The Meteoric Rise and Fall of Iron Mike Tyson

Although many in the boxing world mock and sneer at the circus sideshow that was Mike Tyson's boxing career over his last few years of activity, a period of time that saw Tyson lose unceremoniously to two low-level fighters, spend a few stints in prison, and be on the verge of bankruptcy despite earning mega-millions, the real Mike Tyson, the Mike Tyson of the late 1980's, was a phenomenal fighter who deserves to be ranked alongside boxing history's greatest fighters.

In November of 1986, Mike Tyson, at the age of 20, became the youngest heavyweight champion in history when he knocked out Trevor Berbick in two rounds in Las Vegas. Over the course of the next three years, Tyson cleaned out the heavyweight division. With a blistering combination of hand speed and phenomenal punching power, along with a vastly underrated defense, Tyson stormed through his opposition like an out-of-control freight train. Most of his fights ended in early knockouts; it was rare for a Mike Tyson fight to go beyond five rounds. And in Mike Tyson's so-called "signature fight," that one fight that every aspiring great fighter has to have on their resume, Mike Tyson obliterated Michael Spinks in a mere 93-seconds! Tyson's future appeared limitless.

With a level of fistic ferocity and explosiveness unseen in the annals of the heavyweight boxing division, Mike Tyson was a wrecking machine in black trunks. And Tyson's management team of Bill Cayton and Kevin Rooney, who had guided and shaped Tyson's boxing career from day one, were instrumental in keeping Tyson focused on his boxing career and training. Under the leadership of both of these very capable men, Tyson was at the apex of his powers. It appeared that Tyson could reign unchallenged as heavyweight champion for as long as he cared to. But soon, a negative influence managed to creep in on the Tyson Family and the boxing career of the sport's biggest star soon took a nosedive.

Don "only in America" King, the wily, electric-haired promoter famous for putting together the famous "Rumble in the Jungle" fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in 1974, and gaining further status and clout in the boxing world by serving as promoter for the great Larry Holmes, was a master at cunning and subterfuge. An ex-con from Cleveland, Ohio, who had spent several years in prison for manslaughter, Don King was a numbers runner and hustler before breaking into the world of boxing. He knew how to talk, he knew how to jive, and he knew how to prey to a person's desires and weaknesses. And somehow, by hook or by crook, he managed to convince Mike Tyson that he would be better off with Don King in his corner than with his long-time management team of Bill Cayton and Kevin Rooney. Mike Tyson, the biggest star in boxing, was a prize that Don King wanted to add to his list of pugilistic trophies; and he got him!

It wasn't long after the unholy alliance between Don King and Mike Tyson that Tyson's training habits and dedication to the sport of boxing took a nosedive. He trained less, he partied more, and he started to get involved in many outside of the boxing ring skirmishes and troubles. In a well-publicized after-hours skirmish, Tyson was involved in a street brawl with a former opponent - Mitch Green - that left Tyson with a broken hand after he broke it over Green's head! There were allegations from an assortment of women about the ungentlemanly-like behavior of Tyson, and there were numerous encounters with the police. And to top it all off, Mike Tyson, no longer plying the tools of his trade as sharply or as effectively as he once had, managed to lose his heavyweight championship in the biggest boxing upset the sport has ever seen!

When Mike Tyson showed up in Tokyo, Japan in February of 1990 to defend his heavyweight championship against James Buster Douglas, the boxing world barely took notice. The fight was seen as a mere formality; a "keep busy" fight for Tyson to engage in until a more lucrative and high-profile opponent could be lined up. Buster Douglas was so thoroughly dismissed as an opponent that several major Las Vegas odds-makers refused to even place odds on the fight. The one's that did listed Tyson as an overwhelming 42-1 favorite to win. Douglas was a sacrificial lamb being led to slaughter.

But somebody forgot to tell Buster Douglas that. He came to fight. And Tyson, having taken the fight and his training very lightly, was knocked out in the 10th round of a fight that Douglas thoroughly dominated. The invincible Mike Tyson was dethroned by a 42-1 underdog! And from there, it all went downhill for Tyson. There was a rape conviction in 1991 that sent Tyson to prison for 3 1/2 years. After his prison stay, Tyson was no longer the same fighter. He would continue to fight, and he even managed to regain a portion of the heavyweight title at one point, but his best fighting days were over. And he ended his career with two embarrassing losses against mediocre opposition. But it's Mike Tyson's prime years, from the time that he won the heavyweight championship of the world in 1986 up until his disastrous dethronement at the hands of Buster Douglas in 1990, that truly defines the greatness that was Mike Tyson! That version of Mike Tyson would be a threat to any heavyweight boxer who ever lived.