1 week Ago By Tom Gray
Perhaps no fighter in boxing history is more synonymous with knockouts than Mike Tyson . During his heyday, he was one of the most famous men in the world and his deadly punching power was matched only by an incredible aura of invincibility. Tyson (50-6) is a former two-time heavyweight champion and was undisputed during his first reign.
Of the 44 knockouts he recorded, an incredible 24 of them occurred in the first round. For context, modern-day power-puncher Deontay Wilder has 20 first-round knockouts. MORE: SN's Top 12 best heavyweight boxers While Tyson’s power is obvious, it was his quick feet, head movement and hand speed that got him into position.
He wasn’t just a brawler – Tyson’s skill level and defense were amazing and his horror movie villain reputation struck fear into the hearts of many opponents before a punch was thrown. But what were Tyson’s most devastating knockouts when he was world champion or a former champion? What brutal finishes will fight fans always remember no matter how much time has elapsed? The Sporting News takes a look back at 13 of Mike Tyson’s most devastating knockout wins: 13. Clifford Etienne KO 1 Date/ Location: February 22, 2003/ The Pyramid, Memphis After suffering a brutal defeat to reigning heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis, Team Tyson needed an easy touch.
Step forward Clifford “The Black Rhino” Etienne. In the final victory of Tyson’s Hall of Fame career, the ex-champ knocked Etienne out cold with a single right to the jaw in the opening round. The fight lasted just 49 seconds.
12. Henry Tillman KO 1 Date/ Location: June 16, 1990/ Caesars Palace, Las Vegas Tyson was looking to re-establish “The Baddest Man on the Planet” image after sensationally losing the heavyweight title to Buster Douglas in Japan. It didn’t take him long.
Tillman secured a win over Tyson in the Olympic trials but that meant nothing in the pros. With less than 30 seconds remaining in round one, Tyson obliterated his opponent with a blockbuster right to the temple. 11.
Alex Stewart TKO 1 Date/ Location: December 8, 1990/ Convention Center, Atlantic City Four months after the Henry Tillman massacre, Tyson returned for another tune-up against fringe contender Alex Stewart. It was more of the same. Stewart was a rabbit in the headlights and was down while the sound of the opening bell still hung in the air.
Two more heavy knockdowns followed before the fight was stopped on the three-knockdown rule. 10. Frans Botha KO 5 Date/ Location: January 16, 1999/ MGM Grand, Las Vegas Tyson had been out of the ring since biting white-hot rival Evander Holyfield in both ears in June 1997.
For that horrific infringement, he’d been disqualified. Botha was a quality opponent and was giving a ring-rusty Tyson plenty of trouble through four rounds. However, the loquacious South African fighter got careless in the fifth and was taken out by a pulverizing right to the point of the chin.
Ring Magazine 9. Tyrell Biggs TKO 7 Date/ Location: October 16, 1987/ Convention Center, Atlantic City Most of Tyson’s knockouts came early and were very sudden. However, against Biggs, the then-undisputed champion dragged things out.
Biggs had defeated Tyson in the amateur ranks and was made to suffer. The fleet-footed challenger was battered from pillar to post, while his legs were drained of energy by a fierce body assault. Two savage knockdowns in the seventh and it was all over.
8. Carl Williams TKO 1 Date/ Location: July 21, 1989/ Convention Center, Atlantic City Williams had made a name for himself in a close decision loss to then-heavyweight champion Larry Holmes in 1985. However, he had the somewhat suicidal tendency of dropping his right hand when jabbing.
.. and Tyson knew it.
With little more than a minute gone in round one, Tyson slipped left to avoid the jab and released a lethal left hook counter-punch that landed flush and sent Williams sprawling the canvas. The referee called the fight off, deeming the glassy-eyed challenger in no condition to continue. 7.
Tony Tubbs TKO 2 Date/ Location: March 21, 1988/ Tokyo Dome, Japan Tubbs was a former WBA heavyweight champion with talent and hand speed that belied his large waistline. The Ohio native boxed brilliantly in the first three minutes but 12 rounds is a long time. As the seconds ticked away in round two, Tyson scored with his signature right hook to the body and right uppercut to the chin combo.
Another left hook to the temple and the challenger’s body began to give way in sections before he melted to the canvas. 6. Frank Bruno TKO 5 Date/ Location: February 25, 1989/ Las Vegas Hilton After being decked inside the opening 20 seconds, Bruno got up and fought fire with fire.
The British hero hurt Tyson with a solid left hook in round one but was unable to find the finisher. As the fight moved on, the champ had more and more success, finally closing out with a devastating series of body shots, uppercuts and left hooks in round five. Bruno suffered a detached retina in this fight and was out of action for more than a year.
5. Frank Bruno TKO 3 Date/ Location: March 16, 1996/ MGM Grand, Las Vegas In the rematch, it was Bruno who was the defending WBC heavyweight champion but that made absolutely no difference in the fight. Tyson hurt Bruno badly with a right in round one and split the skin near his left eye, an injury that later required plastic surgery.
The challenger kept up the attack and forced the referee’s intervention when he landed a savage cluster of power shots in the third. Tyson became champion for a second time in what was the final fight of Bruno’s career. MORE: Tyson Fury: My Sweetest Victory 4.
Pinklon Thomas TKO 6 Date/ Location: May 1, 1987/ Las Vegas Hilton By this time a unified champion, Tyson targeted what many perceived to be his toughest challenge at the time. While Thomas had surrendered the WBC title to Trevor Berbick in an upset, he did hold impressive wins over Tim Witherspoon and Mike Weaver. Tyson was in full-on kill mode in round one, rocking the challenger with devastating hooks from both sides.
Incredibly, Thomas found a way back and outboxed his man for a short period before he ran out of luck. The champion’s finishing combination was one of the most brutal in heavyweight history. 3.
Larry Holmes KO 4 Date/ Location: January 22, 1988/ Convention Center, Atlantic City Holmes, who once went 48 fights undefeated, was a legendary former champion, but he’d been out of the ring for almost two years and was 38 when he fought Tyson. Even the old master couldn’t hold off a peak version of Iron Mike, who attacked with abandon from round one. After enjoying some success, Holmes was dropped by a crushing right to the temple in the fourth.
He gave everything to stay alive, but Tyson ended matters with two more knockdowns, the last of which put “The Easton Assassin” out cold. 2. Michael Spinks KO 1 Date/ Location: June 27, 1988/ Convention Hall, Atlantic City This fight would decide the true heavyweight champion of the world in 1988.
As the IBF, WBA and WBC titleholder, Tyson was regarded as the undisputed champion. However, Spinks had previously dethroned Larry Holmes and held The Ring and lineal crowns. The introductions lasted longer than the fight.
At the peak of his powers, Tyson attacked Spinks with the ferocity of a bulldog going after a Bichon Frisé. Spinks took a handful of massive shots in the 91 seconds that the fight lasted, the last of which – a brutal right hand – relieved him of his senses. 1.
Trevor Berbick TKO 2 Date/ Location: November 22, 1986/ Las Vegas Hilton When you drop a fighter three times with one punch to become the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history, it’s always going to be hard to beat. Tyson, 20 at the time, opened as a big favorite to beat Trevor Berbick and surpass Floyd Patterson’s record. The challenger hurt the WBC champ several times in round one and decked him heavily at the beginning of the second.
As time ticked away in that round, Tyson found himself on the inside but still found room for a compact left hook that bounced off his opponent’s temple. Berbick went down like he’d been shot and made two unsuccessful attempts to rise before he fell into referee Mills Lane’s arms. AND THE NEW.
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