Mike Tyson was undefeated in 37 fights before meeting Buster Douglas

26 years ago, Mike Tyson lost for the first time in the professional ring when Buster Douglas became his offender. HB describes a historic event in the history of boxing

On February 11, 1990, the usual victory of the invincible American was supposed to take place in Tokyo. Prior to this fight, Tyson won 37 fights and never lost. Meanwhile, in the passive of his counterpart Buster Douglas there were four defeats at once.

Bookmakers did not doubt the success of the favorite, who did not even train before the fight, which he admitted after the defeat. Tyson confidently prepared for the meeting with Buster, which was confirmed by his sparring with Greg Page, who managed to knock Mike down, although he had never been on the floor before, both during fights and training.

The first half of the fight made Tyson's fans seriously worried. The favorite did not differ in speed of action and rarely dodged blows. The opponent, on the other hand, acted quickly and confidently. Mike clearly underestimated his counterpart, and this was also proved by the fact that there was no eye iron in the champion's boxing corner. In his absence, the trainers used a rubber glove filled with cold water.

"I didn't train at all" - Mike Tyson on preparing for the fight with Douglas

In the 8th round, Tyson knocked down his opponent, after which he stayed on the floor for more than 10 seconds. But the judge did not start counting right away, and then even interrupted it when he turned back. Subsequently, this delay gave the "Iron Mike" team a reason to accuse the referee of breaking the knockout.

In the 10th round, Buster responded to his opponent with "reciprocity" when he delivered a successful uppercut to the jaw. After that, the attacking boxer succeeded in a combination of two left and one right crosses, as a result of which Tyson was already on the floor. And although Mike managed to get up, the judge saw that the champion was not on his feet. At the moment of stopping the fight, the judges recorded a draw, but the referee stopped the fight.

This defeat of the legendary American is considered by many observers to be the greatest sensation in boxing history. The reasons for the first of Tyson's six failures are still debated. Most often, they point to the champion's lifestyle on the eve of the fight. " Iron Mike"did not demonstrate iron discipline and was addicted to alcohol.

Meanwhile, three weeks before the fight, Douglas's mother died, and his wife was seriously ill. "I realized that getting in the face from Tyson is not the worst thing that can happen in my life, and I entered the ring with complete calmness and composure," Buster later said.

A year and a half later, Tyson ended up in prison, and after a successful return in the mid-1990s, he twice lost to Evander Holyfield. Iron Mike's status in the boxing world has never been the same as before the February 11, 1990 fight.

On February 11, 1990, James "Buster" Douglas knocked out undefeated Mike Tyson for the first time in history, marking the beginning of the end of his career as the greatest boxer of all time.

CARIER START

James grew up in a boxing family. His father Bill Douglas was the winner of the prestigious "Golden Gloves" tournament for young boxers, but did not leave the professional ring, ending his career with a record: 41 (31) - 15 (7) - 1. List of fights of the younger brother of Douglas - Billy even more modest: 12 (8) - 5 (1). There was nothing to suggest that James's career would be any different.

In his fifth fight, he was defeated by knockout, in the 13th - he was hardly a draw. Buster lost twice more before getting the first chance to face Tyson. It was in 1987. International Boxing Federation (IBF) stripped of the champion belt Michael Spinks. A battle of the challengers was scheduled. They were Douglas and unbeaten Tony Tucker.

Why Buster was chosen is a mystery. He was given a "last" chance. Most of the fight James looked stronger than Tucker, but missed a series of punches, lost by TKO in the tenth round. Douglas was forgotten.

But his career unexpectedly went up after this defeat. First, he won a series of warm-up fights, and then defeated the former world champion Trevor Berbick and future world champion Oliver McCall.

Buster got the "very last" chance.

BEFORE THE FIGHT WITH TYSON

This fight shouldn't have happened in principle. Tyson met with stronger rivals and calmly sent them to the floor. It was planned to hold a duel in the fall with Donovan "Razor" Ruddock.

But "Iron" Mike "forgot" about training and enjoyed the female company. His promoter DonKing to avoid a scandal "found" a doctor who "confirmed" that Tyson fell ill with pleurisy. The fight was canceled.

Next, King negotiated a fight in June with Evander Holyfield, which was supposed to bring Tyson 25 million. All that remained was to find an easier opponent to have another fight in February. This rival was Douglas.

