Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson is one of the most iconic and controversial boxers in the history of the sport. Born on June 30, 1966, in Brooklyn, New York, Tyson went on to become one of the most dominant heavyweights ever, with a career that spanned over two decades.

Tyson began his professional boxing career in 1985, at the age of 18, defeating Hector Mercedes via 1st round TKO. In the beginning, Tyson won 26 of his first 28 fights by KO or TKO, with 16 coming in the first round, as he quickly established himself as a force to be reckoned with in the sport.

Tyson's first nationally televised bout took place on February 16, 1986, and by November of that year, he was given his first title fight against Trevor Berbick for the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight championship. Tyson won the title by TKO in the second round, becoming the youngest heavyweight champion in history at just 20 years and 4 months of age.

Tyson's dominant performance brought him many accolades, with Donald Saunders writing, "The noble and manly art of boxing can at least cease worrying about its immediate future, now [that] it has discovered a heavyweight champion fit to stand alongside Dempsey, Tunney, Louis, Marciano, and Ali."

Tyson's boxing style was ferocious and intimidating. His knockout-to-win percentage of 88% ranked him 16th on The Ring magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time, and he was ranked first on ESPN's list of "The Hardest Hitters in Heavyweight History." Sky Sports described him as "perhaps the most ferocious fighter to step into a professional ring."

With his outstanding hand speed, accuracy, coordination, and timing, Tyson intimidated fighters with his strength. He also possessed notable defensive abilities, holding his hands high in the peek-a-boo style taught by his mentor, Cus D'Amato, to slip under and weave around his opponent's punches while timing his own. Tyson's explosive punching technique was due in large part to crouching immediately prior to throwing a hook or an uppercut, which allowed the 'spring' of his legs to add power to the punch.

Tyson won his first 19 professional fights by knockout, 12 of them in the first round. Claiming his first belt at 20 years, four months, and 22 days old, Tyson holds the record as the youngest boxer ever to win a heavyweight title. He was the first heavyweight boxer to simultaneously hold the WBA, WBC, and IBF titles, as well as the only heavyweight to unify them in succession. The following year, Tyson became the lineal champion when he knocked out Michael Spinks in 91 seconds of the first round.

Tyson won his first world title on November 22, 1986, against Trevor Berbick for the WBC heavyweight title. He became a unified heavyweight world champion in March 1987 by beating James Smith via 12 round unanimous decision, holding the WBC and WBA heavyweight world-champion belts. He successfully defended the WBA and WBC heavyweight titles against Pinklon Thomas on May 30, 1987, winning the fight via 6th round TKO. On August 1, 1987, Tyson became the undisputed heavyweight world champion by defeating Tony Tucker via 12 round unanimous decision. He held the WBA, WBC, and IBF heavyweight world-champion belts.

Tyson successfully defended the WBA, WBC, and IBF heavyweight titles against Larry Holmes, winning the fight via 4th round TKO, on January 22, 1988. He also successfully defended the WBA, WBC, and IBF heavyweight titles against Tony Tubbs, winning the fight via 2nd round TKO, on March 21, 1988.

On June 27, 1988, Tyson won The Ring heavyweight title from Michael Spinks, by beating Spinks via 1st round KO. On July 21, 1989, Tyson successfully defended the WBA, WBC, IBF, and The Ring heavyweight titles against Carl Williams, winning the fight via 1st round TKO.

After being stripped of the WBC title in 1996, Tyson lost the WBA title to Evander Holyfield by an eleventh-round stoppage. Their 1997 rematch ended when Tyson was disqualified for biting Holyfield's ears, with one bite being strong enough to remove a portion of his right ear.

Tyson's professional boxing career spanned more than 20 years, from 1985 to 2005. He fought a total of 58 times, winning 50 of them and losing six, with no draws and two no-contests. Tyson had a total of six losses in his professional boxing career — four of them in title bouts and two in non-title bouts. He suffered his first loss against Buster Douglas via 10th round KO on February 11, 1990, which ended his 37-fight win streak. Tyson has been stopped five times and lost once via decision.

Some of Tyson's best fights and notable victories include wins over two Hall-of-Famers, Michael Spinks and Larry Holmes, as well as Bruce Seldon, Trevor Berbick, Carl Williams, Tony Tucker, and Clifford Etienne. Tyson won a total of six world titles at heavyweight and had nine title defenses with ten title-fight KO wins.

Tyson's nicknames include "Iron Mike," "Kid Dynamite," and "The Baddest Man on the Planet." His boxing career was characterized by his ferocity, power

Mike Tyson Fight Record