punching power and aggressive behavior in the ring. Olympic champion among juniors, absolute world champion, multiple recognized champion according to WBC, WBA, IBF, The Ring. A master of quick knockouts, many of whose records have not yet been broken.
Childhood and youth
Michael Gerard Tyson was born in June 1966 in the Brownsville area of New York. His father was Purcell Tyson, but he abandoned the family before his son was born. Michael was youngest child: the eldest daughter Denise and son Rodney were growing up in the family. IN early childhood Tyson was very vulnerable. He was offended by his peers, the yard boys and even his older brother. He could not stand up for himself and often suffered because of this, coming home with bruises and without pocket money.
In June 2005, Mike met in the ring with little-known Irish boxer Kevin McBride. Of course, the fans bet on Tyson. But in the 5th round the champion's fatigue began to show, and in the 6th he sat down on the floor and refused to participate in the 7th round. After this fight, Mike announced that he had decided to end his career.
Movies and books
The life story of the popular heavyweight was taken as the basis for several documentaries. This is the mid-90s film "Fallen Champion: The Untold Story of Mike Tyson" and the 2000s works "Beyond Glory" and "Tyson".
During his professional career, Mike Tyson had 58 fights, won 50 victories, 44 knockouts, including technical ones, suffered 6 defeats, 2 fights were left without announcement of results.
Mike Tyson's knockout career
First professional fight in sports career Mike Tyson took place on March 5, 1985. Mike's opponent was Hector Mercedes, whom he defeated by technical knockout. In 1985, he had 15 fights, winning all by knockout.
Before his first championship fight, which took place in November 1986, Tyson managed to fight 12 times. In January 1986, he won by technical knockout in the 5th round over Mike Jameson, who became the first fighter to last 5 rounds in a fight with Tyson. The second man who held out, Jesse Ferguson, had his nose broken by Mike; Jesse was disqualified in the 6th round.
In May 1986 he faced former title challenger James Tillis. This fight was the first professional fight Tyson lasted 10 rounds. Accordingly, Tillis became the first boxer to last 10 rounds in a fight with Mike. The victory was awarded to Tyson by unanimous decision.
Just 17 days after the fight with Tillis, he defeated Mitch Green, who, like Tyson, grew up in Brownsville and, according to legend, was part of the opposing gang. For this, Tyson first knocked out his mouthguard and then his gold tooth; the victory was awarded by unanimous decision of the judges.
In July of the same year, a fight took place between the two most outstanding and promising at that time, Mike Tyson and Marvis Frazier, son famous champion heavyweight Joe Frazier. This fight was the shortest fight in Tyson's entire professional career; he knocked out his opponent in just 30 seconds.
In November, he entered his first championship fight, his opponent was the current WBC world champion Trevor Berbick. The fight lasted only 2 rounds, Tyson won by knockout and became the world champion.
In the spring of 1987, Mike became the WBA world champion, defeating James Smith in a unified fight.
In May 1987, Tyson successfully defended the champion title, defeating challenger Pinklon Thomas by knockout, who had never before
wasn't even knocked down.
In August, he became the absolute world champion according to the WBC and WBA versions, defeating Tony Tucker, in a fight called The Ultimate.
In October, “Iron Mike” knocked out Olympic champion Tyrell Bigs in the 7th round, proving to everyone that he, too, was capable of representing the United States at the Olympic Games.
In January 1988, he knocked out the legendary Larry Holmes, who had never been knocked out before the fight with Tyson.
In March of the same year, while defending his title, he knocked out the strongest former champion Tony Tubbs in the 2nd round.
In June 1988, he defeated Michael Spinks by knockout and became the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
In February 1989, Tyson defeated the strongest heavyweight from Great Britain, Frank Bruno, by technical knockout.
Four boxers retired after being defeated by Mike Tyson: Trent Singleton, Benjamin Sterling, Michael Spinks, Frank Bruno.
In the early summer of 1989, he once again successfully defended his title, defeating US champion Carl Williams.
In 1990, Tyson lost the champion title due to problems with alcohol and had to fight again for the place of challenger. Mike's opponent was Olympic champion Henry Tillman. He defeated Tillman by a clean knockout at the end of the 1st round. In December of the same year, he knocked out prospect Alex Stewart in the 1st round.
Mike's knockouts after prison
After Mike Tyson returned to the ring in 1995, he knocked out the undefeated Buster Mathis Jr.
In September 1996, Tyson met with WBA world champion Bruce Seldon. Mike knocked him out in the first round, winning the WBA title and earning $25 million.
Tyson's close friend, famous rapper Tupac Shakur, was shot dead on September 7, 1996, after he and his comrades were returning from watching the fight between Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon.
In January 1999, Mike met South African boxer Francois Botha and, in a very nervous fight, knocked him out at the end of the 5th round.
In February 2003, Tyson knocked out Clifford Etienne in the 1st round, this knockout was the last in the professional career of “Iron Mike”.
It is worth adding to this that during his amateur boxing career, Tyson had 60 fights, winning 54 and losing 6; how many victories were won by knockout is unknown.
Mike Tyson - American professional boxer, who competed in the heavyweight division. Multiple champion world according to WBC, WBA, IBF and The Ring.Childhood and youth
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson was born on June 30, 1966 in Brooklyn. Mike's father abandoned the family before the boy was born, so the future athlete inherited his last name from his mother's first husband. Tyson also has an older brother, Rodney, and a sister, Denise. 
