Michael Gerard Tyson(born June 30, 1966) is an American formerprofessional boxerwho competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed “Iron Mike“[4]and “Kid Dynamite” in his early career, and later known as “The Baddest Man on the Planet“, Tyson is considered to be one of the greatestheavyweightboxers of all time. He reigned as theundisputedworld heavyweight champion from 1987 to 1990. Tyson won his first 19 professional fights byknockout, 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. 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 thelineal championwhen he knocked outMichael Spinksin 91 seconds of the first round. In 1990, Tyson was knocked out by underdogBuster Douglas inone of the biggest upsets in boxing history.
In 1992, Tyson was convicted of rape and sentenced to six years in prison, although he was released on parole after three years. After his release in 1995, he engaged in a series of comeback fights, regaining the WBA and WBC titles in 1996 to joinFloyd Patterson,Muhammad Ali,Tim Witherspoon,Evander HolyfieldandGeorge Foremanas the only men in boxing history to have regained a heavyweight championship after losing it. After being stripped of the WBC title in the same year, Tyson lost the WBA title to Evander Holyfield by an eleventh round stoppage. Their1997 rematchended when Tyson was disqualified for biting Holyfield’s ears, one bite notoriously being strong enough to remove a portion of his right ear. In 2002, Tyson fought for the world heavyweight title, losing by knockout toLennox Lewis.
