This is Rummy’s Corner.
Iron Mike Tyson is the featured boxer in this edition
of the Top 5 Notable Wins series.
To this day Iron Mike remains one of the most popular and famous boxers of all time.
During his prime championship years, Tyson’s charisma and his incredible aura of invincibility
were unlike anything I have personally experienced as a boxing fan.
Now let’s first go through a quick chronology of what I ultimately settled on for the Top
5 notable wins during the exciting career of Iron Mike Tyson.
On November 22, 1986 at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, undefeated Mike Tyson challenged
WBC heavyweight champion Trevor Berbick.
Tyson charged aggressively using a lot of movement, and Berbick tried standing his ground
and imposing his will on the younger challenger.
But Tyson was creating openings and landing big, which caused Berbick to try and smother
him in tight.
As round 1 was drawing towards an end, Tyson rocked the champion with a series of explosive
power shots that had Berbick off balance.
It was more of the same in round 2.
Tyson’s faster, crisper punches were finding the mark with pinpoint precision and he dropped
Berbick with a ferocious onslaught.
Berbick bounced to his feet quickly, and when action resumed Tyson remained patient and
deliberate as he resumed boxing.
Halfway through the round, Tyson rocked Berbick again, and moments later, Tyson dropped Berbick
for the 2nd time with a crisp combination.
Berbick rose too quickly, and he stumbled down again twice more during the course of
this same knockdown.
When Berbick finally gathered himself to his feet, referee Mills Lane had seen enough and
he waved it off.
It was a 2nd round technical knockout, and Iron Mike Tyson had just become the new WBC
heavyweight champion, giving him the distinction of youngest heavyweight to ever win a major
world championship.
On August 1, 1987 at the Hilton Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, Tyson put his unified WBC/WBA
heavyweight championship on the line in a unification bout against the undefeated newly
crowned IBF champion Tony Tucker.
This was originally scheduled as a 15 rounder, but the day before, it was officially changed
to a 12 round contest.
The action started with both men patiently boxing.
Tucker was dancing around on the outside, Tyson was pressing forward, and both men were
trying to gauge the distance.
Tucker had some success early on.
He was working behind his jab, tying Tyson up on the inside, and using good lateral movement.
All of this served to neutralize Tyson’s early attacks, while creating offensive opportunities
for himself.
It was a strong start for Tucker, and his tactics left Tyson looking a little confused.
But after the first few rounds, Tyson began finding his groove and establishing his rhythm.
Tyson began jabbing well and landing power shots with greater regularity.
Tucker’s offensive activity began steadily slowing down, but he was still able to largely
neutralize Tyson’s attacks by moving around on the outside, or grabbing hold on the inside.
But despite Tucker’s defensively oriented tactics, Tyson was still boxing better and
he was consistently working more effectively throughout the 12 round contest.
When the official cards were announced, Tyson was awarded a unanimous decision victory,
with scores of 119-111, 118-113, and 116-112.
Iron Mike Tyson had just become the undisputed unified WBC/WBA/IBF heavyweight champion of
the world.
On January 22, 1988 at the Convention Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Tyson put his
undisputed WBC/WBA/IBF heavyweight championship on the line against former long time heavyweight
world champion Larry Holmes, The Easton Assassin.
At the opening bell Tyson immediately went on the attack and Holmes wisely grabbed on.
Holmes was trying to get his jab going, but Tyson was closing the distance far too quickly.
Holmes was very defensive in his approach, and he tied Tyson up and smothered him whenever
he got inside.
Larry was doing a great job neutralizing Tyson’s offense, but in doing so, he produced very
little offense of his own.
In round 3 things shifted into more of a tactical affair, and The Easton Assassin started taking
more chances.
But Tyson was still more active and more effective.
Larry came out up on his toes in round 4, and he began dancing around and firing off
his jab in vintage fashion.
About halfway through the round, Tyson landed an explosive 1-2 that sent Holmes crashing
down.
Larry made it to his feet, but Tyson jumped all over him and Holmes was down again.
Holmes again made it to his feet, and he used every trick he had at his disposal to try
and survive and regain his composure.
But Tyson was still landing some mean leather as Holmes was trying to recuperate.
Iron Mike was battering him mercilessly, and Holmes caught his glove in the rope in the
midst of the firestorm.
Holmes was down again, and the fight was over.
It was a 4th round technical knockout for Iron Mike Tyson.
On June 27, 1988 at the Convention Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Tyson put his undisputed
WBC/WBA/IBF heavyweight championship on the line against undefeated lineal heavyweight
champion Michael Spinks.
Even though Spinks didn’t technically hold a major world title, he had never lost his
title in the ring, so he still held a legitimate claim to the lineage.
This contest would settle matters beyond any shadow of a doubt.
Tyson looked extremely loose to kick things off, and he didn’t waste any time before
going on the attack.
Iron Mike was firing away with power shots and going right after Spinks.
Before long an uppercut followed by a crippling body shot sent Spinks down.
Spinks made it to his feet, but Tyson jumped on him immediately and a thunderous right
hand had Spinks down again.
This time Spinks would not beat the count.
The fight was over.
It was a 1st round knockout, and now Mike Tyson was recognized as the lineal heavyweight
champion in addition to being undisputed among the 3 major sanctioning bodies.
