No, I’m not going to write an article questioning whether if his former trainer, Cus D’Amato, had still been alive, would Tyson have retired undefeated.
Or, if a ‘prime’ Iron Mike could have beaten a prime Muhammad Ali.
This is an article about how Mike Tyson sucked in a generation of casual and non-fans into the sport of boxing and then dropped the floor from beneath them with nothing left to hold on to.
The Heavyweight division has always been referred to as the “Golden Division,” or even the “Money Division”. It’s earned these names because anyone who follows boxing, and especially those who help grease the gears of the Sweet Science, knows that if the heavyweight division is strong, so is the sport. It’s why having a dominant or exciting champion is so important to promoters, managers and even the fighters themselves.
When 18-year old Michael Gerard Tyson first climbed through the ropes as a professional in 1985, he began a whirlwind of excitement accentuated with early round knockouts. It wasn’t just that this young, bundle of fury was knocking out stiffs in less time than it takes Larry Merchant to become disgruntled, it was the way he was putting his opponents to sleep. He had the speed of a welterweight, heavyweight power in both hands, and the aggressiveness of a pit-bull. It wasn’t uncommon to witness a five or six punch combination resulting in horrific results.
In most instances, the last four punches weren’t even necessary as the fighter receiving the brutal end of a six-punch set were unconscious after the first two found their mark.
This is how it would follow for the next three years. During that span, Tyson would face thirty-four opponents knocking-out all but four. The last of that group was the undefeated, Ring Magazine champion, Michael Spinks. Spinks earned that title after defeating the then IBF heavyweight champ, Larry Holmes, with two controversial decision wins.
However, he would relinquish that title after Spinks refused to take part in the unification tournament for all three recognized straps; the WBC, the WBA and the IBF - a tournament that Tyson won handily.
Having never lost the title in the ring, and considering that Holmes was the legitimate lineal champion when Spinks beat him, Ring Magazine, along with fans and boxing experts considered him to be the real heavyweight champion.
Some publications felt Spinks had the experience, reach and size to keep Tyson at bay and eek out a 12-round decision. Some even suggested that he had a legitimate shot at stopping Mike before the final bell rang.
They were all wrong. What unfolded was the complete and utter destruction and domination of one fighter over another. Not just physically, but mentally. Spinks was scared walking into the Lions den and Tyson knew it. Ninety-one seconds and two knockdowns later, Mike Tyson was still the undisputed and undefeated heavyweight champion of the world.
9 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete