Mike Tyson began gaining a reputation as a lethal knockout artist who could finish a fight within a matter of minutes:
This eventually led Iron Mike to get a title shot at just 20 years of age.
He was set to take on the WBC heavyweight champion Trevor Berbick. But there was a lot of doubt if Tyson could actually win the title at a such young age.
In an interview before the fight, Tyson was asked if he had any doubts about losing.
However, a confident Tyson claimed that he was certain that he would beat Berbick. He then hilariously stated that the only way he could lose was if he decided to chop his arms off. “No way perhaps if I chop off both of my arms,” said Tyson
Iron Mike would then go on to do exactly what he stated:
Iron Mike would then go on to do exactly what he stated, knocking out Berbick in just 2 minutes and 25 seconds. He would then go on to become the youngest heavyweight champion, a record that still stands to this day.
Tyson was one of the few boxers who reached his peak at a very early stage in his career. After he won the heavyweight title, Iron Mike would go on to unify the division by capturing the IBF and WBA titles. He then went to defend his titles 9 times over the course of 3 years. However, this would all begin to change, as Tyson was getting noticeably uninterested in the sport.
Tyson traveled to Japan to face Buster Douglas:
In 1990, Tyson traveled to Japan to face Buster Douglas, who was a huge underdog coming into the fight.
However, in of the biggest upsets in boxing history, Douglas beat Tyson and became the heavyweight champion.
Following this, personal problems caught up with Tyson, and although he was able to regain his belts, he lost them just one year later to Evander Holyfield.
Iron Mike would then never reach the success he did previously and retired from the sport in 2006.