Michael Gerard Tyson was born on June 30, 1966. He is a former heavyweight boxing champion from the United States who competed from 1985 to 2005. In his early career, he was known as "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite," and later as "The Baddest Man on the Planet." Tyson is regarded as one of the all-time great heavyweight boxers. and was the undisputed world heavyweight champion from 1987 to 1990.
Growing up on the mean streets of Brooklyn quickly prepared the young Mike Tyson for the harsh world of boxing. Tyson was undefeated in his first 19 professional fights, with 12 of them coming in the first round via knockout. He holds the record for being the youngest heavyweight champion in history, having won his first championship at the age of 20 years, four months, and 22 days. He was the first heavyweight boxer to hold the WBA, WBC, and IBF titles at the same time.
Mike Tyson's Early Amateur Career
Mike Tyson, a 12-year-old, was reportedly knocking out grown men, according to Teddy Atlas. Atlas explained, "Anyone who can knock out men when he's 12, 13 years old is a pretty darn good puncher." Tyson, according to Atlas, was the best puncher he had ever trained and was "highly powerful." Tyson was so strong that Atlas couldn't place him in the ring with kids his age because he'd obliterate them. Tyson was entered into amateur boxing tournaments and non-sanctioned contests by D'Amato to show him how to battle older rivals.
Mike Tyson was fast-growing and had competed in the Junior Olympic Games by 1981. Tyson, then 15 years old, defeated Joe Cortez in just nine seconds with a devastating left hook. It was just the start for the kid from Brownsville who would go on to do much greater things in the ring. The very next year, in 1982, Tyson KO’d Kelton Brown to win the National Amateur Boxing Crown.
In the 1982 Junior Olympics, Tyson continued his domination with an eight-second KO of Dan Cozad. He then knocked out Winston Bent at the Empire State Games in 1983. Then Tyson faced Henry Tillman, who won both of their encounters by decision. Tillman went on to win gold in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in the heavyweight division.
Mike Tyson's Early Professional Career
Cus D'Amato claimed his prodigy Mike Tyson was able to turn pro after failing to make the US Olympic team. At the age of 18, Tyson fought his first professional boxing match in 1985, which served as a terrifying warning shot to all other heavyweight fighters. Tyson TKO'd Hector Mercedes in the first round on March 6, 1985, in Albany, New York. Cus D'Amato, Tyson's father figure, died of pneumonia on November 4, 1985. Kevin Rooney, a boxing trainer, became Mike's new mentor. Many later stated that this would prove to have a destabilizing effect on Tyson's later life.
With his first nationally televised fight against Jesse Ferguson, Tyson truly made his mark on the world stage. The fight's outcome was determined after Tyson hit Ferguson with an uppercut that broke his nose. Ferguson was later disqualified for wrongly clinching and Tyson was declared the winner. He then went on to beat Marvis Frazier in just 30 seconds in his second televised fight, which eventually led him to face off against Trevor Berbick in 1986 for the heavyweight championship.
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FAQs on Mike Tyson
A. Cus D'Amato was Mike Tyson's father figure.
A. He became a professional boxer in 1985.
A. He is 58 years old as of November 2024.
A. He competed as a heavyweight boxer.
A. He has a professional boxing record of 50 wins, six losses, and two no-contests as of November 2024.
