Mike Tyson has had a wild career as a boxer as he is easily known as one of the greatest to ever do it.
From Tyson biting Evander Holyfield to fighting Jake Paul at age 58, ‘Iron Mike’ has been a less-than-predictable fighter in his career.
The knockout artist began his career with a ruthless knockout streak as a teenager, before Tyson scored his final career knockout in 2003.
However, three years before his knockout over Clifford Etienne, Tyson had another bizarre in-ring moment.
Mike Tyson knocked down referee who was trying to call off fight with Lou Savarese
On June 24th, 2000, Tyson would step into the ring opposite Lou Savarese in Glasgow, Scotland.
Tyson had picked up two wins and a no-contest since his sequel meeting with Holyfield in 1997, as Savarese’s last finish was a knockout over James ‘Buster’ Douglas.
‘Iron Mike’ had a record of 47-3 going into the bout, as Savarese had won 39 professional fights, and lost three.
As the fight began, it seemed as if it was going to be a short night for Tyson. The opening seconds of the round would see Tyson knock down Savarese with his famous left hook.
The fighter would recover from the knockdown to continue, only to be wobbled moments later. Referee John Coyle stepped in to call the fight off, however, Tyson did not stop throwing punches.
Despite the referee being in between him and Savarese, Tyson threw a left hook at his opponent, which knocked down the official.
When Coyle returned to his feet, he was able to look Tyson in the face and tell him the bout was over. As Tyson came to a realization that the fight was stopped, people began to enter the ring, as the madness ended.
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Mike Tyson’s final five fights as a professional saw him go 1-4
Presuming Tyson’s meeting with Paul was the final fight of his career, ‘Iron Mike’ ended his boxing journey in poor form.
His win over Etienne in 2003 came one year after his loss to Lennox Lewis. Following his final career win, Tyson lost to Danny Williams and Kevin McBride before returning to face Paul.
Paul was the only fighter in this period to not stop Tyson, as ‘The Problem Child’ won via unanimous decision.
Prior to his final five fights, Tyson was only bested by Douglas and Holyfield as he was seemingly unstoppable in the prime years of his career.