As a child, Mike was weak-willed and completely unable to stand up for himself. He was bullied not only by his classmates, but even by his older brother. A turning point occurred in Tyson’s mind when, in front of the boy’s eyes, a local bully tore off the head of a pigeon.
An enraged Mike attacked and brutally beat the teenager, which immediately earned him the respect of the young bandits. Together with new friends, Tyson soon began to steal, for which he more than once ended up in correctional institutions for juvenile offenders.
During his next visit to the colony, Tyson was lucky enough to meet the famous professional boxer Mohammed Ali, who arrived there to communicate with troubled teenagers. After meeting the great master, Mike first thought about becoming a boxer.
At the age of 13, Mike, who by that time was already considered incorrigible and even mentally retarded, fell into the hands of the legendary trainer Cus D'Amato. It was then that Mike chose his unique style - the fighter entered the ring without musical accompaniment, without a robe, in black shorts and boxers on bare feet.
Sports career
In 1981, Mike earned his first title - the teenager became the champion of the Youth Olympic tournaments. Tyson repeated his success the following year, and then received gold medals in 1983 and 1984 at the national championships. In the spring of 1985, Tyson made his debut in the professional ring. This year the athlete took part in 15 fights, winning by knockout. 
The rise to fame occurred in 1986, after successful fights against such strong opponents as Mike Jameson, Steve Zouski, James Tillis, Reggie Gross, as well as Mitch Green, who after the fight with Tyson did not enter the ring at all for seven years. Mike's popularity was brought by a fight with the most promising fighter at that time, Marvis Frazier, who at that time had only one defeat. In the first round, Tyson sent his opponent to a severe knockout. After this loss, Marvis almost immediately left boxing.
In November 1987, the athlete won a fight against WBC world champion Trevor Berbick, which brought Tyson $1.5 million and the title of the youngest heavyweight champion. Moreover, Mike set a record in this fight, forcing his opponent to fall and get up three times.
This was followed by a victory in a fight against ex-champion Pinklon Thomas (who had never even been knocked down until that point) and receiving the title of the youngest absolute heavyweight champion after fights with Tony Tucker, Tyrell Biggs and Larry Holmes. In addition to thunderous triumphs, Tyson also had unsuccessful fights - such as, for example, with a weak, at first glance, opponent James “Buster” Douglas in 1990.
In 1991, Mike was accused of raping 18-year-old Black Miss Rhode Island Desiree Washington and was released on bail after 3 years (instead of the original 6). The fighter was destined to return to the ring only in 1995, and this moment was dubbed “the event of the year” by the media. After leaving prison, the boxer's style changed significantly, which brought the athlete many victories, money and the title of three-time world champion.
In the summer of 1997, the famous boxer’s fight took place against Evander Holyfield, during which Tyson bit off part of his opponent’s right ear. The fight ended in a brawl, Mike was deprived of his boxing license and paid a fine of $3 million. Perhaps, this particular incident will always be associated with the name of this scandalous athlete.
Mike Tyson vs Evander Holyfield fight
Mike returned to the ring in 1999, however, according to critics, this was not the same Tyson. In addition, the fighter began to have problems with obesity, drugs and, again, the law. Mike subsequently admitted that he often used other people's urine tests to pass doping tests before fights.
Mike Tyson vs Lennox Lewis fight
In 2002, the highest-grossing fight took place against British boxer Lennox Lewis, who knocked Mike out. And after losing to the generally unknown Irish athlete Kevin McBride in 2005, Tyson announced his retirement from the sport. During these years, Mike experienced serious financial problems and even declared bankruptcy.
Further career
In order to improve his deplorable financial situation, in subsequent years Tyson tried himself in various fields of art and business in order to stay afloat. He began actively acting in films and TV series - Mike could be seen in “Rocky Balboa” (2006), “The Hangover” (2009). 
In total, from 1993 to 2017, Mike starred in more than five dozen films and TV series. The athlete also participated in an autobiographical show in Las Vegas and television wrestling programs. In 2012, Tyson was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, dedicated to the best wrestlers.
Mike Tyson. Best fights and knockouts
In the same year, Tyson created his own foundation, the mission of which was “to give children a chance to fight.” Tyson soon founded Iron Mike Productions, a boxing promotion company, with Harry Jonas.
In 2013, the Fox Sports 1 channel launched the animated documentary television series “The Mysteries of Mike Tyson,” dedicated to the life of famous boxer. In November of the same year, Tyson released an autobiographical book, Mike Tyson: Undeniable Truths, which hit the New York Times bestseller list.
In January 2017, Tyson launched his YouTube channel with Shots Studios, a comedy video production company with famous Viners such as Lele Pons and Rudy Mancuso. On Tyson's channel you can find parody music videos and sketches.
Personal life of Mike Tyson
Tyson was married three times: to actress Robin Givens (1988-1989), to pediatrician Monica Turner (1997-2003), and to Lakia "Kiki" Spicer (since 2009). Tyson's third wife met the boxer at the age of 18 - her father, an influential Muslim cleric, often took his daughter to boxing competitions. 
Her relationship with the controversial boxer took a serious turn in 2008 when Kiki was sentenced to prison for being in the company of her father, who was accused of fraudulent fundraising activities. A week before prison, Kiki found out that she was pregnant with Tyson's child. The girl spent six months in prison, and soon after being free she gave birth to Mike’s daughter Milan.
