The protracted and convoluted path that led Mike Tyson back into boxing.
On Saturday, Mike Tyson, fifty-four, will compete in boxing for the first time in almost fifteen years. There will be a range of emotions surrounding his planned eight-round exhibition fight against Roy Jones Jr., 51, including curiosity, worries about safety, enthusiasm for one of the best heavyweights in history, and rage over someone with a terrible background.
It will be many fans’ first time seeing a battle of Tyson’s, except highlight reels.
Some, however, see it as just another chapter in one of the most remarkable sports tales, one that saw him reach legendary heights as a boxing champion before collapsing in an Indiana prison.
Will this Saturday at Staples Center be the last for Tyson as a boxer? Tyson has given hints that he may not be finished. Tyson provided a straightforward response when First Take’s Max Kellerman questioned him in July about why he was returning to the ring. It is also the reason he has battled from the beginning, back when he was a young boy getting into fights in Brooklyn.
Roy Jones Jr. has one more chance to motivate a generation by taking on Mike Tyson.
On June 30, 1966, Mike Tyson was born in Brooklyn, New York. In his 2013 memoir “Undisputed Truth,” Tyson said that by the time he was 13 years old, he had been arrested 38 times for minor offenses. Bobby Stewart, a juvenile detention center counselor, saw Tyson’s boxing ability during one of his early spells in the criminal justice system. Stewart later connected Tyson to boxing manager and trainer Cus D’Amato.
Tyson competed in the Junior Olympic Games as an amateur and won gold medals in both 1981 and 1982. In Colorado, he turned heads in 1982 with an eight-second knockout and a commanding win in the finals.
Tyson’s mother passed away in 1982, the same year he was dismissed from Catskill High School. D’Amato was appointed Tyson’s legal guardian in 1984.
Early career years, 1985–1987
On March 6, 1985, Tyson engaged in his first professional bout in Albany, New York. The eighteen-year-old Tyson stopped Hector Mercedes in the opening frame of their planned four-round fight.
With no fight lasting past the sixth round, Tyson amassed 19 straight knockout victories in just over a year—a year and four days, to be exact. This spanned a period of time from August 15, 1985, to January 11, 1986, during which Tyson engaged in ten fights, winning nine of them in first-round knockouts and one via second. During the first four or so years of his career, Tyson collaborated closely with D’Amato’s protégé, trainer Kevin Rooney.
On November 4, 1985, D’Amato passed away from pneumonia; this was just three days after Tyson broke the 11-0 mark in his career. Tyson refighted on November 13.
On May 3, 1986, Tyson’s 20th fight resulted in a KO loss against James Tillis after a 10-round battle. Seventeen days later, Mitch Green would follow suit, but not before Tyson recorded seven consecutive knockout victories, which culminated in his first heavyweight title match.
On November 22, 1986, at the Las Vegas Hilton, Tyson defeated Trevor Berbick to win the WBC heavyweight title, 1.5 years after making his professional debut. Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history at the age of 20 years, 145 days. That record is still in effect.
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On March 7, 1987, Tyson defeated James Smith via unanimous decision to capture the WBA heavyweight championship in his following match. On May 30, 1987, Tyson defeated Pinklon Thomas in the sixth round by TKO to improve his record to 30-0. On August 1 of the same year, Tyson defeated Tony Tucker by unanimous decision to win the IBF heavyweight title.
As the first fighter to capture the heavyweight titles from all three main sanctioning organizations, Tyson continues to hold the record for being the youngest fighter in any category to accomplish so at 21 years, 32 days.
“Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out” was released by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System two days after Tyson successfully defended all three of his titles for the first time. Punch-Out eventually sold over three million copies, ranking among the top 20 NES games ever made.
1988–1989: Issues within and without the ring
On January 22, 1988, Tyson defeated heavyweight icon Larry Holmes in just four rounds. On February 9, 1988, in New York, Tyson wed Givens, an actress.
Givens and her family made public their claims of abuse and physical assault by Tyson in June 1988. Later that month, Tyson accused longstanding manager Bill Cayton of stealing from them in a lawsuit for breach of contract. Cayton refuted the allegations. Later, Tyson and Cayton reached an out-of-court settlement. In just ninety-one seconds, Tyson defeated the previously unbeaten former heavyweight champion Michael Spinks, adding The Ring heavyweight title to his expanding collection just hours after the lawsuit was filed.
When Tyson went to pick up clothes he had been fitted for earlier in the day from fashion designer Dapper Dan in Harlem on August 23, 1988, he was approached by Mitch Green. Tyson shattered a bone in his right hand during a late-night street fight. In the ring, Tyson had triumphed over Green in May 1986.
Tyson was rendered unconscious on September 4th near Catskill, New York, after crashing his BMW into a tree. Before and after the incident, Tyson is said to have made repeated threats to end his own life. Tyson sustained a concussion and was knocked out, but no other significant injuries were sustained. In October of 1989, a title defense against Frank Bruno was scheduled.
In October 1988, Givens filed for divorce, which was subsequently approved in the first part of 1989.
On October 26, Tyson agreed to collaborate with boxing promoter Don King.
Amidst a surge of personal upheaval, Tyler fired longtime trainer Rooney in December 1988.In the end, Rooney prevailed in a lawsuit alleging Tyson had violated a lifetime contract for $4.4 million.
Tyson fought fifteen times in 1985, thirteen times in 1986, four times in 1987, and three times in 1988 before winning his first of just two fights in 1989. After stopping Frank Bruno in the fifth round via TKO, he kept all of his championships.
