Decades before Mike Tyson was involved in a big-money, highly publicized hokum fight with YouTuber Jake Paul, he was the undisputed heavyweight champion, and perhaps the world's He was the most famous sportsman.
In November 1986, Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history with an impressive second-round knockout of WBC titleholder Trevor Berbick, a record that still stands to this day.
The Brooklyn-born destroyer went on to unify the championship, amassing an impressive record of 33-0 (29 KOs) before defeating the aging great Larry Holmes in January 1988.
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At that stage of his professional career, Tyson was boxing exclusively in the United States. But there was a world outside New York and Las Vegas, and promoter Don King was eager to capitalize on his flagship fighter's ability to attract overseas crowds.
The young Tyson's destruction of the heavyweight division made him a cultural phenomenon, even in Japan. There hasn't been a heavyweight championship fight in the Land of the Rising Sun since September 1973, when George Foreman knocked out the hapless Jose Roman within a round. tyson mania It provided the country with the perfect opportunity to turn things around.
King will work alongside highly regarded Japanese promoter Akihiko Honda. The opponent didn't matter — this was the Mike Tyson show, after all — and former WBA champion Tony Tubbs was drafted as the sacrificial lamb.
The problem for Tubbs, who has a round face, was that he could get lazy in training camp. In fact, the Japanese were so paranoid about the possibility of an embarrassing discrepancy that they promised to pay an additional $50,000 if the challenger weighed less than 235 pounds. Tubbs missed the additional 50G by more than 3 pounds.
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The match took place on March 21, 1988 at Tokyo Dome. Tubbs was incredibly fast for his size and shape, but he did well in the first round. He stuck a jab at Tyson, gave him some movement, and let go in an eye-catching burst.
But this wasn't the Tyson who ended his career in ignominious fashion with a loss to a mediocre Kevin McBride in 2005. This wasn't the recent social media version that scares off a new generation of fans with its noisy mitt-pounding routines. This was Prime trained by needle-sharp world champion Kevin Rooney.
Tubbs had no prayers.
Late in the second round, Tyson landed his signature combination: a right to the body followed by a right uppercut to the jaw. He was momentarily pinned to the ropes, but it wasn't clear how hurt Tubbs was when the referee broke the fighter out of the clinch. The Japanese crowd was about to find out.
As I tried to walk forward, the challenger's large body began to partially collapse. Realizing his opponent's plight, the rampaging Tyson closed the distance and narrowly missed Tubbs' potentially fatal left hand as he hit the canvas. He didn't have to count when trainer Odell Hadley jumped into the ring and ran to the fighter's aid.
This was the routine display of misery that Tyson fans expected.
Three wins later, the champion will return to the Tokyo Dome and work another bye against James “Buster” Douglas. When that night was over, Tyson and Japan would be forever linked in a way no one expected.
This was the last major match of Tubbs' career. The Cincinnati native retired in 2006 with a record of 47-10 (25 KOs).
