In boxing, you have fights that go early in their careers, and you have ‘late bloomers’ that make the mark in their evening years. Then you have Mike Tyson.
The man known simply as ‘Iron Mike’ became famous as the youngest ever overweight champion in 1986 when he knocked down Trevor Berbick within two rounds.
With that influence he became a WBC hero at the age of just 20. However, he seems to have been just as big at a much younger age.
Pictures have emerged of 15-year-old Tyson competing in the amateur delivering reel-to-toe reels.
In this short clip, Tyson’s full collection is featured. A right hook followed by a left hand lowers his enemy without moving to the canvas.
This would be a familiar sight for boxing fans over the coming years.
Take a look at yourself at young Tyson in action …
Tyson was clearly something special. That’s not your typical 15-year out there.
Under the banner of Cus D’Amato, Tyson would rise quickly through the rankings and it was no surprise when he achieved his potential and became a hero years later.
D’Amato died shortly before Tyson won the title, but the Brooklyn-born brawler would go on to make the case before him in the late 1980s before suffering a terrible loss to James ‘Buster’ Douglas in January 1990.
Tyson won gold champion in 1996, though many feel he was never the same after his first professional loss.
A pair of defenses followed Evander Holyfield, and the fierce puncher ended his career by losing three of his last four blows, including Lennox Lewis of Britain.
He retired with a record 50 wins and six hits, before returning for a showdown contest against Roy Jones Jr. last November, which ended in a controversial draw.
There is no doubt that Tyson was a truly amazing teenager. We have never seen anyone like him. We may never see anyone like him again.
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