In the meantime, Tyson was already celebrating with might and main, the honorarium promised to him for the fight with Holyfield, and on January 8 he was hardly pushed into a plane to fly to Tokyo. Tyson was only interested in alcohol and available girls. He was lucky, in Japan no less debauchery awaited him.

Tyson said more than once that he did not prepare for a fight with Douglas, did not even watch his fights. But he could not fail to see Douglas, because they often performed at each other's opening sessions. So "Iron" Mike could at least see Douglas fighting Berbick, Tucker, Mike Williams and DiCullier.

Moreover, Berbick and Tucker, as well as Jesse Ferguson, who defeated Douglas, Tyson literally "blew" from the ring. "Why prepare for Douglas when the boxers who beat him lost to me?" - met with a question Tyson any hint of training, which he attended extremely reluctantly.

In an exemplary sparring fight with Greg Page 10 days before the match, Tyson missed the hook and fell. The journalists were shocked: "Can someone knock Mike down?" And to change the impression, King organized another exhibition match, but Tyson was so bad that his coaches Aaron Snowell and Jay Bright stopped the fight after the first round.

During this time tragedy struck James Douglas. Three weeks before the fight, his mother died, literally a few days before the fight, his wife was hospitalized with a serious kidney disease. The doctors did not even think to hide from the boxer that everything could end in death.

Douglas got two more blows than Mike could have. James had no fear of him. Even people from the Tyson camp said that "this guy is doing jogging with foam at the mouth." This was the only time in his life that Douglas had prepared for his duel with such diligence.

During the day of finishing it turned out that Tyson had gained 100 kilograms. This was his biggest weight at the start of his career. But Mike, who was not at all bright in his mind, still managed to add that "Buster can 'join' his mother on the day of the fight."

DUEL

Already in the first round, it became clear that Tyson was in trouble - perhaps he had never thrown so few punches before, and Douglas calmly used the jab, not allowing Mike to get close to him.

At the beginning of the second round, "Buster" struck several close-range blows. "Where is your" pendulum ", Mike" - would have cried the "creators" of Tyson Cas D "Amato and Kevin Rooney, but they were not there, as their pupil no longer had the protection "pikabu".

After the third round, an enraged Snowell shouted:

- You can't get close to him. You have to break through to him, but you don't move.

- I tried it myself, your mother, to break through and get closer! He has an advantage over me in the arms length of 30 cm! - answered Tyson.

The fourth round was bad for Mike. The fifth is even worse. Tyson's eye began to swell, but when he returned to his corner, it turned out that his trainers did not have an "eye iron" or even an ice pack.

Teddy Atlas, who trained Tyson in amateurs, said: "These two cannot work as trainers, just as a fish cannot live without water."

The situation for Tyson was getting worse, and Douglas went into a rage. He planted blows into the head in series, but at the end of the eighth round he got carried away. For the only time in the entire fight, Tyson saw a gap in his defense. Mike had a signature uppercut, and James fell.

Once on the ring floor, Douglas first cracked his fist heartily, then got up on one knee, and on the count of nine showed that he was ready to continue the fight. But 13 seconds passed. The round was over. Tyson did not have a chance to finish off his opponent.

After the break, Douglas launched such a fierce attack that Tyson's head flew off like a devil from a snuff box. Even Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield did not perpetrate a Maykup-like defeat. During the break, the coaches shouted at Tyson, but he heard only silence.

In the next round, it was all over. Douglas ran again powerful blows, knocking out Mike with his signature uppercut. The mouthguard flew out of Tyson's mouth. This moment was in all the morning papers. Mike barely got up and, munching on the mouthpiece, returned to the corner.

- What happened?

“The judge gave you ten seconds. You've lost, champion.

At the same time, they were struck by the judicial notes. American LarryRosadilla put 88:82 in favor of Douglas, which was consistent with what was happening. But two Japanese judges KenMorita and Masakuzu Uchida put 86-86 and 86-87 in favor of Tyson. It was crazy. Obviously, there were some impure forces. The judges were counting on bonuses from one gentleman, if Tyson "lived" to the end of the 12th round, and their points would bring him victory.

AFTER BATTLE

And Don King would not have been the devil if he had not tried to take away all honestly won titles from Douglas ten minutes after the end of the fight. He convened a press conference and arranged a meeting with the heads of boxing organizations. "The first knockout cancels the second," - announced him in the voice of Satan.

