Top 5 Greatest Wins of Mike Tyson's Career

Mike Tyson is as famous as Iron Mike. Tyson is undoubtedly one of the greatest boxers in history to step into the boxing ring. His career bucket list is full of surprising wins where he is knocking out his opponents. His punches were very famous among his fans. They loved his punches so much that they started calling him Iron Mike Tyson. Although many of his wins can be listed among the best wins in boxing history, the article focuses on the top five greatest wins of Iron Mike Tyson’s career.

Iron Mike is one of the most popular and famous boxers of all time. During his prime championship years, Tyson’s charisma and his incredible aura of invincibility were unlike anything that you must have personally experienced as a boxing fan. The following are the top five notable wins of the exciting career of Mike Tyson, which can also be listed as top boxing bouts in history:

• Undefeated Mike Tyson challenged WBC heavyweight champion Trevor Berbick on November 22, 1986, at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tyson charged aggressively, using a lot of movement, and Berbick tried standing his ground and imposing his will on the younger challenger. But Tyson was creating openings and landing big, which caused Berbick to shift himself into a defensive mode.

• As the first round was drawing towards an end, Tyson rocked the champion with a series of explosive power shots that off-balanced Berbick. It was more of the same in the second round. Tyson’s faster, crisper punches were finding the mark with pinpoint precision, and he dropped Berbick with a ferocious onslaught.

• Berbick bounced to his feet quickly, and when action resumed, Tyson remained patient and deliberate as he resumed boxing. Halfway through the round, Tyson rocked Berbick again, and moments later, Tyson dropped Berbick for the 2nd time with a crisp combination.

• Berbick rose too quickly, and he stumbled down again twice more during the course of this same knockdown. When Berbick finally gathered himself to his feet, referee Mills Lane had seen enough, and he waved it off. It was a second-round technical knockout, and Iron Mike Tyson had just become the new WBC heavyweight champion, giving him the distinction of being the youngest heavyweight to ever win a major world championship. He was just 21 years old in that match.

• Tyson put his unified WBC/WBA heavyweight championship on the line in a unification bout against the undefeated, newly crowned IBF champion Tony Tucker on August 1, 1987, at the Hilton Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. This was originally scheduled as a 15-rounder, but the day before, it was officially changed to a 12-round contest .

• The action started with both men patiently boxing. Tucker was dancing around on the outside, Tyson was pressing forward, and both men were trying to gauge the distance. Tucker had some success early on. He was working behind his jab, tying Tyson up on the inside, and using good lateral movement.

• All of this served to neutralize Tyson’s early attacks while creating offensive opportunities for himself. It was a strong start for Tucker, and his tactics left Tyson looking a little confused. But after the first few rounds, Tyson began finding his groove and establishing his rhythm. Tyson began jabbing well and landing power shots with greater regularity.

• Tucker’s offensive activity began steadily slowing down, but he was still able to largely neutralize Tyson’s attacks by moving around on the outside or grabbing hold on the inside. But despite Tucker’s defensively oriented tactics, Tyson was still boxing better, and he was consistently working more effectively throughout the 12-round contest.

• When the official cards were announced, Tyson was awarded a unanimous decision victory. Iron Mike Tyson had just become the undisputed unified WBC/WBA/IBF heavyweight champion of the world.

• Tyson put his undisputed WBC/WBA/IBF heavyweight championship on the line against former long-time heavyweight world champion Larry Holmes, The Easton Assassin, on January 22, 1988, at the Convention Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey. At the opening bell, Tyson immediately went on the attack, and Holmes wisely grabbed on.

• Holmes was trying to get his jab going, but Tyson was closing the distance far too quickly. Holmes was very defensive in his approach, and he tied Tyson up and smothered him whenever he got inside. Larry was doing a great job neutralizing Tyson’s offense, but in doing so, he produced very little offense of his own.

• In the third round, things shifted into more of a tactical affair, and The Easton Assassin started taking more chances. But Tyson was still more active and more effective. Larry came out on his toes in the fourth round, and he began dancing around and firing off his jab in vintage fashion. About halfway through the round, Tyson landed an explosive punch that sent Holmes crashing down. Larry made it to his feet, but Tyson jumped all over him, and Holmes was down again.

