The Best Fights of Mike Tyson’s Boxing Career

Who doesn’t know Mike Tyson?

Iron Mike was the icon of boxing during the 80s where he became the youngest heavyweight champion in history. Tyson won his first 19 fights by knockout, including 12 in the very first round. He became the first heavyweight to hold the WBC, WBA, and IBF titles simultaneously and the only heavyweight to successively unite them. He also became the lineal champion when he knocked out Michael Spinks in 1988. He retired in 2005 after losing three out of his last four bouts.

Tyson made headlines recently when he posted a boxing workout video which ended with him saying “I’m back.” Watch it here:

It was also reported that Tyson was offered $20M to fight for the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. There are also rumors floating around that Tyson could fight nemesis Evander Holyfield in a match of 50-plus ex-champions. Because of these rumors, the betting sites have put up the odds of Tyson fighting again in 2020.

At the online sportsbook BetOnline, the odds for Tyson fighting in a BKFC match in 2020 are +160 for a yes and a -230 for a no. Tyson is a -110 favorite to defeat the former heavyweight champion, Shannon Briggs, in a BKFC match. Iron Mike is also a +200 underdog if his opponent is UFC fighter, Hector Lombard.

Now isn’t the time to make predictions on those because it’s still unclear what Tyson meant when he said “I”m back.” He’s already 53 years old too. For now, let’s just remember Mike Tyson’s dominant run a heavyweight title during the 80s.

Below are Iron Mike’s greatest hits and we listed them down in chronological order:

Mike Tyson vs Marvis Frazier, July 26, 1986

Marvis Frazier entered his fight with Mike Tyson with a six-fight winning streak and he was considered as a good test for a rising 20-year old Tyson. The son of Smokin Joe had been knocked out before in one round by Larry Holmes but he had never been obliterated like he was against Iron Mike.

A pair of uppercuts buckled Frazier who was trapped in the ropes. Tyson then displayed how good of a finisher he was by ending the fight in 30 seconds. Frazier was able to laugh about it during the post-fight press conference when he told Iron Mike that he ( Tyson ) must’ve had carried a sledgehammer to the fight. Three wins later, Tyson would become the youngest heavyweight champion ever.

Mike Tyson vs Trevor Berbick, November 22, 1986

WBC heavyweight champion Trevor Berbick was supposed to be the toughest fight for the young Mike Tyson because the Jamaican champion was experienced and he fought an awkward style, However, none of those helped him as Tyson was able to bulldoze his way against the champion.

In the second round, Tyson landed a powerful left hook that ended the fight. The punch was so hard that Berbick fell back to the canvass twice before referee Mills Lane reached the count of ten. Berbick finally got up but was on unsteady legs while Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in the history of boxing.

Mike Tyson vs Pinklon Thomas, May 30, 1987

The event was dubbed as the “Hard Road To Glory” and by this time, Mike Tyson already had captured the WBC and WBA titles. Pinklon Thomas was the former WBC champion who lost the belt to Trevor Berbick, whom Tyson knocked out in two rounds. The event also featured an IBF heavyweight title bout between James “Buster” Douglas and Tony “TNT” Tucker.

Tyson was the aggressor right from the start of the fight. He nearly finished the fight when he hurt Thomas late in the round but Thoms displayed a granite chin that allowed him to withstand and eight-punch flurry before the round ended. Thomas used his jab to keep Tyson off in the next round rounds but in the sixth, Tyson caught Thomas with a left hook that hurt the challenger. Iron Mike then unleashed 15 unanswered punches that dropped Thomas for the first time in his career. It was over.

Mike Tyson vs Tyrell Biggs, October 16, 1987

One year into his reign and there was no stopping Iron Mike. After beating Berbick, Tyson wrecked James “Bonecrusher” Smith, Pinklon Thomas, and Tony Tucker. His next opponent was undefeated Olympic gold medalist, Tyrell Biggs who had the size, height, reach, and skills advantage over Tyson. However, Biggs proved to be another footnote in Tyson’s run towards greatness.

Biggs opened the fight like he was going to give Tyson a good challenge. Biggs danced around, anded crisp jabs early on, and won the first round. But Tyson slowly chopped away in the second round and started finding a home for his big punches. The longer the fight went, Tyson was starting to dominate. He finished off Biggs in 7th after a right hand and left hook combination. Biggs got up from the first knockdown but Iron Mike ended the fight seconds later with another knockdown.

Mike Tyson vs Larry Holmes, January 22, 1988

Tyson had captured all three major belts and won all of his four championship fights in 1987. Next up was former WBC and IBF heavyweight champion Larry Holmes who was already 38 years old at that time. The bout was billed as “Heavyweight History” as Holmes was trying to become the fourth fighter to win back the heavyweight title after losing it. But the night was about Mike Tyson again.

Holmes made claims that Tyson was a dirty fighter who threw elbows, headbutts, and punched after the bell. Like many of Mike’s opponents, he tried to hold on in an attempt to slow down the raging bull. But while he was successful early, Tyson broke through in the 4 when he finally dropped Holmes. Holmes got up from two knockdowns but Tyson finished him off with a right hook that made referee Joe Cortez wave the fight off.

Mike Tyson vs Michael Spinks, June 27, 1988

After Tyrell Biggs, the so-called experts said that the fighter who could challenge Tyson’s dominance would be Michael Spinks. Spinks was an Olympic gold medalist, former undisputed light heavyweight champion, and former lineal heavyweight champion. He was also coming off victories over Larry Holmes, Steffen Tangstad, and George Cooney. Spinks had a record of 31-0 with 21 knockouts heading to the fight.

However, instead of giving Tyson the fight of his life, Spinks became a mere twig in the storm as Tyson ran right through him and dropped him twice in 91 seconds. That was the only time in his career where Spinks was knocked down, and knocked out. He retired after the loss while Tyson’s legend continued.