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38 Years Later, Mike Tyson Reveals the Truth About Fighting 15 Times in a Row

Published 04/15/2023, 9:30 AM EDT

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Mike Tyson is one of the most famous and accomplished boxers in history, and his rise to fame was swift and powerful. In 1985, Tyson became a professional boxer after failing to qualify for the Olympic team. That year, he fought an incredible 15 times, winning 11 of those bouts by first-round knockout.

Tyson’s incredible success in the ring during his first year as a professional boxer cemented his status as a force to be reckoned with in the sport. While some critics may argue that Tyson’s success was due in part to his opponents’ lack of skill, there’s no denying that ‘Iron’ Mike was a dominant force in the ring. Moreover, he recently reflected back on this time and his mindset during it.

Mike Tyson reflects on the time he fought fifteen fights in a year

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In a recent episode of his podcast along with rising star Ryan Garcia, Tyson reflected on his busy schedule during his first year as a professional boxer. He stated that he fought around 15 times in one year. Despite this, he still only went past the 10th round twice. According to him, this was a way for him to stay sharp and avoid ring rust, common with a lot of fighters today.

“I fought 15 times in one year. It’s basically a lot of knockouts but still like 10-12 of those. Alright, listen, I may have gone 10 rounds twice out of 15 fights. It’s competitive and it’s staying sharp, staying ready for sure,” he said.

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Tyson’s dedication to his craft and his willingness to fight often and hard paid off. His impressive record in those first 15 fights helped catapult him to stardom and set the stage for his many accomplishments in the years to come. However, ‘Iron’ Mike’s success came at a cost, as he revealed that he often trained and sparred even skipping school to train.

Mike Tyson reveals how Cus D’Amato made him train stringently

In the podcast, ‘Iron’ Mike revealed that his coach Cus D’Amato would make up excuses only to get Tyson to spar. He claimed that the legendary boxing coach created fake emergencies so that he could get Tyson into the ring.

“Cus  used to call me and say, ‘Hey, we have a family emergency.’ Then just comes and spar with people, come to the gym and spar people. But he’s always saying the family called the heart attack, it’s the car accident. ‘Send Mike home, please.’ And I’m just going to the gym and boxing people, boxing Frank Bruno or somebody,” he added.

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Despite the challenges Tyson faced outside of the ring, his impressive record during his first year as a professional boxer helped establish him as one of the greatest fighters of all time. In addition, this also helped in many ways to cope with the abuse he was suffering from outside the ring. His dedication to his craft, coupled with his incredible talent and skill, made him a dominant force in the sport and a true legend in the eyes of fans around the world.

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What did you think about Tyson fighting 15 times in one year? Let us know in the comments below.

Watch This Story: 6 Mike Tyson Quotes That Will Send Chills Down Your Spine

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Written by:

Sahil Sood

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Sahil Sood is a Boxing writer at EssentiallySports, who specializes in covering live events and core sports. Sahil holds a Bachelor's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and has authored over 1300 articles at EssentiallySports. His coverage of Sylvester Stallone's training with Earnie Shavers was widely praised for its depth and insight.
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Edited by:

Shibu Immanuel