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Was Mike Tyson Ever Knocked Out Cold?

Published 12/30/2021, 9:30 AM EST

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Mike Tyson was one of the most feared and one of the most dominant boxers in his prime. ‘Iron’ Mike would often scare his opponents even before they entered the ring against him, and this gave him an edge over his opponents.

But during his 20-year long career, there were a lot of times where ‘Iron’ Mike didn’t look like himself and fell prey to his opponents’ tactics or pugilistic prowess. This begs the question:

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Has Mike Tyson ever been knocked out? 

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Mike Tyson made his professional debut back on March 6, 1985, as an 18-year-old. The following November, he became the youngest heavyweight champion of the world by knocking out the WBC champion Trevor Berbick.

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What followed was a long and illustrious career that saw ‘Iron’ Mike fight 58 times, with 50 wins and 6 losses. Most of his losses came very late in his career.

On February 11, 1990, Mike Tyson suffered his first-ever loss and his first-ever knockout. James ‘Buster’ Douglas was the man that knocked out ‘The Baddest Man on The Planet’. Douglas produced one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight history.

He came back from an eighth-round knockout to turn the fight around by knocking Tyson out cold in the 10th round.

How Many times was Mike Tyson knocked out during his career?

Out of his 6 losses, Mike Tyson lost three times by knockout, twice by technical knockout, and once by disqualification. In totality, ‘Iron’ Mike has been knocked out five times in his career.

His next knockout came at the hands of Evander ‘The Real Deal’ Holyfield in 1996. Holyfield did not show even an ounce of fear when he entered the ring to face Tyson. This separated him from Tyson’s previous opponents.

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The match ended in the 11th round when the referee called a stop to the action. Holyfield charged at Tyson relentlessly, throwing punch after punch with no reply from ‘Iron’ Mike. The referee saw enough and stopped the fight.

Six months later, the pair faced each other again for a rematch. This time around, Tyson got himself disqualified for biting Holyfield’s ear off during the fight.

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Then six years later, Tyson found himself on the canvas again.

This time at the hands of the undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis on June 8, 2003. The bout was a one-sided contest, with Lewis dominating the action throughout the fight. In the eighth round, Lewis knocked out Tyson.

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The last time a boxer ever knocked Tyson out was in July 2004. Facing upwards of $38 million in debt, Mike Tyson got into the ring for the last hurrah, but it was not meant to be. In another one-sided match, Danny Williams knocked Tyson out in the fourth round and put an end to Tyson’s professional boxing career.

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Written by:

Allan Binoy

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Allan Binoy is a Boxing writer at EssentiallySports. Currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in English Literature from Loyola College, Allan fuses his love for literature and the sport of boxing to deliver quality copies about 'The Sweet Science.' Allan is a semi-professional soccer player for Diego Juniors FC.
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