Newz Forum: PFL:BOXING: Mike Tyson Sportznewz Boxing Profile

Michael Gerard Tyson was born on June 30, 1966 in Brooklyn, New York.At an early age, Mike's raw boxing ability was realized and harnessed by Bobby Stewart, a local social worker and boxing fan.Stewart's guidance paved a direct path to the late, beloved trainer of champions, Constantine Cus D'Amato.

Upon bringing Tyson to the Catskill Mountains in New York, D'Amato nurtured Mike in and out of the ring. Eventually, Cus became Mike's legal guardian and inspirational leader. D'Amato was the driving force behind Tyson in the early years and his motivation was directly responsible for a fine amateur record of 24-3.With Cus's guidance, Mike Tyson became the hottest young heavyweight in professional boxing and was soon on the road to the heavyweight crown. Cus D'Amato's tragic death from pneumonia in 1985 was a blow to Mike Tyson, but he continued the journey to the heavyweight title with trainer Kevin Rooney at his side along with promoters Jim Jacobs and Bill Cayton.


A small fighter of 5'11, Tyson bore comparison to Frazier, Marciano and especially Dempsey in terms of his demeanour and his style. But while these fighters were limited technically, Tyson was the complete fighting machine. Well instructed in the Cus d'Amato art of boxing by Kevin Rooney and d'Amato himself, Tyson had a masterful 'peek-a-boo' defense and a lethal combination of speed and power. He made himself small and hard to hit, fighting as he did out of a crouch. Notably, his combinations were as fast as a lightweight's, and his power comparable to that of Foreman or Liston. Tyson was also very adept at manoeuvring himself inside an opponent's jab with his quick footwork, his lateral movement and his bobbing head.




Tale Of The Tape

Height: 5' 11-1/2"
Weight: 218 lbs
Reach: 71"
Chest (normal): 43"
Chest (expanded): 45"
Waist: 34"
Bicep: 16"
Neck: 19-3/4"
Wrist: 8"
Calf: 18"
Ankle: 11"
Thigh: 27"
Fist: 13"
Forearm: 14"

In the mid 1980s, the heavyweight division was still hurting from the retirement of Ali, and when the devastating, explosive, Mike Tyson burst on to the scene and notched up a 19-fight streak of KOs, he filled a void - much like Clay, Marciano and Louis before him. After only 20 months and 27 fights in the pro ranks, Tyson challenged Trevor Berbick in 1986 for the WBC title; he destroyed him inside 2 rounds to become the youngest heavyweight champion ever. Subsequently, he went on to unify the title with one-sided decision victories over 'Bonecrusher' Smith and unbeaten Tony Tucker. Further impressive KO wins followed over former champ Larry Holmes and the linear heavyweight champ of the day, Michael Spinks.

Tyson's period of absolute dominance was 1986-1988, culminating in his 91-second KO of Spinks. Admittedly, Spinks was a light-heavyweight rather than a natural heavyweight, but still he failed to land a single right hand out of the 9 he threw, as Tyson disposed of him ruthlessly. Generally, it is typical of smaller heavyweights like Frazier, Marciano and Dempsey to have short, blazing careers and Tyson is no exception to this trend. His style did not lend itself to a long reign like that of Ali or Holmes, especially in view of the complications in his personal life. Nevertheless, before Tyson was convicted for rape, his record stood at a fine 41-1 (36); he made 9 successful defences of his WBC title, and his only loss was to "Buster" Douglas, in a contest Tyson fought on antidepressants.Tyson married actress Robin Givens in 1988. Also in this year, one half of the Tyson's management, Jim Jacobs died At his funeral the ever Greedy DON KING, a man who is never happy unless he controls as many of the heavyweight stars as he possibly can began to lure Tyson claiming he wanted to use Tyson for everybody's benefit, in reality this meant he wanted to use Tyson for his own ends as he has in his entire career, greedily gobbling up as much of the money in boxing as he can get his filthy hands on.

Ultimately, Mike Tyson will be remembered as a fighter with sublime gifts who never fulfilled his true potential. He was hindered in his career by many unfortunate events in his personal life as well, admittedly, as some definite character flaws in his make-up. In hypothetical match-ups, I very much believe the Tyson of '86 or '88 would start as the favourite against Holyfield and Lewis at their respective peaks. His elusiveness, speed and power, and focus and stamina made him a superb all-round fighter. I feel that in terms of what he has actually managed to achieve inside the ring, he merits a place in the list of the top 10 heavyweights of all time.

[Edited on 18-7-2004 by Ocelot]

Mike Tyson Fight Record.


