When boxers and pundits are asked as to who the greatest heavyweight of all-time, many state that a ‘prime’ Mike Tyson was near-impossible to defeat, whilst acknowledging that Tyson’s lack of longevity in a relatively short peak may not warrant him the position as the best of all-time.
Well, ‘Iron’ Mike has now revealed the time where he believes that he was at his best.
Tyson’s career is often spoke about in two separate chapters, separated by a four year stint in prison that kept him out of the ring during the early 1990s.
Before his time away from the sport, Tyson had amassed a record of 41-1 with an astounding thirty-six knockout victories along the way and a lone blemish on his résumé – his well-documented shock defeat to Buster Douglas.
Upon his return, Tyson needed just two outings before he would challenge for a world title, overcoming Peter McNeeley and Buster Mathis in a combined four rounds before knocking out Frank Bruno to reclaim the WBC crown.
He then won the WBA title in his next contest against Bruce Seldon, before picking up his second and third career defeats in successive bouts against Evander Holyfield in 1996 and 1997.
Tyson continued to box up until 2005, retiring with a record of 50-6 and challenging for world honours on just one more occasion – an eighth-round knockout loss to Lennox Lewis.
On his Snapchat, Tyson showed a screenshot from his win over William Hosea, where he quizzed his fans to attempt to name the fight, hinting that it was from 1986, the ‘prime of his career’.
“Another fight from the prime of my career. I’ll give you a clue, it’s from 1986. “
That year was concluded with his famous title win over Trevor Berbick at just twenty-years-old, ending the calendar with thirteen wins in twelve months, including the first-round stoppage of Hosea in June.