I continue my list of the fights I’ve watched on HBO over the years.
16. Mike Tyson vs. Pinklon Thomas. May 30, 1987. I went over my other sister’s house to watch this one on HBO, since she had just gotten married, and was on her honeymoon. The bout from the Hilton Outdoor Arena in Las Vegas went according to plan. The shopworn Thomas showed grit and determination, but Tyson was too strong and powerful for him. By the sixth round, Mike had worn him down enough, and a tremendous combination of blows by the young champion knocked Thomas down and out. Watching his performance that night left me convinced there was no one in the heavyweight division that could beat this kid.
17. Mike Tyson vs. Tyrell Biggs. October 16, 1987. I had the opportunity to get a pass to watch Mike Tyson train one day at the Trump Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. He had workouts in a ballroom, and it was pretty cool to sit and watch him spar for 5 or 6 rounds. The boxing magazines at the time were calling his fight with Tyrell Biggs ‘The Ali-Frazier of the 80’s?’ I laughed at any such suggestions, and when I went to my other sister’s house to watch this one, I gave Biggs about as much chance as I did of beating Tyson that night. None. Biggs boxed well for one round, but his legs were shot soon after, and he tried to trade with Tyson. By the seventh, the inevitable end came when a Tyson left hook floored Biggs and knocked him out. It was a total mismatch, and it further proved Mike’s dominance at an early age.
18. Mike Tyson vs. Larry Holmes. January 22, 1988 This was a bout I didn’t want to see, but the lure of a $3 million dollar payday brought the ex-champion Larry Holmes out of retirement. Larry told promoter Don King that he needed a warmup bout with Bernard Benton, a Mike Tyson look alike, but King refused. Holmes said when he walked to the ring that night at Atlantic City’s Convention Hall, for the first time in his life, he knew he was going to lose. Larry tried to keep Tyson at bay for a while by keeping his left arm extended, and my hopes were that he just go the distance. As I sat in my sister’s apartment alone that night, the sickening sight of seeing Larry get knocked out in the fourth round made me sad. I drove home feeling very melancholy that night, and I wished that Larry had stayed retired.
19. Mike Tyson vs. Tony Tubbs. March 21, 1988. When I went over my sister’s house that Sunday night in March of 1988, I went without a VHS tape in hand. I had no doubts it would be a short night, but I just wanted to get out of the house after a long boring day. Tubbs came in way overweight at 238 1/4 lbs. and Tyson did what you should do to such guys. He knocked him out in the second round to get rid of him. My attitude was at least Tyson was getting rid of the misfits and fat slobs of the division, which was a good thing. Nothing had changed as far as anyone around capable of beating him, because there wasn’t anybody.
20. Mike Tyson vs. Frank Bruno. February 25, 1989. This time I went to my brother’s apartment, who had recently developed an interest in boxing, which was good for me. We had a strained relationship for years, but boxing built a bridge for us in a great way, and we became best friends because of it. Tyson had left Bill Cayton and signed with Don King, and now fought under the title of ‘Team Tyson’. It was all a con job from the biggest scumbag in boxing history, Don King, but Tyson fell for it. Kevin Rooney was now gone as his trainer, replaced with buffoons and incompetents in his corner. Tyson didn’t need much to defeat the glass jawed Bruno, whose bright spot in the fight came when he rocked Mike for a brief few seconds. It was not enough however, and in the fifth Tyson trapped him on the ropes, and finished him off.
FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM AT kensoldtimeboxingchat
LISTEN TO MY PODCAST ON SPOTIFY AT kensoldtimeboxingchat