50 Wins, 4 Losses, 2 No Contest, 44 Knockouts


1985
Mar. 6 -- Hector Mercedes, Albany, N.Y., TKO 1
Apr. 10 -- Trent Singleton, Albany, N.Y., TKO 1
May 23 -- Don Halpern, Albany, N.Y., KO 4
June 20 -- Rick Spain, Atlantic City, N.J., KO 1
July 11 -- John Alderson, Atlantic City, N.J., TKO 2
July 19 -- Larry Sims, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., KO 3
Aug. 15 -- Lorenzo Canady, Atlantic City, N.J., TKO 1
Sept. 5 -- Michael Johnson, Atlantic City, N.J., KO 1
Oct. 9 -- Donnie Long, Atlantic City, N.J., KO 1
Oct. 25 -- Robert Colay, Atlantic City, N.J., KO 1
Nov. 1 -- Sterling Benjamin, Latham, N.Y., TKO 1
Nov. 13 -- Eddie Richardson, Houston, KO 1
Nov. 22 -- Conroy Nelson, Latham, N.Y., KO 2
Dec. 6 -- Sammy Scaff, New York, KO 1
Dec. 27 -- Mark Young, Latham, N.Y., KO 1


1986
Jan. 10 -- Dave Jaco, Albany, N.Y., TKO 1
Jan. 24 -- Mike Jamison, Atlantic City, N.J., TKO 5
Feb. 16 -- Jesse Ferguson, Troy, N.Y., W DSQ 6
Mar. 10 -- Steve Zouski, Uniondale, N.Y., KO 3
May 3 -- James Tillis, Glen Falls, N.Y., W 10
May 20 -- Mitch Green, New York, W 10
June 13 -- Reggie Gross, New York, TKO 1
June 28 -- William Hosea, Troy, N.Y., KO 1
July 11 -- Lorenzo Boyd, Swan Lake, N.Y., KO 2
July 26 -- Marvis Frazier, Glen Falls, N.Y., KO 1
Aug. 17 -- Jose Ribalta, Atlantic City, N.J., TKO 10
Sept. 6 -- Alfonzo Ratliff, Las Vegas, KO 2
Nov. 22 -- Trevor Berbick, Las Vegas, TKO 2
(Won WBC Heavyweight Title)

1987
Mar.7 -- James Smith, Las Vegas, W 12
(Won WBA Heavyweight Title/Retained WBC Heavyweight Title)
May 30 -- Pinklon Thomas, Las Vegas, TKO 6
(Retained WBA/WBC Heavyweight Titles)
Aug. 1 -- Tony Tucker, Las Vegas, W 12
(Won IBF Heavyweight Title/Retained WBA/WBC Heavyweight Titles/Became Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion)
Oct. 16 -- Tyrell Biggs, Atlantic City, N.J., TKO 7
(Retained Undisputed World Heavyweight Title)


1988
Jan. 22 -- Larry Holmes, Atlantic City, N.J., TKO 4
(Retained Undisputed World Heavyweight Title)
Mar. 21 -- Tony Tubbs, Tokyo, Japan, TKO 2
(Retained Undisputed World Heavyweight Title)
June 27 -- Michael Spinks, Atlantic City, N.J., KO 1
(Retained Undisputed World Heavyweight Title)


1989
Feb. 25 -- Frank Bruno, Las Vegas, TKO 5
(Retained Undisputed World Heavyweight Title)
July 21 -- Carl Williams, Atlantic City, N.J., TKO 1
(Retained Undisputed World Heavyweight Title)


1990
Feb. 11 -- James Douglas, Tokyo, Japan, KO by 10
(Lost World Heavyweight Title)
June 16 -- Henry Tillman, Las Vegas, KO 1
Dec. 8 -- Alex Stewart, Atlantic City, N.J., KO 1


1991
Mar. 18 -- Donovan Ruddock, Las Vegas, TKO 7
June 28 -- Donovan Ruddock, Las Vegas, W 12


1995
Aug. 19 -- Peter McNeeley, Las Vegas, W DSQ 1
Dec. 16 -- Buster Mathis, Jr., Philadelphia, KO 3


1996
Mar. 16 -- Frank Bruno, Las Vegas, TKO 3
(Won WBC Heavyweight Title)
Sept. 7 -- Bruce Seldon, Las Vegas, TKO 1
(Won WBA Heavyweight Title)
Nov. 9 -- Evander Holyfield, Las Vegas, TKO by 11
(Lost WBA Heavyweight Title)


1997
June 28 -- Evander Holyfield, Las Vegas, L DQ 3
(For WBA Heavyweight Title)


1999
Jan. 16 -- Francois Botha, Las Vegas, KO 5
Oct. 23 -- Orlin Norris, Las Vegas, NC 1


2000
Jan. 29 -- Julius Francis, Manchester, England, TKO 2
June 24 -- Lou Savarese, Glasgow, Scotland, TKO 1
Oct. 20 -- Andrew Golota, Detroit, NC 3


2001
Oct. 13 -- Brian Nielsen, Copenhagen, Denmark, TKO 7


2002
Oct. 13 -- Lennox Lewis, Memphis, Tennessee, KO by 8
(For WBC and IBF heavyweight title)


2003
Feb. 22 -- Clifford Etienne, Memphis, Tennessee, KO 1

Mike is a great boxer he had his bad moments with the ear and the fight outside the bar that one night in NYC, but overall in the ring he is a great fighter.

on my personal level i think that Mike Tyson is over-rated

Originally posted by hawkeye8424
on my personal level i think that Mike Tyson is over-rated

Well i'm glad it's your opinion as millions of people would disagree with you.

Tyson was awesome in his prime,he would have beat Lewis and every other heavyweight.He had that killer instinct back then that made him better than everyone else.

I think so TRD. Why isnt he fighting now, he says he is tired, but he is still younger than a lot of poeple and could go a couple more fights.