Iron Mike Tyson: Boxing Hall of Fame Bound
By Geno McGahee
Iron Mike Tyson, 50-6, 44 KO’s, the biggest star in boxing since Muhammad Ali, will be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame this year and he certainly deserves it. He is responsible for attracting so many fans to the sport, myself included. I remember first watching Larry Holmes take on Michael Spinks in 1985 when I was 11 years old. That got me intrigued, but when Mike Tyson came around and began destroying everything in his path, I was hooked. Tyson was something special and even though his later career can be dissected, I would match a prime Iron Mike with any fighter in the history of the game.
The story of Iron Mike has been told many times and it is a great tale. A young criminal locked away finds boxing and is soon adopted by an old trainer that sees a future for his “son,” and the rest is history. Cus D’Amato was that trainer and put together a great team to launch Tyson as the next big thing in boxing. Mike also clicked with the training, the style that Cus taught, and was a student of the game.
Tyson would watch old boxing reels endlessly, mimicking the greats in not only his approach to the ring but how he acted after the victory. He cut his hair like Jack Dempsey and was incredibly respectful in interviews and in regards to his opponent. He benefited from the national exposure that ABC gave to his fights, fighting in New York, which was the hot bed for boxing at the time, and with the continual promotion of his career by his team.
The people bought into the hype but there was certainly steak to go with the sizzle. Tyson was the real deal, bringing a huge punch and middleweight speed to the heavyweight division.
Most early opponents fell in the first, unable to fend off the aggression from Iron Mike. He would face another prospect on ABC in 1986, as Jesse Ferguson, a winner in 14 of his 15 fights. The durable Ferguson did do well, but an uppercut in round fifth would drop him to the floor with a broken nose, and he’d be out in the sixth.
Later in 1986, Marvis Frazier would face Iron Mike. Frazier, the son of Joe Frazier, had a decent career with some good wins, but was more of a boxer/puncher then his father was. That is something that Smokin’ Joe wanted to change, and picked the wrong guy to implement it against. The 16-1 Frazier was out in 30 seconds. Tyson cornered him early and stopped him immediately. It was incredibly impressive.
Tyson fought thirteen times in 1986, including fulfilling his destiny, knocking out Trevor Berbick in two rounds to win the WBC Heavyweight Title. He would later unify it by defeating IBF Kingpin, Tony Tucker (UD-12) and Bonecrusher Smith (UD-12), the WBA Champ.
Although Tyson was the undisputed, undefeated, Heavyweight Champion of the world, there was some doubt because he never defeated the “real” champion, Michael Spinks. In 1988, the two would meet in what some still contend to be the biggest fight in the history of boxing.
Both were undefeated, both has large groups supporting them as the true champion, and both were confident of victory…at least on the surface. Ring Magazine had Spinks listed as their champion and Tyson saw this as his moment. He too thought that he needed to defeat Spinks to get the “real” title, and on this night in 1988, perhaps the best Tyson in history stepped into the ring.
Spinks, a man that beat the great Larry Holmes twice, dominated nearly every opponent, and was one of the best pound for pound fighters in the game, was flattened in 91 seconds. This victory, as great as it was, began the downward spiral for the champ, as he allowed personal problems, infighting within his group, and overconfidence to slowly, but surely, make him lesser of a fighter.
In 1990, Tyson would face the unheralded James “Buster” Douglas, a 42-1 underdog, and an overconfident, undertrained, distracted Mike Tyson would endure a beating and be stopped in 10 rounds. His trainer, Kevin Rooney, was terminated due to Don King’s dislike of him, his wife Robin Givens was driving him mad, and he was going through public humiliation continually. He was rumored to have “attempted suicide” when he hit a tree with his car. Tyson was a professional for so long, able to cut out the outside distractions and perform, but as his name got bigger and the pressure increased, it got to him and resulted in a loss of his titles.
Tyson would return to the ring, but he wasn’t the same fighter. He easily destroyed Alex Stewart and Henry Tillman, two fighters that wanted directions to the exit once they entered the arena. Tyson showed them both the way in the first round. He went on to face the durable Razor Ruddock and came away with two tough victories there, and then signed to fight Evander Holyfield for the titles…but a rape allegation and a reported broken rib in training took him out of the fight and eventually put him behind bars.
Whether Tyson was guilty of rape or not, he certainly did not get a fair trial. Don King brought in his own lawyer that had specialized in contract law and taxes to handle the rape case, and he actually put Tyson on the stand. The defense was idiotic, painting Tyson as an animal, and the prosecutor had a field day with Iron Mike on the stand, chewing him up and spitting him out. In a way, Tyson’s talent in the ring, his ability to destroy his opponents, the devastation of it all hurt him in the long run. He was seen as a beast in the ring and it was easy to imagine him as a beast out of it, and the jury came back with a guilty and put away Tyson for four years.
When Iron Mike got out of prison, it didn’t take promoter Don King long to woo him back into his grasp, setting up fights to get him back on top of boxing, but Tyson wasn’t the same. He defeated the incredibly overmatched Peter McNeeley in one round, struggled but stopped the feather-fisted Buster Mathis, JR., and then won titles from two easy marks in Bruce Seldon (WBA Champ) and Frank Bruno (WBC Champ). The Tyson mystique grew again and it captured the imagination of the public again. Tyson was an amazing force and you couldn’t help but to watch him get into the ring and fire away at his opposition.
In 1996, Tyson was exposed as a somewhat spent force. Evander Holyfield was able to pull and upset and take the WBA Title with an 11th round stoppage. The elusiveness and combinations were long gone. Tyson relied strictly on his power and it wasn’t enough and it wasn’t enough in the rematch either, which ended with the infamous ear biting incident.
Tyson, once the most feared and celebrated athlete in the world became a sideshow attraction and his antics and comments outside of the ring made people forget what he once was in his prime. It was much by design to keep the people interested, but some took it the wrong way and wanted Tyson banned from the sport.
The rest of Tyson’s career was mediocre at best, losing to Lennox Lewis, Danny Williams, and Kevin McBride before calling it a day and leaving the sport. He seriously considered a comeback and has apparently opted not to go forth with it and enjoy his life away from the ring.
Mike Tyson, the 2-Time Heavyweight Champion that captured the imagination of the public and still does is going where he belongs, the boxing hall of fame. RSR congratulates him and thanks him for his many contributions to the sport.
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