Mike Tyson can never be forgotten in the history of boxing, but this is his rise and fall story in the boxing ring.
So many people nowadays do not know the kind of boxer Mike Tyson was in his prime as he is not your regular boxer.
Tyson was nicked named the ‘iron man’ because he possesses the iron fist to knockout boxer in seconds when he is in the ring.
Mike Tyson is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed “Iron Mike” and “Kid Dynamite” in his early career, and later known as “The Baddest Man on the Planet”.
The American boxer was considered as one of the toughest heavyweight boxers to ever exit in the world.
He reigned as the undisputed world heavyweight champion from 1987 to 1990. Tyson won his first 19 professional fights by knockout, 12 of them in the first round.
He claimed 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 American was known for his ferocious and intimidating boxing style as well as his controversial behavior inside and outside the ring. With a knockout-to-win percentage of 88%.
The following year, Tyson became the lineal champion when he knocked out Michael Spinks in 91 seconds of the first round. In 1990, Tyson was knocked out by underdog Buster Douglas in one of the biggest upsets in history.
In 1992, Tyson was convicted of rape and sentenced to six years in prison, although he was released on parole after three years. After his release in 1995, he engaged in a series of comeback fights, regaining the WBA and WBC titles in 1996 to join Floyd Patterson, Muhammad Ali, Tim Witherspoon, Evander Holyfield and George Foreman as the only men in boxing history to have regained a heavyweight championship after losing it.
After being stripped of the WBC title in the same year, he 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, one bite notoriously being strong enough to remove a portion of his right ear. In 2002, Tyson fought for the world heavyweight title, losing by knockout to Lennox Lewis.
In another fight on February 22, 2003, He beat fringe contender Clifford Etienne 49 seconds into round one. Before the fight there were rumors of Tyson’s lack of fitness. Some said that he took time out from training to party in Las Vegas and get a new facial tattoo. This eventually proved to be Tyson’s final professional victory in the ring.
In August 2003, after years of financial struggles, He finally filed for bankruptcy. He earned over $30 million for several of his fights and $300 million during his career. At the time, the media reported that he had approximately $23 million in debt.
On August 13, 2003, Tyson entered the ring for a face-to-face confrontation against K-1 fighting phenom, Bob Sapp, immediately after Sapp’s win against Kimo Leopoldo in Las Vegas.
K-1 signed Tyson to a contract with the hopes of making a fight happen between the two, but Tyson’s crime history made it impossible for him to obtain a visa to enter Japan, where the fight would have been most profitable. Alternative locations were discussed, but the fight ultimately failed to happen.
On July 30, 2004, He had a match against British boxer Danny Williams in another comeback fight, and this time, staged in Louisville, Kentucky. He dominated the opening two rounds. In the fourth round, Tyson was unexpectedly knocked out. This was Tyson’s fifth career defeat. He underwent surgery for the ligament four days after the fight
On June 11, 2005, Tyson stunned the boxing world by quitting before the start of the seventh round in a close bout against journeyman Kevin McBride. In the 2008 documentary, he stated that he fought McBride for a payday, that he did not anticipate winning, that he was in poor physical condition and fed up with taking boxing seriously.
After losing three of his last four fights, He said he would quit boxing because he felt he had lost his passion for the sport.
In 2000 He fired everyone working for him and enlisted new accountants, who prepared a statement showing he started the year $3.3 million in debt but earned $65.7 million.