And he did not care at all that the referee, before fixing the victory of "Buster", gave the same 13 seconds to Tyson to get up. The difference is that James got up and Mike didn't.

King's eloquence backfired. After returning to the United States, the WBC, WBA and IBF bosses did more than dismiss his request. They didn’t even oblige Douglas to have a mandatory rematch.

Tyson was "killed". Nobody wanted to deal with King, but he himself suffered in the end.

And Douglas was not going to give any revenge. He agreed to fight Holyfield, entered the ring with overweight and lost miserably. Evander, as if walking in a park on a warm evening, found three championship belts on the way home at once, took them away, without having time to sweat, while no one saw.

"Buster" turned out to be a whore for 17 million dollars, "- gave Tyson a new characterization of the rival.

Douglas did not show even 10% of what was in the fight with Mike in the fight with Holyfield. In the fight with Holyfield, he was already the "Tyson" whom he himself beat. "Buster" came out naring without dignity and pride to defend their belts. He got his fee and lost his honor.

Having become the absolute world champion out of the blue, Holyfield also did not think to meet with Tyson. Instead, he fought three boxers totaling 119 years of age! After that he "made" the absolute champion Riddick Bowe... At this time, Tyson ended up in prison, and in heavyweight chaos reigned. Titles were alternately held by Lennox Lewis, Holyfield, Bow, McCall, Michael Moorer, George Foreman, Frank Bruno,Fran Botha and Bruce Seldon... A photograph of the last three was featured on the cover of Ring magazine, and next to it was the inscription: "Who are these people?"

The victory of James "Buster" Douglas did not new era, and the most powerful crisis in the heavyweight division, which again had to be raked by Mike Tyson, who was released from prison in 1995. He practically managed to bring all the belts together for the second time in his career, but he stopped at one step, and Lewis became the new undisputed champion.

Douglas, in turn, was no longer allowed to title fights... He was forgotten by everyone again. On this once and for all.

A few years later, Tyson crossed paths with him at an autograph session. Nobody wanted to ask Douglas for an autograph. He went down in history by beating Tyson, but then the story of his own life was nullified.

ROUND COUNT. VERSION site

BOXERS

Check

Douglas

Tyson

Judges count: 88-82, 86-87, 86-86

TASHKENT, June 30 - Sputnik. One of the most popular professional boxers in the world, legendary American heavyweight champion Mike Tyson is celebrating his 50th birthday today.

The legendary boxer had a talent for knocking out opponents beautifully. Sputnik Uzbekistan editors have prepared 10 of Mike Tyson's greatest knockouts for you.

Iron Mike's First Pro Fight: Mike Tyson vs. Hector Mercedes

On March 6, 1985, Mike Tyson entered the professional ring for the first time. Tyson's first professional rival was Hector Mercedes. From the very first seconds of the first round, the superiority of Mike Tyson was obvious. With the first counter blow, Mike hits Hector Mercedes in the head, from which he flies into the corner of the ring. Immediately, Tyson delivers lightning-fast blows to the body, the strength of which was beyond Hector's shoulder. Hector immediately bent down and knelt. The referee started the countdown. Hector Mercedes, without hesitation, refused to continue the fight, and the referee stopped the fight.

Superboy Mike Tyson - Michael Spinks

Heavyweight fight, at stake which were the titles of WBC, WBA, IBF, The Ring magazine, Line champion and the title of the best boxer, regardless of weight category... The fight took place on June 27, 1988 in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand arena and ended in victory for Mike Tyson.

The only round of this fight was awarded the Round of the Year status by The Ring magazine. In this battle, Tyson set a kind of record: he earned at that time the very big fee in boxing history ($ 22 million) for the most a short time(91 seconds) and Spinks made $ 13.5 million.

Mike Tyson - Karl Williams

In July 1989, Karl Williams met with Mike Tyson. In the middle of the first round, Tyson sent the challenger to the floor with a left uppercut to the jaw. Williams got 8, but referee Randy Newmann looked at him and stopped the fight. The decision was controversial. The referee said in a post-match interview that Williams did not answer the question about his readiness to continue the fight. Williams also gave a post-match interview in which he stated that he was knocked down, not knocked out, that he was ready to continue the fight, and when the referee asked about his readiness to continue the fight, raised his hands, and did not understand why the referee stopped the fight.

