Mike Tyson ended his career with a record of 50 wins and 6 losses. Here are five important duels in Mike Tyson’s boxing career.
Tyson started his career from below and proved that he could become the king of the world. Tyson’s career was tinged with deterioration, resurrection, and then finally really slumped without being able to get up at the end of the trip.
Here are five important battles in Mike Tyson’s career:
1. Mike Tyson vs. Trevor Berbick
Mike Tyson went through his first year phenomenally because he had 15 battles in one year and all the successes were won by him. Because of his sensational appearance, Tyson finally got a duel against Trevor Berbick which is a race for the WBC world champion. Berbick’s duel is the 28th duel in Tyson’s career. Even though he is still 20 years old, Tyson is not at all awkward in the race for the first world champion in his career.
The speed and power of Tyson’s is successfully making difficult for Berbick. Berbick only survived two rounds in front of Tyson. A left hook makes Berbick tumble. Berbick try to get up and then fall back over the rope ring. He tried to stand again, fell again and again. When he tried to stand again for the third time, the referee decided the match was finished with a TKO victory for Tyson.
Tyson became the youngest world champion in world boxing history at just 20 years old.
2. Mike Tyson vs. James Douglas
Mike Tyson is at the top of the world. He has everything. ‘Iron Mike’ even several times tends to underestimate the fight by not getting ready seriously but still winning it. Tyson’s duel against Douglas in Tokyo 1990 was one of the duel which was underestimated by Tyson. In the five previous duels, there were no opponents who survived more than five rounds.
But Douglas turned out to be more resilient than Tyson’s opponents before. He appeared so persistent, full of enthusiasm, and had high fighting power. Even though he had fallen because of Tyson’s uppercut, Douglas was saved by the bell round. Douglas then got the momentum to attack Tyson in the tenth round. Douglas punch combination cannot be dammed by Tyson who is cornered in the corner of the ring. Tyson touched the canvas for the first time and could not stand in a matter of ten.
3. Mike Tyson vs. Frank Bruno
Mike Tyson just finished his prison sentence in 1995 and then successfully defeated Peter McNeeley and Buster Mathis Jr. in the first two matches. The victory led Tyson to meet Frank Bruno in the race for the world title. Bruno himself had been defeated by Tyson in 1989.
Seven years passed, Tyson showed that he was still above Bruno. Bruno can only survive three rounds in front of Tyson. The combination of the left hook and the right uppercut repeatedly made Bruno sit on the rope ring and was declared defeated by TKO.
4. Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield
Evander Holyfield was originally the next opponent for Mike Tyson after a duel against James Douglas in 1990. But Tyson’s defeat made the duel null and void. Holyfield finally won the world title because of a knockout victory over Douglas in the third round.
In 1996, Tyson’s duel against Holyfield finally materialized. Tyson has returned to being a world champion while Holyfield is a 34-year-old old boxer who has lost more often. But Holyfield successfully took advantage of the golden opportunity to appear violent in the ring. Holyfield successfully made Tyson lose TKO in the 11th round.
The second defeat in Tyson’s career hasn’t really destroyed Tyson. He still has a chance to rematch. But the opportunity for rematch was wasted by Tyson. He even took action to bite the ears that made him disqualified.
5. Mike Tyson vs. Lennox Lewis
After losing to Evander Holyfield twice, Mike Tyson still had the chance to become a world champion. He faced Lennox Lewis who successfully defeated Holyfield. Although at that time Lennox Lewis was 37 years old, a year older than Tyson, Lewis was at the peak of his career.
Lewis successfully tamed Tyson and hit the eighth round. Lewis’s right shot made Tyson fall and couldn’t get up. After losing to Lewis, Tyson no longer gets the chance to rise. Tyson won against Clifford Etienne, but two defeats against Danny Williams and Kevin McBride ended Tyson’s career.
