Mike Tyson turns 49 today. Which word best sums up the heavyweight legend?
Tuesday 30 June 2015 12:34, UK
Heavyweight legend Mike Tyson turns 49 today and we are asking fighters and fans alike to sum him up in one word. In this video, we see what the likes of Joe Calzaghe, Ray Mercer and his former sparring partner Glenn McCrory have to say.
'Iron Mike' retired almost exactly 10 years ago following a sixth-round stoppage defeat to Kevin McBride in Washington but he is more widely remembered for having been the self-proclaimed 'Baddest Man on the Planet' earlier in his career.
Making his debut in 1985 and blasting out Hector Mercedes in less than two minutes in Albany, New York, Tyson knocked out 12 of his first 16 opponents in the very first round and quickly built a reputation as a fearsome puncher.
Under the tutelage of Cus D'Amato, Tyson became the youngest heavyweight world champion of all time when he stopped WBC champion Trevor Berbick in the second round in November 1986.
He went on to add the titles of James Smith (WBA) and Tony Tucker (IBF) the following year and by the time he suffered a shock 10th-round stoppage defeat to the unfancied James 'Buster' Douglas in February 1992, Tyson had made nine defences.
The New Yorker recovered by stringing together eight victories in a row but his career inside and outside the ring was derailing and in 1996 and 1997 he suffered back-to-back defeats to Evander Holyfield (in the second of which he was disqualified for the infamous ear-biting incident).
Tyson built up to one last 'super-fight' in June 2002 - taking on WBC, IBF and IBO world champion Lennox Lewis in Memphis - but after he was stopped in the eighth by the Englishman, his boxing career fizzled out with defeats to Brixton's Danny Williams in July 2004 and Ireland's McBride a year later.
With his personal problems already well documented, there was never any doubting his talent in the ring and we are asking for one word to sum up the man many regard as the greatest heavyweight of them all.