• Holmes again made it to his feet, and he used every trick he had at his disposal to try to survive and regain his composure. But Tyson was still landing some mean leather as Holmes was trying to recuperate. Iron Mike was battering him mercilessly, and Holmes caught his glove in the rope in the midst of the firestorm. Holmes was down again, and the fight was over. It was a 4th round technical knockout for Iron Mike Tyson.

• Iron Man Mike Tyson put his undisputed WBC/WBA/IBF heavyweight championship on the line against undefeated lineal heavyweight champion Michael Spinks on June 27, 1988, at the Convention Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Even though Spinks didn’t technically hold a major world title, he had never lost his title in the ring, so he still held a legitimate claim to the lineage.

• This contest would settle matters beyond any shadow of a doubt. Tyson looked extremely loose to kick things off, and he didn’t waste any time before going on the attack. Iron Mike was firing away with power shots and going right after Spinks. Before long an uppercut followed by a crippling body shot sent Spinks down.

• Spinks made it to his feet, but Tyson jumped on him immediately, and a thunderous right hand had Spinks down again. This time, Spinks would not beat the count. The fight was over. It was a 1st round knockout, and now Mike Tyson was recognized as the lineal heavyweight champion in addition to being undisputed among the 3 major sanctioning bodies.

• Mike Tyson was the undisputed baddest man on the planet, and he was just 3 days shy of his 22nd birthday.

• Former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson challenged reigning WBC heavyweight champion Frank Bruno on March 13, 1996, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. This was a rematch that took place more than seven years after their first encounter, and this time the roles were reversed with Tyson in the role of the challenger.

• Tyson came out attacking at the opening bell, and right from the onset, he looked very sharp and confident. Bruno was looking to grab on whenever Tyson darted inside, and Tyson was looking to establish his range to create openings for his power punches.

• Bruno tried trading with him whenever he could, but despite Bruno’s best efforts, Tyson was the one getting the best of the exchanges. Try as he might, Bruno was simply unable to gain Tyson’s respect. This basic trend continued until early in the third round, when Tyson overwhelmed Bruno with an explosive display of power and tenacity.

• Referee Mills Lane had seen enough. The fight was over. It was a third round technical knockout, and Iron Mike Tyson had just become the new WBC heavyweight champion, making him a two time heavyweight champion in the process.

• Mike Tyson had many great fights in his career. There are many other fights that should be discussed. The best among them was his victory against the former WBC heavyweight champion Pinklon Thomas. After Tyson got off to a strong start in that one, Pinklon started settling down and having some success of his own. But this was vintage Tyson, and Mike ultimately overwhelmed Thomas when he unleashed a furious, prolonged sequence of punches, most of which nailed the mark. This was a showcase victory for Tyson.

• Then there were the two bouts against Donovan Razor Ruddock. At that time, Evander Holyfield was the undisputed heavyweight world champion. Tyson was the universally ranked number one contender by all three major sanctioning bodies of that time, and Ruddock was the universally ranked number two contender by all three bodies. After the somewhat controversial ending in their first encounter, Tyson jumped right into an immediate rematch with Ruddock, where he once again prevailed. These were two high-quality wins for Tyson, and you can make a strong case that one of these, or perhaps even both of these, could be included in Tyson’s Top five notable wins.

• His victory against undefeated Tyrell Biggs might be worthy of consideration. Biggs was jabbing well in the early going of this one, but Tyson was eventually able to neutralize that when he started using his own jab more consistently, and Tyson ultimately broke his taller challenger down in methodical fashion.

Mike Tyson was undoubtedly the most exciting and entertaining boxer to have lived. His devastating punches amazed fans, and they could watch their favourite boxer for hours. Tyson had a lot of impact on his performance from his trainer, Cus D'Amato. The last fight where Tyson worked with trainer Kevin Rooney was with Michael Spinks, and that was arguably the greatest version of Tyson during his dominant prime fighting years.

The following are the greatest fights of Iron Mike Tyson’s career:

• Mike Tyson vs Trevor Berbick

• Mike Tyson vs Tony Tucker

• Mike Tyson vs Larry Holmes

• Mike Tyson vs Michael Spinks

• Mike Tyson vs. Frank Bruno

• Mike Tyson vs Pinklon Thomas

• Mike Tyson vs Donovan Razor Ruddock

• Mike Tyson vs Tyrell Biggs

Tyson had a lot of impact on his performance from his trainer, Cus D'Amato. The last fight where Tyson worked with trainer Kevin Rooney was with Michael Spinks, and that was arguably the greatest version of Tyson during his dominant prime fighting years.