Doomsday: Mike Tyson - Trevor Berbick

In November 1986, Trevor Berbick entered the ring against Mike Tyson. This battle was called the Day of Judgment. For this fight, Tyson earned $ 1.5 million, and Berbick $ 2.1 million. After this fight, Tyson set 2 world records, becoming the youngest heavyweight champion and becoming the first person whose punch made an opponent rise and fall three times in a row. Simultaneously with him, the record was set by Kevin Rooney (at that time he was 27 years old), becoming the youngest coach who led the ward to the champion title.

Mike Tyson - Marvis Fraser

At the beginning of the 1st round, Tyson drove the opponent into a corner and carried out a right uppercut. Fraser was shocked. Tyson immediately ran another streak hard blows... The enemy fell. The referee began counting, but seeing that Fraser was lying insensible, he stopped counting. It was a tough knockout. Fraser regained consciousness a few minutes later. It took Tyson only 30 seconds to knock out Fraser. This fight was the shortest in Tyson's professional career. After this fight, Marvis Fraser spent three more fights with little-known boxers and in 1988 won his last fight against Philip Brown after which he left the ring with a result of 19 wins and two losses.

Mike Tyson - Frank Bruno

Everything became clear from the first round, when Tyson, already in the first seconds, kissed Bruno's head on the right. Iron Mike looked much better in this round than in his last battles in front of the prison. In the third round, Tyson struck with a right to the body, a left hook to the jaw, and then spent long run on both hands, ending with several uppercuts on the right. Bruno fell into the ropes that kept him on his feet, and the referee saved him from further beating, and the WBC title passed to Mike Tyson. Tyson won by knockout in the fifth round. After this fight, Bruno retired from boxing.

Mike Tyson - Henry Tillman

At the end of the first round, Tyson right hook in upper part heads sent the enemy to the canvas. On the count of 10, Tillman was still on the floor. Tyson took revenge for the defeat on qualifying round Olympiads.

Mike Tyson - Larry Holmes

Tyson faced Holmes in January 1988 and dominated all four rounds. Holmes lost by knockout and spent the last five seconds of the fight in shock. As Holmes later said, he did not understand what was happening in the ring, after which a doctor was urgently called who helped him to his feet. After the fight, Larry Holmes said: "Tyson is much better than I thought. His speed and tactics are well developed. He is a real champion." For Tyson, Holmes' words were very pleasant. In response, Tyson mentioned that Larry Holmes is best boxer, with whom he had a chance to fight in the ring. Holmes later said: "According to my own feelings, I lost only one fight - against Tyson. In all the others, they just stole my victory."

Mike Tyson - Buster Mathis

Jr In December 1995, Mathis entered the ring against Mike Tyson. In the 3rd round, Tyson sent Mathis to the floor with a right uppercut. Mathis did not manage to rise to the score of 10, after which the referee recorded a knockout.

Mike Tyson - Trent Singleton

In April 1985, Mike Tyson met with Trent Singleton. Within ten seconds of the first round, Trent Singleton was on the floor. The continuation of the fight was pretty predictable. Tyson hit with the left after a bias, which would later become his signature blow, and Trent Singleton fell as if knocked down. Despite Tyson's clear superiority, the referee continued the fight. But it did not last long, Singleton was knocked down after five seconds.

The future star of world boxing - Mike Tyson was born on 06/30/1966 in Brooklyn, New York. Grew up without a father. He has an older brother named Rodney and an older sister Denise. Nothing foreshadowed the results that the future boxer subsequently achieved.

Mike Tyson's childhood

As a child, one of the greatest boxers of our time had a gentle disposition. Even the older brother, along with the neighboring boys, often mocked him. But this did not last long. Little Mike was very fond of pigeons, and once, when he was 11 years old, a teenager from a street gang snatched his favorite bird from his hands and twisted the pigeon's neck. Crazy with anger, Mike brutally beat the guy, and his character was broken.

Young Mike Tyson was accepted into a street gang, where he quickly won the respect of teenagers and together with them began to engage in theft and robbery. He often ended up at the police station. Once he managed to see the legendary Mohammed Ali, who attended correctional institutions for difficult teenagers. This meeting changed my whole life future star boxing, he had a desire to do this sport.

First coach

At the age of 13, Mike enters a special school for juvenile delinquents - at that time he was considered incorrigible. A former boxer, Bobby Steward, worked as a physical education teacher there. After Tyson once again ended up in a punishment cell, the guy decided that he would become a boxer. The steward agreed to train him, but only on condition that Mike starts to study well and corrects his behavior. Under the guidance of a teacher, Mike, considered completely incorrigible, begins to demonstrate success in boxing and teaching in school.

