Wow, Incredible. When Mike Tyson turned pro, he fought 19 times in 12 months

Thats just crazy to imagine, he fought as much as 3 times a month his first year in the pros. Now that was a guy on a mission to make a name for himself quickly. Fight resume from March 1985 - March 1986 1986-03-10 Steve Zouski 1986-02-16 Jesse Ferguson 1986-01-24 Mike Jameson 1986-01-11 David Jaco 1985-12-27 Mark Young 1985-12-06 Sammy Scaff 1985-11-22 Conroy Nelson 1985-11-13 Eddie Richardson 1985-11-01 Sterling Benjamin 1985-10-25 Robert Colay 1985-10-09 Donnie Long 1985-09-05 Michael Johnson 1985-08-15 Lorenzo Canady 1985-07-19 Larry Sims 1985-07-11 John Alderson 1985-06-20 Ricardo Spain 1985-05-23 Don Halpin 1985-04-10 Trent Singleton 1985-03-06 Hector Mercedes

Comments (17)

AWolf

Good, thats what all fighters should be doing but instead they're sparring in the gym, if that ^^^^^^^^^^

13y ago

Weltschmerz

There was no stopping the early Mike... Just ferocious...

13y ago

P4P_No1

It's great that he was so active but it did just seem like glorified sparring matches I suppose. Then again, like the others have said, if it was keeping him in a "constant training camp" which allowed for as little distraction as possible it was definitely working for him. Just wonder how Tyson would have done if he had never fell in with the likes of King, etc. Still don't think he beats a prime Lewis but it would have been interesting to see.

13y ago

LacedUp

It's how many fighters should be groomed. When you're a prospect without a fanbase, fighting journeymen and hasbeens you don't need 8 week training camps. You should be in constant camp, ready to fight all the time. Nowadays, there's too big an emphasis on shows, and money and tv dates etc. I hate that with a passion.

13y ago

BBomber

Jim Jacobs, his manager at the time, had a very old school mentality where he wanted to keep him active and get as many fights as possible into his first 12 months like a lot of the old timers did. What's your opinion about this method, Iron?. I remember reading about D'Amato wanting Tyson to stay busy so that to keep him away from distractions, and basically have him in a 'permanent training camp'. Of course, in spite of the level of competition, fighting so often is risky, bad nights happen. On the other hand, I find it a very good method to have a young fighter constantly evolving, both technically and mentally.

13y ago

KING_MEAT

Bill Goldberg > Mike Tyson

13y ago

DLT

I love Mike but alot of guys can do the same thing. Its just sorta like a substitute for sparring, etc... Same thing about guys sweating everyone in the past who have 80-100 wins. Most of them were against nobodies. Its just different eras but dont act like guys today couldnt do that also if they wanted to

13y ago

boliodogs

That is impressive. Wladimir Klitschko fought 13 times in the year 1997. He won 11 by ko and the other two by D.Q. in 6 rounds or less. In December 1997 he had three fights in three weeks winning all three by KO.

13y ago

Reloaded

A bum a day is no problem for an elite fighter , you cant fight top comp like this this only once or twice a year , why are young fans are so into numbers on face value , dig into what the numbers mean !

13y ago

Russian_Crushin

Good, thats what all fighters should be doing but instead they're sparring in the gym, if that

13y ago

greynotsoold

If you total up the time spent in the ring, it is something like 20 rounds. Less than two rounds a month isn't a lot of time in the ring.

13y ago

DreamFighter

19 is pretty grand for a guy who should have been in high school before summer. And its 19 early KOs, and more emphatically, the early KOs kept coming when he stepped up at the age of 20.

13y ago

Weebler_I

Nigel Benn fought 13 times inside 12 months upon turning pro.

13y ago

Daa

Tommy Morrisson had the same kind of resume in his 1st year : 19 (18 ko)-0 ! Lewis and both Klitschko fought 12 times theirs 1st years, not bad too. Now, an active HW fight 6x a year at best.

13y ago

Tim2daresq

Nothing but glorified sparring matches. Not hating, love me some Tyson.

13y ago

IronDanHamza

Jim Jacobs, his manager at the time, had a very old school mentality where he wanted to keep him active and get as many fights as possible into his first 12 months like a lot of the old timers did.

13y ago

Skip_Bayless

it surprised me when i heard that for the first time. he was on a war path

13y ago