Top boxer

Mike Tyson Biography

Boxer(1966–)

Who Is Mike Tyson?

Born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 30, 1966, Mike Tyson became the youngest heavyweight boxing champion of the world in 1986, at age 20. He lost the title in 1990 and later served three years in prison over rape charges. He subsequently earned further notoriety by biting Evander Holyfield's ear during a rematch in 1997. Tyson has gone on to appear in several films, including a documentary and Broadway show on his life.

Tyson's Boxing Record

Tyson saw a total of 58 fights in his professional career. Fifty of those he won, 44 of them being by knockout. Among the fights he did not win, he officially lost six, while two fell into the category of no contest.

Early Career

On March 6, 1985, Tyson made his professional debut in Albany, New York, against Hector Mercedes. The 18-year-old knocked Mercedes out in one round. Tyson's strength, quick fists, and his notable defensive abilities intimidated his opponents, who were often afraid to hit the fighter. This gave Tyson the uncanny ability to level his opponents in only one round, and earned him the nickname "Iron Mike."

The year was a successful one for Tyson, but it was not without its tragedies. On November 4, 1985, D'Amato died of pneumonia. Tyson was rocked by the death of the man he considered his surrogate father. Boxing trainer Kevin Rooney took over D'Amato's coaching duties and, less than two weeks later, Tyson continued on the path that D'Amato had laid out for him. He recorded his thirteenth knockout in Houston, Texas, and dedicated the fight to D'Amato. Although he seemed to recover well from D'Amato's passing, those close to Tyson say that the boxer never fully recovered from the loss. Many attributed the boxer's future behavior to the loss of the man that had previously grounded and supported him.

By 1986, at the age of 20, Tyson had garnered a 22-0 record—21 of the fights won by knockout. On November 22, 1986, Tyson finally reached his goal: He was given his first title fight against Trevor Berbick for the World Boxing Council heavyweight championship. Tyson won the title by a knockout in the second round. At the age of 20 years and four months, he beat Patterson's record, becoming the youngest heavyweight champion in history.

Tyson's success in the ring didn't stop there. He defended his title against James Smith on March 7, 1987, adding the World Boxing Association championship to his list of victories. On August 1st he became the first heavyweight to own all three major boxing belts when he won the International Boxing Federation title from Tony Tucker.

Imprisonment and Return to Boxing

Tyson stepped back into the ring with British boxer Frank Bruno in an effort to retain his world heavyweight title. Tyson went on to knock out Bruno in the fifth round, and keep his status as world champ. On July 21, 1989, Tyson defended his title again, knocking out Carl "The Truth" Williams in one round. Tyson's winning streak came to an end on February 11, 1990, however, when he lost his championship belt to boxer Buster Douglas in Tokyo, Japan. Tyson, the clear favorite, sent Douglas to the mat in the eighth round, but Douglas came back in the tenth, knocking Tyson out for the first time in his career.

Discouraged but not ready to give up, Tyson recovered by knocking out Olympic gold medalist—and former amateur boxing adversary—Henry Tillman later that year. In another bout, he defeated Alex Stewart by a knockout in the first round.

But Tyson lost his fight in court on November 1, 1990, when a New York City civil jury sided with Sandra Miller for the barroom incident in 1988. Then in July of 1991, Tyson was accused of raping Desiree Washington, a Miss Black American contestant. On March 26, 1992, after nearly a year of trial proceedings, Tyson was found guilty on one count of rape and two counts of deviant sexual conduct. Because of Indiana state laws, Tyson was ordered to serve six years in prison, effective immediately.

Tyson initially handled his stint in prison poorly and was found guilty of threatening a guard while in prison, adding 15 days to his sentence. That same year, Tyson's father died. The boxer didn't request leave to attend the funeral. While imprisoned, Tyson converted to Islam and adopted the name Malik Abdul Aziz.

On March 25, 1995, after serving three years of his sentence, Tyson was released from the Indiana Youth Center near Plainfield, Indiana. Already planning his comeback, Tyson arranged his next fight with Peter McNeeley in Las Vegas, Nevada. On August 19, 1995, Tyson won the fight, knocking out McNeeley in just 89 seconds. Tyson also won his next match in December 1995, knocking out Buster Mathis Jr. in the third round.

Holyfield Fight

After his personal and professional setbacks, Tyson seemed to be making a positive change in his life. After several successful fights, Tyson came head-to-head with his next big challenger: Evander Holyfield. Holyfield had been promised a title shot against Tyson in 1990, but before that fight could occur Douglas defeated Tyson. Instead of fighting Tyson, Holyfield fought Douglas for the heavyweight title. Douglas lost by knockout on October 25, 1990, making Holyfield the new undefeated, undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.

On November 9, 1996, Tyson faced Holyfield for the heavyweight title. The evening would not end successfully for Tyson, who lost to Holyfield by a knockout in the 11th round. Instead of Tyson's anticipated victory, Holyfield made history by becoming the second person to win a heavyweight championship belt three times. Tyson claimed he was the victim of multiple illegal headbutts by Holyfield, and vowed to avenge his loss.

Tyson trained heavily for a rematch with Holyfield, and on June 28, 1997, the two boxers faced off yet again. The fight was televised on pay-per-view and entered nearly 2 million households, setting a record at the time for the highest number of paid television viewers. Both boxers also received record purses for the match, making them the highest-paid professional boxers in history until 2007.

The first and second rounds provided the typical crowd-pleasing action expected from the two champions. But the fight took an unexpected turn in the third round of the match. Tyson shocked fans and boxing officials when he grabbed Holyfield and bit both of the boxer's ears, completely severing a piece of Holyfield's right ear. Tyson claimed that the action was retaliation for Holyfield's illegal headbutts from their previous match. Judges didn't agree with Tyson's reasoning, however, and disqualified the boxer from the match.

On July 9, 1997, the Nevada State Athletic Commission revoked Tyson's boxing license in a unanimous voice vote, and find the boxer $3 million for biting Holyfield. No longer able to fight, Tyson was aimless and unmoored. Several months later, Tyson was dealt another blow when he was ordered to pay boxer Mitch Green $45,000 for his 1988 street-fighting incident. Shortly after the court ruling, Tyson landed in the hospital after his motorcycle skidded out of control on a ride through Connecticut. The former boxer broke a rib and punctured a lung.

Net Worth

At the peak of his career, Tyson was worth $300 million, but as of 2017, after bouts of lavish spending and filing for bankruptcy in 2003, Tyson is reportedly worth $3 million.