‘Iron’ Mike Tyson turns 50 today and appears to be at peace in his life now more than ever.
The acclaimed fighter will always be remembered fondly by most boxing fans for his prime years in the late 80’s and early 90’s and indeed after this, he still managed to churn out a few highly exciting knockouts.
But it’s the story of Tyson as a man that still draws people to him to this day, even though he is now long retired as a professional fighter.
In the ring he became the youngest ever heavyweight champion of the world, a record that can never be taken away from him from his detractors, and a record that still stands today in 2016 – which says a lot.
I think why people found Tyson so compelling during his active boxing years is that it almost tapped into a primal fascination within all of us, wondering what he was going to do next, how fast he was going to knock someone out, such was his menace in the ring.
It was almost beautiful brutality how he went about his work in his heyday, sublime footwork, lightning hand speed, perfect head movement, combinations and dynamite power.
In many ways he was almost the perfect fighting machine in his prime.
However, that prime wasn’t to last long, like many fighters of Tyson’s ilk, who often have a short blazing career at the top where it seems like they are invincible.
But take nothing away from what Tyson achieved in the ring, a man still respected the world over by the global boxing community and even recently was honored with the privilege of shouldering the coffin of the great Muhammad Ali at his funeral.
A ferocious competitor, polarizing character and an utterly traumatic individual, who’d been through more than most people in his life.
To mark ‘Iron’ Mike’s 50th today we wanted to share this top notch documentary on Tyson from ESPN, that chronicles Mike’s boxing career from the early days right up until the Lennox Lewis defeat.
(Top image source and credit: Fox Sports)
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