After some time, Bobby Steward began to understand that he could no longer give more to his talented student, and introduces him to the legend, an excellent coach, manager and person Cass D'Amato. This specialist noticed the talent of the young boxer and created an excellent team of specialists around him. After that, Mike Tyson (height, weight, see below) at the age of 15 (in 1981) made his debut as a boxer at the Holyoke club in New York, where he received the nickname "Tank". Cass D'Amato replaced his father, and thanks to him, Mike became who he is now.

Mike Tyson's height and weight

For boxers, this is an important ratio. According to some reports, Mike Tyson was 180 cm tall, weighing 96-108 kg. But official figures vary. There are claims that this figure is 181 cm.So how tall is Mike Tyson really? His height is 178 cm, and his working weight is best years- 98 kg.

Amateur career

Young Mike Tyson, whose skill growth was impetuous and fast, won the right to participate in the 1982 Youth Olympics, the final of which he won by a tough knockout over Joe Cortez. It only took him a few seconds. In 1983, Mike lost only one fight to Al Evans. Despite the defeat, the boxer won the right to compete in prestigious tournament"Golden Gloves", but in these competitions he won only a silver medal, having suffered a controversial defeat in the final to Craig Payne. This fight was very controversial, and the audience booed Craig after the winner was announced.

1984 Mike Tyson (height, whose weight is 178 cm and 98 kg, respectively) started well and won all fights. He dreamed of getting on Olympic Games, which were supposed to take place this year in Los Angeles. Tyson held a qualifying match against Henry Tillman and started successfully, knocking him down in the first round, but did not work out and lost to him with a score of 3: 2. According to many experts, Tyson won the fight. Then he faced this boxer in another qualifying match, and the decision of the judges was the same. Tillman won 3-2 and subsequently won gold medal Olympiads. Rumors spread that Tyson simply did not want to go to the Olympic Games because of his tough boxing style.

Mike Tyson (height, weight in the best years was small for such a category) in 1990 will take revenge on this guy, but already in the professional ring, knocking him out in the first round. Mike will win another landmark Tammer tournament, held in Tampere in 1984.

The meteoric rise of Mike Tyson's professional career

March 5, 1985 begins professional career a boxer that will be talked about for many years all over the world. This is the person who will change boxing beyond recognition, his name will become the most popular. All of this is Iron Mike Tyson. The rise in his popularity was incredible. In 1985, Mike had 15 fights and won everything, brightly and rapidly attacking his rivals, knocking them out in the first rounds.

The first rival who could hold out in the ring with Iron Mike until the 5th round was Jameson, but, most likely, this was influenced by the fact that Tyson fought only 13 days ago and did not have time to fully recover. In 1986, Tyson fights against Jesse Fergusson and breaks his nose with a beautiful uppercut at the end of the 5th round, but Jesse miraculously managed to withstand the brutal pressure of the young fighter and was ultimately disqualified for unclean work, since he constantly kept Tyson's hands in the clinch. This decision was subsequently revised and re-qualified as a TKO victory.

July 1986 will be remembered by boxing fans for the fight that many have been waiting for. The son of legendary boxer Joe Fraser, Marvis and Mike were considered the most promising boxers at the time. Mike Tyson's height and weight for heavyweight boxers were considered small, but Iron Mike was able to knock out an opponent in 30 seconds, and this fight became the fastest in his professional career.

1986 was the best year for Mike Tyson in his career, he was able to win the championship title and become the youngest professional champion in the world in heavyweight champion at the age of 20. But his legendary coach Cass D'Amato did not manage to live before this fight - he died shortly before the championship fight. Everyone thought that Mike would not be able to box, but he was able to pull himself together and devote the victory to his coach. Before this fight, his new mentor was Kevin Rooney, who received the title of the youngest coach who raised the world champion. His rival was reigning champion the world according to the most prestigious version of the WBC - Trevor Berbick. Mike was just fine and was able to knock out an opponent in the 3rd round. The meteoric rise of Mike Tyson at the age of 20 as a heavyweight boxer has aroused great interest among all the world's experts.

