About Mike Tyson and how he was just invincible in his Days.
When it comes to iconic names in the sport of boxing, Mike Tyson is always one of the first on any list. Known as the “Baddest Man on the Planet”, the image of a heavy punching, ruthless bad boy of the 1980s helped Tyson transcend his chosen sport and made Mike a lauded figure in popular culture. Tyson was the embodiment of macho prize fighting. An indication as to why the world heavyweight champion often resembled the toughest man in boxing.
During his run towards world title glory, and later across many of his title defences, Tyson smashed through a line of challengers, with an air of invincibility about his work. When Tyson boxed, the world tuned in. Excited viewers sat and watched, just waiting for an explosively inevitable knockout to arrive.
That explosive punching power, and ability to leave an opponent stretched across the canvas, knocked out cold, added to his air of invincibility.
Turning professional in 1985, under the watchful eye of veteran mentor Cus D’Amato and trainer Kevin Rooney, Tyson laid waste to a string of opponents in his first year.
Even though many of the fighters presented to Tyson in his first two years were initially lower level operators, it was the destructive fashion in which they were dispatched that caught the eye of the media and the imagination of a paying public. Tyson was fast, well trained, his head bobbed in and out of range of punches. When he attacked, his powerful hooks from both fists were irresistible.
In June 1988, Tyson knocked out Michael Spinks in just 91 seconds to become the undisputed heavyweight king. He held all the belts that mattered. He had beaten the man that had beaten the man (right back to the old days of bare-knuckle fighters and 40-round boxing matches) to become the king of heavyweight boxing’s proud continuous lineage. With his legacy secured, Tyson had earned a place amongst the pantheon of boxing greats.
The finish of Spinks was Tyson at his most devastating. Spinks had not been beaten in 31 matches, but he entered the ring with fear in his eyes. In true Tyson fashion he was heard whispering to his coach before the fight that he was ready to hurt his opponent. The finish was spectacular. It represented everything the viewers had come to love and expect from the new heavyweight king.
Before the Spinks knockout, Tyson had cleaned out champion Trevor Berbick in 1986 to claim Berbick’s WBC heavyweight title. Mike was only 20 years of age and his crunching second-round victory in Las Vegas meant Tyson had become the youngest heavyweight champion in history.
Tyson’s career was not always plain sailing. Out of the ring he endured multiple legal issues and was no stranger to the courtroom. Some of his offences were on a lower level. Stories of fights against rivals in the street, or possession of substances. Others were far more sinister and serious in nature.
In the ring he suffered a shock 1990 defeat to James “Buster” Douglas in Japan. Douglas had already lost on four previous occasions and was hugely unfavoured when the pair clashed for all of Tyson’s belts. Highly motivated by the death of his mother, just weeks before the fight, huge betting underdog Douglas would not be denied on the night and he defeated Tyson in the 10th round to pull off one of the biggest sporting shocks of all time.
Mike also bit off Evander Holyfield’s ear in their 1997 rematch bout. On another occasion he tried to break an opponent’s arm while they were grappling for ring supremacy.
Even after these losses, or flagrant breaches of the boxing code, Tyson still maintained his reputation as a brutally efficient finisher. People still tuned in right up until his retirement expecting a big knockout finish or expecting him to do something extreme or unpredictable. They yearned for the early flashes of Tyson, when he had looked so explosive, and at times utterly invincible.
Article by Bushu.ch
