The Tyson Era

Mike Tyson burst onto the heavyweight scene in March 1985 with a 1st-round KO of Hector Mercedes; in November 1986 he became the youngest heavyweight champion in history at age 20 years 4 months (TKO 2 over Trevor Berbick). The peek-a-boo style he learned from Cus D'Amato — deep crouch, constant head movement, explosive in-and-out attacks — made the late-1980s heavyweight division look obsolete: Michael Spinks, Larry Holmes, and Frank Bruno all fell to first-round or early-round KOs. By June 1988 he was undisputed champion (TKO 91 seconds over Spinks). A cascade of personal disasters — D'Amato's death in 1985, marriage to Robin Givens, the firing of trainer Kevin Rooney in 1988 — softened his focus. James 'Buster' Douglas stopped him in 10 rounds in February 1990 in one of the biggest upsets in sports history. A 1992 rape conviction sent Tyson to prison for 3 years; he returned in 1995 and held the WBA / WBC titles before two losses to Evander Holyfield (the second a DQ for biting Holyfield's ear in June 1997). Lost to Lennox Lewis in 2002 and retired in 2005 with a 50-6 record.