For five years his fights were a string of almost uninterrupted KOs and technical knockouts, where the referee had to stop the fight because Tyson's opponent could not continue. Tyson's opponent in a February bout, journeyman Jesse Ferguson, was originally disqualified—for holding and clinching Tyson to avoid further punishment—giving Tyson the win. After the referee stopped the fight, Tyson's corner protested, saying that the ruling would blemish the boxer's perfect KO record.
Officials agreed and adjusted the ruling to TKO. He successfully defended his other titles and become the undisputed world heavyweight champion. Tyson scored two TKOs to remain the undisputed world heavyweight titleholder. After dominating the late s, Tyson lost the world heavyweight title early in when he was knocked out by James Douglas. After serving a three-year prison sentence for rape, Tyson made a comeback, winning an August bout against Peter McNeeley. Tyson was disqualified, losing his chance to retake the WBA title, after he famously bit off part of Evander Holyfield's ear in the third round of their June bout.
Tyson notched a few wins in the early s, but he was later knocked out by several opponents. It was Tyson's last fight—he announced his retirement after the bout. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Tyson, a favorite to successfully defend his crowns, entered his Feb. Tyson was a physical marvel who possessed an amazing combination of quickness, speed and unrivaled power.
Beyond his incredible abilities in the ring, Tyson was a menacing man who often trumped his opponents out of fright before the opening bell was even rung. On the contrary, Douglas, who prior to the Tyson fight owned a respectable record of , approached his battle versus the champion with a combination of terrible heartache and newfound determination.
When Douglas walked to the ring to face Tyson that momentous evening in Japan, it was evident that he was in peak condition and the look on his face gave the impression that he was also mentally prepared to wage war. Despite his hindered eyesight, Tyson managed to knock Douglas to the canvas with a thunderous blow in the eighth round. Staggered, Douglas got off the canvas and regained his footing before the referee counted him out.
Douglas composed himself and remarkably again seized control of the fight. On November 22, , Tyson finally reached his goal: He was given his first title fight against Trevor Berbick for the World Boxing Council heavyweight championship. Tyson won the title by a knockout in the second round.
At the age of 20 years and four months, he surpassed Floyd Patterson's record to become the youngest heavyweight champion in history. Tyson's success in the ring didn't stop there. He defended his title against James Smith on March 7, , adding the World Boxing Association championship to his list of victories.
On August 1, he became the first heavyweight to own all three major boxing belts when he seized the International Boxing Federation title from Tony Tucker.
Tyson stepped back into the ring with British boxer Frank Bruno on February 25, , in an effort to retain his world heavyweight title. Tyson went on to knock out Bruno in the fifth round. Tyson's winning streak came to an end on February 11, , when he lost his championship belt to boxer Buster Douglas in Tokyo, Japan. Tyson, the clear favorite, sent Douglas to the mat in the eighth round, but Douglas came back in the tenth, knocking Tyson out for the first time in his career.
Discouraged but not ready to give up, Tyson recovered by knocking out Olympic gold medalist — and former amateur boxing adversary — Henry Tillman later that year. In another bout, he defeated Alex Stewart by a knockout in the first round. On March 26, , after nearly a year of trial proceedings, Tyson was found guilty on one count of rape and two counts of deviant sexual conduct.
Because of Indiana state laws, Tyson was ordered to serve six years in prison, effective immediately. Tyson initially handled his stint in prison poorly; he was found guilty of threatening a guard, adding 15 days to his sentence. That same year, Tyson's father died. The boxer didn't request leave to attend the funeral. On March 25, , after serving three years of his sentence, Tyson was released from the Indiana Youth Center near Plainfield, Indiana.
On August 19, , Tyson won the fight, knocking out McNeeley in just 89 seconds. Tyson also won his next match in December , knocking out Buster Mathis Jr. After several successful fights, Tyson came head-to-head with his next big challenger: Evander Holyfield. Holyfield had been promised a title shot against Tyson in before Douglas defeated Tyson. Instead of fighting Tyson, Holyfield fought Douglas for the heavyweight title. Douglas lost by knockout on October 25, , making Holyfield the new undefeated, undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
On November 9, , Tyson faced Holyfield for the heavyweight title. The evening would not end successfully for Tyson, who lost to Holyfield by a knockout in the 11th round. Instead of Tyson's anticipated victory, Holyfield made history by becoming the second person to win a heavyweight championship belt three times. Tyson claimed he was the victim of multiple illegal head butts by Holyfield, and vowed to avenge his loss. Tyson trained heavily for a rematch with Holyfield, and on June 28, , the two boxers faced off yet again.
The fight was televised on pay-per-view and entered nearly 2 million households, setting a record at the time for the highest number of paid television viewers. Both boxers also received record purses for the match, making them the highest-paid professional boxers in history until The first and second rounds provided the typical crowd-pleasing action expected from the two champions.
But the fight took an unexpected turn in the third round of the match. Tyson shocked fans and boxing officials when he grabbed Holyfield and bit both of the boxer's ears, completely severing a piece of Holyfield's right ear. Tyson claimed that the action was retaliation for Holyfield's illegal head butts from their previous match.
Judges didn't agree with Tyson's reasoning, however, and disqualified the boxer from the match. No longer able to fight, Tyson was aimless and unmoored. Shortly after the court ruling, Tyson landed in the hospital with a broken rib and a punctured lung after his motorcycle skidded out of control on a ride through Connecticut. Tyson was once again fighting for the heavyweight championship, and the match was a very personal one. Tyson made several ugly remarks to Lewis before the fight, including a threat to "eat his children.
Tyson lost the fight by a knockout, a defeat that signaled the decline of the former champion's career. Tyson took part in a total of 58 fights in his professional career. Fifty of those he won, 44 of them being by knockout. Among the fights he did not win, he officially lost six, while two fell into the category of no contest. Tyson's rise from childhood delinquent to boxing champ put him at the center of the media's attention.
Met with sudden fame, Tyson began partying hard and stepping out with various Hollywood stars. In the '80s, Tyson set his sights on actress Robin Givens. The couple began dating, and on February 7, , he and Givens married in New York. But Tyson's game seemed to be on the decline, and after several close calls in the ring, it became clear that the boxer's edge was slipping.
Once known for his complicated offensive and defensive moves, Tyson seemed to continually rely on his one-punch knockout move to finish his bouts. The boxer blamed his long-time trainer, Rooney, for his struggles in the ring and fired him in mid As his game was falling apart, so was Tyson's marriage to Givens.
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