Mike Tyson was the undisputed baddest man on the planet, and he was just 3 days shy
of his 22nd birthday.
On March 13, 1996 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, former undisputed heavyweight
champion Mike Tyson challenged reigning WBC heavyweight champion Frank Bruno.
This was a rematch that took place more than 7 years after their first encounter, and this
time the roles were reversed with Tyson in the role of the challenger.
Tyson came out attacking at the opening bell, and right from the onset he looked very sharp
and confident.
Bruno was looking to grab on whenever Tyson darted inside, and Tyson was looking to establish
his range to create openings for his power punches.
Bruno tried trading with him whenever he could, but despite Bruno’s best efforts, Tyson
was the one getting the best of the exchanges.
Try as he might, Bruno was simply unable to gain Tyson’s respect.
This basic trend continued until early in the 3rd round, when Tyson overwhelmed Bruno
with an explosive display of power and tenacity.
Referee Mills Lane had seen enough.
The fight was over.
It was a 3rd round technical knockout, and Iron Mike Tyson had just become the new WBC
heavyweight champion, making him a 2 time heavyweight champion in the process.
Now before I get into ranking what I consider to be the Top 5 Notable Wins for Mike - I
think it’s important to go through some of the other victories that have very strong
cases.
Ranking Tyson’s top 5 notable wins isn’t easy, and there were several fights I considered
for that #5 spot.
Chief among them was his victory against former WBC heavyweight champion Pinklon Thomas.
After Tyson got off to a strong start in that one, Pinklon started settling down and having
some success of his own.
But this was vintage Tyson, and Mike ultimately overwhelmed Thomas when he unleashed a furious
prolonged sequence of punches, most of which nailed the mark.
This was a showcase victory for Tyson.
Then there were the two bouts against Donovan Razor Ruddock.
At that time, Evander Holyfield was the undisputed heavyweight world champion.
Tyson was the universally ranked #1 contender by all three major sanctioning bodies of that
time, and Ruddock was the universally ranked #2 contender by all three bodies.
After the somewhat controversial ending in their first encounter, Tyson jumped right
into an immediate rematch with Ruddock where he once again prevailed.
These were two high quality wins for Tyson, and you can make a strong case that one of
these, or perhaps even both of these, could be included in Tyson’s Top 5 notable wins.
And I even believe his victory against undefeated Tyrell Biggs might be worthy of consideration.
Biggs was jabbing well in the early going of this one, but Tyson was eventually able
to neutralize that when he started using his own jab more consistently, and Tyson ultimately
broke his taller challenger down in methodical fashion.
But even though I think you can make a case for some of these other wins, what I ultimately
decided on, counting down from #5.
The rematch with Frank Bruno.
For me, this was the one fight in his second career where Tyson truly resembled what he
was capable of during his prime.
After being out of the ring for more than 4 years, Tyson didn’t look especially good
against Peter McNeeley.
He appeared rusty and was often missing wildly.
Then against Buster Mathis Jr, Tyson didn’t look especially good in this one.
His timing seemed way off, and he was having a lot of difficulties before he snapped off
a series of wicked uppercuts.
But in the rematch against Bruno, Tyson looked really sharp.
That was really the only fight in his second career where Tyson looked like the Iron Mike
of old, and that victory made him a two-time heavyweight champion.
#4 for me would be his victory against Trevor Berbick.
Tyson became the youngest heavyweight in history to win a portion of the heavyweight championship,
and he did so in absolutely menacing style.
#3 is the tremendous knockout victory against The Easton Assassin.
Yes, Larry Holmes was older at this point in time.
But it’s important to remember that Holmes continued having some success at the elite
level for nearly 10 years after this fight happened.
And the thing of it is, Larry had the right idea here.
His execution fell short, but his approach was correct.
At the end of the day, Holmes had never been stopped before this fight, and he was never
stopped after, even though he continued boxing for more than 14 years after this fight.
All said, Holmes had 75 professional bouts, and the only time he was stopped was at the
hands of prime Mike Tyson.
I personally believe this victory with such a destructive nature tends to get underrated
with the passage of time.
#2 for me is Tony Tucker.
Tucker was an undefeated heavyweight champion, and he was a taller heavyweight who utilized
his size and tactics in ways that would often trouble Tyson later in his career.
Tucker was having success early in this contest, but Tyson overcame his early struggles and
proved he had the stamina and smarts to win a high profile decision over the distance.
And #1 the win against Michael Spinks.
Utter annihilation!
This is another victory that I believe tends to get grossly underrated with the passage
of time.
Tyson detractors write this one off claiming Spinks was nothing more than a blown-up light
heavyweight, and I believe that does a great disservice to both Tyson and Spinks.
Spinks was the legit undefeated lineal champion going into this contest, a lot of observers
thought he had the style and skills to trouble Tyson, and instead, Tyson overwhelmed him
in a mere 91 seconds in what was arguably the apex of his career.
That was the last fight where Tyson worked with trainer Kevin Rooney, and that was arguably
the greatest version of Tyson during his dominant prime fighting years.
So what do you think were the top 5 notable wins for Iron Mike Tyson?
Please share your thoughts in the comments section.
Thanks for watching everyone, I hope you enjoyed, and have a wonderful night.
This is Rummy’s Corner.