Personal life

The great boxer has been married several times. His first wife was actress Robin Givens. Marriage famous boxer and the actress did not last long, about 1 year. It was marked by a large number of scandals and caused great psychological trauma to Mike. And also the divorce cost a round sum - $ 10 million. Then Tyson married two more times. Monica Thorner and Lucky Spicer became the chosen ones. From his second wife, Mike had a daughter, Raina, and a son, Amir. Mike cheated on his wife and led a riotous lifestyle, which logically led to a divorce. After that, Tyson began to live with his mistress, who gave birth to his daughter Exodus, but her fate was tragic. She accidentally hanged herself from a rope loop that was attached to the simulator.

In 2009, at 42, the legendary boxer marries again. From this marriage he has a son who was born in 2011. Mike also has illegitimate children: Mickey, Lorna, Deamata and Kilrane.

Imprisonment

1991 completely ruined the boxer's career. Mike met a girl named Desiree Washington, who competed in the Miss Black America beauty pageant, and Tyson visited him. The very next day, the girl accused the boxer of rape. The ex-champion, despite the unconfirmed charges, was sentenced to 6 years in prison. Sitting in jail great boxer converted to Islam and received the name Malik Abdul Aziz. In 1995, Tyson, who had been in a correctional facility for 3 years, was released early (for good behavior).

Health problems

Mike had lung problems since childhood, and he was hospitalized quite often.

The famous boxer also had problems with drinking, which began after his divorce in 1989. There was a period when he even stopped training. After Mike fought against Douglas, he decided to sign up for treatment.

Mike also had a strong drug addiction in the mid-90s and until 2010. In this regard, the boxer had problems with the law, and the result was a severely traumatized psyche. His weight increased dramatically and he was in great discomfort.

In 2007-2010, Mike Tyson, whose height is not too tall, weighed 160 kilograms. Therefore, starting in 2009, the boxer decided to become a vegetarian and began to train intensively, thanks to which he lost almost 50 kg.

The end of the career of a great boxer

In the 90s of the last century, the decline of the career of the great champion began. After he lost to Buster Douglas, and the protest related to the result of the fight from the promoter of Mike, Don King, was not accepted, in addition, the opponent refused to hold a rematch, Tyson had to act as a contender for the title of world champion. Thomas Hearns set tough conditions for the boxer for the fight. Mike needed to lose weight up to 90 kg. Tyson's rival became Olympic champion Tillman, and Mike successfully took revenge from him for the defeat in the amateur ring.

Further, Mike Tyson tried to box for a long time, but constant scandals, as well as alcohol and drug abuse did not give the great champion a chance for a successful return to the ring after imprisonment. There were the famous 2 fights with Evander Hollyfield, in one of which Mike bit off a piece of his ear. There was a fight with Briton Lenox Lewis, but Tyson was losing consistently and could not do anything about it.

In 2006, Tyson planned to hold a farewell world tour, but was able to hold only one fight against the little-known boxer Corey Sanders (not to be confused with South African Corey Sanders) and won. Thus ended the career of the legendary boxer. Mike Tyson (the height, weight of a celebrity did not seem to bode well for achieving such high results in the heavyweight division) forever inscribed his name in boxing history as one of the greatest boxers who ever lived on the planet.

Mike Tyson is an American professional heavyweight boxer. Multiple champion the world according to WBC, WBA, IBF and The Ring.

Childhood and youth

Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson was born on June 30, 1966 in Brooklyn. Mike's father left the family even before the boy was born, so the future athlete inherited his last name from his mother's first spouse. Tyson also has an older brother, Rodney, and a sister, Denise.

As a child, Mike was weak of character and absolutely could not stand up for himself. He was bullied not only by his classmates, but even by his older brother. In the minds of Tyson, a fracture occurred when, in front of the boy's eyes, a local bully tore off the head of a pigeon.

An enraged Mike lashed out and brutally beat the teenager, which immediately earned the respect of the young bandits. Together with new friends, Tyson soon began to steal, for which he more than once ended up in correctional facilities for juvenile offenders.

During his next visit to the colony, Tyson was lucky enough to see the famous professional boxer Mohammed Ali, who arrived there to talk to troubled teenagers. After meeting with the great master, Mike first thought about the profession of a boxer.

At the age of 13, Mike, who by that time was already considered incorrigible and even mentally retarded, fell into the hands legendary coach Casa D'Amato. It was then that Mike chose his unique style- the fighter entered the ring without musical accompaniment, without a robe, in black shorts and boxers on bare feet.

