Mike Tyson is known for his ferociousness in the ring, from his brutal knockout streak to his ear-biting incident against Holyfield, but perhaps nothing showcases this as much as when Tyson was only 15 and did the unthinkable.
Mike Tyson built a solid reputation as both a wild man outside of the ring and a knockout-artist inside it.
Of his 50 beaten opponents, only six made it to the final bell. One of those six was Mitch Green, a gang leader whose eye socket was broken by Tyson in a street brawl after their fight.
Tyson, who recently revealed his earnings for his Nintendo game appearance, is no stranger to stopping opponents in brutal fashion and did just that at the ripe age of 15.
Mike Tyson knocks out Olympic opponent in 8 seconds
In 1981 Tyson made it to the heavyweight final of the US National Junior Olympics, where he was set to face Joe Cortez.
Though this was the final, and Tyson expected tough competition, once the bell sounded there was only 8 seconds of the fight before it was all over.
Tyson’s aggressive and overwhelming style led him to win gold at the competition.
Tyson never fought in the actual Olympics after a loss to Henry Tillman lost him his spot in the 1984 Games. He got his own back, though, when he stopped Tillman in one round in 1990.
Who has made it to the final bell against Mike Tyson?
The first man to ever hear the judges’ scorecards against Tyson, and the man to break Tyson’s 19-fight-long knockout streak, was James Tillis.
Tillis was knocked down in their fight but survived to the tenth and final round where Tyson won on points. For two judges it was even a close fight, with Tyson winning six rounds to Tillis’ four.
The next man was gang leader Mitch Green, who Tyson defeated on points the very next fight after Tillis. Tyson and Green would rematch outside the ring, though Tyson apparently finished it in seconds.
It wouldn’t be until seven fights later that Tyson would go the distance when he defended his world title for the first time against James Smith in 1987. Smith was the first man to go a full twelve-round distance with Tyson.
Next was Tony Tucker, who Tyson won the IBF world title from on points. Tucker was no walk-over though, and retired with a record of 57-7.
The only other man to hear the scorecards is Donovan ‘Razor’ Ruddock, who Tyson fought twice and, on the first occasion, did stop in the seventh round.
Tyson has since been seen coaching Arturo Gatti’s son on the heavy bag, and is currently recovering from a bout with Jake Paul. ‘Iron’ Mike admitted he was scared to pull out of the fight due to legal repercussions.