Michael Gerard Tyson was born on June 30, 1966 in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up in crime-infested neighborhoods, and was arrested 38 times by the time he was 13 years old. While at the Tryon School for Boys in Johnstown, New York, he met Bobby Stewart, a counselor and former fighter. Through Stewart, Tyson met boxing manager Cus D’Amato, and dropped out of high school as a junior. When he was 16, Mike’s mother died and Cus took him into live at his home. Kevin Rooney took over for Teddy Atlas as Tyson’s full-time trainer, while D’ Amato became his legal guardian.
Tyson won gold medals in both the 1981 and 1982 Junior Olympic Games. He also won the 1984 National Golden Gloves, but lost to Henry Tillman in the trials for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
On March 6, 1985, Mike made his professional debut in Albany, New York with a first-round knockout of Hector Mercedes. Tyson would fight a total of 15 times in 1985, defeating the likes of John Alderson, Donnie Long and Eddie Richardson. His thunderous power was gaining him enormous attention, and by early 1986, he became a regular on ABC and HBO.
On February 16, 1986, he took on veteran Jesse Ferguson at the Field House in Troy, New York. I vividly remember watching it on ABC Sports, and couldn’t help but be impressed by the young phenom’s power. Most of Tyson’s victims had been scared to death of him, but Ferguson showed grit by landing into the fifth round. Mike broke his noise with a vicious uppercut, but Jesse got up and continued. In the sixth round however, he started to grab and clinch, and wouldn’t stop. Finally, after repeated warnings from the referee, the bout was stopped and ruled as a technical knockout win for Tyson.
Mike’s managers Jimmy Jacobs and Bill Cayton moved his career along brilliantly, picking the proper competition and the right fighters to move him up the rankings. After his win over Ferguson, Tyson knocked out trial horse Steve Zouski in three rounds on March 10 at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. Named ‘Kid Dynamite’ by the press, boxing had life infused into a sport that needed it desperately.
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