Sports career

In 1981, Mike earned his first title - a teenager became the champion of youth Olympic tournaments... Tyson repeated his success in next year and then won gold medals in 1983 and 1984 at the national championships. In the spring of 1985, Tyson made his professional debut. This year, the athlete took part in 15 fights, winning by knockouts.

The rise to fame took place in 1986, after successful fights against such strong opponents as Mike Jameson, Steve Zouski, James Tillis, Reggie Gross, as well as Mitch Green, who, after the fight with Tyson, did not enter the ring at all for seven years. The popularity of Mike brought a fight with the most promising fighter at that time, Marvis Fraser, who at that time had only one defeat. In the first round, Tyson sent his opponent into a heavy knockout. After this loss, Marvis left boxing almost immediately.

In November 1987, the athlete won a fight against WBC world champion Trevor Berbick, which earned Tyson $ 1.5 million and the title of the youngest heavyweight champion. Moreover, Mike set a record in this fight, forcing his opponent to fall and rise three times.

This was followed by a victory in a fight against ex-champion Pinklon Thomas (who until that moment had never even been knocked down) and the title of the youngest undisputed heavyweight champion after fights with Tony Tucker, Tyrell Biggs and Larry Holmes. In addition to loud triumphs, Tyson also had unsuccessful fights - as, for example, with a seemingly weak rival James "Buster" Douglas in 1990.

In 1991, Mike was charged with the rape of 18-year-old "Black Miss Rhode Island" Desiree Washington and after 3 years (instead of the original 6) was released on bail. The fighter was destined to return to the ring only in 1995, and this moment was dubbed the "event of the year" by the media. After his release from prison, the boxer's style changed significantly, which brought the athlete many victories, money and the title of three-time world champion.

In the summer of 1997, the famous boxer fight against Evander Holyfield took place, during which Tyson bit off part of the opponent's right ear. The fight ended in a scuffle, Mike was deprived of his boxing license and paid a fine of $ 3 million. Perhaps this particular case will always be associated with the name of this scandalous athlete.

Fight Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield

Mike returned to the ring in 1999, however, according to critics, it was not the same Tyson. In addition, the fighter began to have problems with obesity, drugs and, again, the law. Subsequently, Mike admitted that he often used other people's urine tests to get doping tests before fights.

Fight Mike Tyson vs. Lennox Lewis

In 2002, the highest-grossing fight took place against British boxer Lennox Lewis, who knocked Mike out. And after the defeat to the completely unknown Irish athlete Kevin McBride in 2005, Tyson announced his retirement from the sport. During these years, Mike experienced serious financial problems and even filed for bankruptcy.

Further career

To improve his deplorable financial condition, in the following years, Tyson tried himself in all kinds of fields of art and business in order to stay afloat. He began to actively act in films and TV shows - Mike could be seen in "Rocky Balboa" (2006), "Hangover in Vegas" (2009).

In total, from 1993 to 2017, Mike starred in more than fifty films and TV series. The athlete also participated in an autobiographical show in Las Vegas and television wrestling programs. In 2012, Tyson was inducted into the WWE Best Wrestler Hall of Fame.

Mike Tyson. Best fights and knockouts

In the same year, Tyson created his own foundation, whose mission was to "give children a chance to fight." Soon, Tyson, along with Harry Jonas, founded Iron Mike Productions, a boxing promotion company.

In 2013, Fox Sports 1 launched the Mike Tyson Secrets animated documentary series about the life of the famous boxer. In November of the same year, Tyson published his autobiographical book Mike Tyson: Indisputable Truths, which made it onto the New York Times bestseller list.

In January 2017, Tyson launched his YouTube channel with Shots Studios, a comedy video production company with renowned viners such as Lele Pons and Rudy Mancuso. On Tyson's channel, you can find parody music videos and sketches.

Mike Tyson's personal life

Tyson was married three times: to actress Robin Givens (1988-1989), to pediatrician Monica Turner (1997-2003) and Lakia "Kiki" Spicer (since 2009). Tyson's third wife met a boxer at the age of 18 - her father, an influential Muslim cleric, often took his daughter to boxing competitions.

Her relationship with the controversial boxer took a serious turn in 2008, when Kiki was sentenced to prison for being in the company of her father, who was accused of fraudulent fundraising activities. A week before jail, Kiki learned that she was pregnant with Tyson. The girl spent six months in prison, and soon, at large, she gave birth to Mike's daughter Milan.