Tyson is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time.[5] He reigned as the undisputed world heavyweight champion from 1987 to 1990. Tyson won his first 19 professional fights by knockout, 12 of them in the first round. Claiming his first belt at 20 years, four months, and 22 days old, Tyson holds the record as the youngest boxer ever to win a heavyweight title.[6] He was the first heavyweight boxer to simultaneously hold the WBA, WBC and IBF titles, as well as the only heavyweight to unify them in succession. The following year, Tyson became the lineal champion when he knocked out Michael Spinks in 91 seconds of the first round In 1990, Tyson was knocked out by underdog Buster Douglas, in one of the biggest upsets in history.
Tyson, whose career record was 50-6 with 44 knockouts, was well-known throughout his career for his knockout power. In the 27 fights that were tracked by CompuBox, Tyson landed 56 percent of his power punches, which is 15 percentage points higher than the heavyweight average.
Below we take a by-the-numbers look at Tyson’s career, as well as some of his more notable fights:
Tyson, by the numbers
8 – Fewest punches landed in a title fight win (against Michael Spinks and Carl Williams).
20 – Youngest fighter to win a piece of the heavyweight title at 20 years old in 1986.
22 – First-round knockouts in his career, the second-most among fighters who have won a title.
30 – Defeated Marvis Frazier in 30 seconds, the fastest non-title fight knockout of his career.
42 – Tyson was a 42-1 betting favorite to beat James “Buster” Douglas before he was knocked out in one of the biggest upsets in sports history.
44 – Career knockouts, tied for 11th all-time with Larry Holmes among heavyweight titlists.
91 – Knocked out Michael Spinks in 91 seconds, the sixth-fastest fight in heavyweight championship history.
