Tyson, Mike (redirected from Mike Tyson)

Tyson, Mike (Michael Gerald Tyson), 1966–, American boxer, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. At the age of 12, Tyson was sent to reform school, where he began to box. In a whirlwind career begun in 1985, his spare, brutal style (36 knockouts in his first 41 wins) rescued him from the ghetto and made him history's youngest world heavyweight champion with his 1986 knockout of Trevor Berbick. His first loss (1990), to unheralded Buster Douglas, punctured his aura of invincibility.

Tyson's life since then has been marked by violence, instability, and antisocial behavior in and out of the ring. His conviction (1992) for the rape of a beauty contestant resulted in a sentence of 10 years in prison. Released in 1995, Tyson returned to boxing, winning the World Boxing Council title in 1996. The same year, however, he lost to Evander Holyfield, and in a 1997 rematch bit Holyfield's ear, for which he was temporarily banned from boxing. In 1999 he was briefly imprisoned in Maryland for assault. After he sparked a melee at a prefight conference with Lennox Lewis in 2002, Tyson was denied a license to fight by Nevada. The title challenge was relocated to Memphis, where Tyson lost, and subsequently he was not a significant contender.

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Tyson, Mike

 in full Michael Gerald Tyson

(born June 30, 1966, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. boxer. A member of street gangs in his youth, Tyson was sent to reform school, where his boxing talent was discovered. He turned professional in 1985 and won the heavyweight title in 1986 by defeating Trevor Berbick, becoming, at age 20, the youngest heavyweight champion in history. He defended the title against Larry Holmes, Michael Spinks, and eight others before losing in an upset to James (“Buster”) Douglas in 1990. In 1992 he was convicted of rape and sentenced to six years in prison; he was released on parole in 1995. In 1996 he challenged but lost to Evander Holyfield; in a 1997 rematch he was disqualified for biting off a piece of Holyfield's ear, and his license was revoked. In 1999 Tyson regained his boxing license and returned to the ring. In his bout against British heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis in 2002, Lewis twice knocked Tyson to the canvas before knocking him out in the eighth round.