There was a stretch in the late 80s when a Mike Tyson fight was an event in every house on the block. Grown folks crowded around the TV, somebody always showed up late, and half the time they missed the whole fight because it was already over. If you were a kid, you knew his name from somewhere else too: a gray cartridge you blew into before it would play.
Here is how Iron Mike took over boxing, and the night in Tokyo that nobody saw coming.
FIVE FACTS FROM THE IRON MIKE YEARS
November 22, 1986. Tyson fought Trevor Berbick for the WBC heavyweight title and stopped him in the second round. At 20 years old he became the youngest heavyweight champion in history.
1987. Nintendo released Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! for the NES. You played as Little Mac, a small fighter climbing the ranks, and the final boss was Tyson himself.
June 27, 1988. Tyson and Michael Spinks met in Atlantic City, both undefeated, both with a claim to being the real champion. Tyson knocked Spinks out in 91 seconds.
February 1990. In Tokyo, Tyson defended the title against James "Buster" Douglas, a 42 to 1 underdog. Douglas got up from a knockdown and knocked Tyson out in the tenth round. It is still called one of the biggest upsets in sports.
The streak. From the night he beat Berbick, nobody took a belt from Tyson until Douglas did.
THE KID WHO WANTED TO BE THE YOUNGEST
Tyson did not just want to win the belt. He wanted the record. After beating Berbick, he said he was the youngest heavyweight champion in history and planned to be the oldest one too. In the second round he dropped Berbick with a left hook, and Berbick tried to get up and stumbled back down more than once before referee Mills Lane stopped it. People who were watching remember the legs more than the punch. That was the night the whole world learned the name.
NINETY ONE SECONDS
The Spinks fight was billed as "Once and For All," because both men had a real argument for the crown. Tyson held all three major belts. Spinks was the lineal champion and had never lost. People paid big money to see who was really the best. Ninety one seconds later, they had their answer, and a lot of folks were still finding their seats. If you ever wonder why people talk about prime Tyson like he was something from a movie, this is the fight they mean.
THE GAME WE ALL PLAYED
For a lot of us, the first time we "fought" Tyson was on a living room carpet. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! put you in the gloves of Little Mac, working your way through a roster of colorful opponents before the dream fight at the end. Everybody had a cousin who swore they beat Tyson. Most of them were lying. That game made boxing feel like ours, even if we were too young to stay up for the real fights.
TOKYO
Then came February 1990. Douglas was supposed to be a tune up in Tokyo. Instead, he fought like a man with nothing to lose, survived a knockdown, and finished Tyson in the tenth. Nobody at home believed what they were seeing. That is the thing about the Tyson years: even the loss became a moment everybody remembers.
THINK YOU WERE PAYING ATTENTION?
This is exactly the kind of moment we built The Urban Rewind: Sports Game around. It has a Boxing arena right next to Football, Basketball and Wrestling, a Legend Packs room, and a Locker Room full of quick games. Climb from Rookie to Hall of Fame and prove you really watched.
Get The Urban Rewind: Sports Game
PLAY THE QUESTION
Who knocked out Mike Tyson in Tokyo in February 1990?
A. Evander Holyfield · B. Michael Spinks · C. Buster Douglas · D. Trevor Berbick
Answer: Buster Douglas, a 42 to 1 underdog, in the tenth round.
PROVE IT
More of a music, TV and movies person? The Urban Rewind Trivia has Hip-Hop, R&B, TV and Movies lanes. Ten questions, twenty seconds each. If you know it, prove it.
Play The Urban Rewind Trivia on iPhone