When Did Mike Tyson Lose for the First Time?

The first-round knockout of the Puerto Rican Hector Mercedes on March 6, 1985, forced the world to check out the new Heavyweight prospect. Born and raised in the troubled hoods of Brooklyn, the fighter inside Mike Tyson got the chance to let himself loose inside the ring, well aided by the skills learned at the famed Cus D’Amato school.

On November 22, 1986, Tyson defeated Jamaican Trevor Berbick at Las Vegas Hilton to win his first world title, WBC Heavyweight. He became the youngest Heavyweight champion in history. From his debut until winning the WBC belt, he participated in twenty-seven fights, of which twenty-five came through knockouts. He added the WBA Heavyweight title the following year after defeating James Smith. A couple of months later, he bagged the IBF Heavyweight title.

For the next three years, Mike Tyson would rule the division with an iron hand as the undisputed champion. But come 1990, his fortunes were to change forever. It proved that even mighty Mike Tyson was not an exception to the adage that ‘all good things come to an end.‘

Mike Tyson’s first loss: Which boxer broke the famous winning streak of the heavyweight legend?

Mike Tyson met James ‘Buster’ Douglas on February 11, 1990, at Tokyo Dome. The fight was labeled ‘Tyson is Back’, and the six feet and three inches tall, Columbus, Ohio-born Douglas had challenged Tyson for the WBA, WBC, IBF, and the Ring Heavyweight titles.

As one of the commentators mentioned famously, right from the early rounds, it was apparent that Douglas came to Tokyo to fight. Using his jab effectively, the Ohioan skillfully nullified Tyson’s attempts at attacks and kept him subdued. With some ten seconds left for the eighth round to get over, a right uppercut from Tyson had sent Douglas to the canvas. However, the latter managed to get up, reportedly within the referee’s count.

In the ninth round, though he tried his level best to regain lost ground, it was too late, too little for Tyson. Douglas outboxed him, and the world champion barely had any answers to the former’s questions. Finally, after landing a few jabs in the tenth round, Douglas connected with an uppercut that sent Tyson’s head flying head skyward. The latter tried to rebound. But Douglas landed four punches on Tyson’s head, sending him down to the canvas for the first time in his professional career.

The Real Reason Mike Tyson Lost His First Ever Bout to Buster Douglas Emerges

It was one of the biggest upsets in the history of boxing. The man, till then considered unbeatable, finally met his match and lost. So what could have been the reason behind ‘Iron’ Mike’s terrible loss to James ‘Buster’ Douglas? What went wrong that day on February 11 at Tokyo Dome?

Douglas, who has had a mixed-bag career till then, was going through some personal tragedies. His mother, Lula Pearl, had passed away some twenty-three days before the fight. If it was not enough, his son’s mother had suffered from a severe kidney problem, and he ran flu just a day before the battle.

However, the setback, especially his mother’s loss, instead of sending him down the cliff, reeled him back in. After the fight, when asked for reasons for his win, Douglas replied, “Because of my mother … God bless her heart,” as reported by nzherald.

On the other hand, two familiar narratives often come up as reasons for his loss. According to HBO’s analyst and well-acclaimed sportswriter Larry Merchant, the primary reason for Mike Tyson’s lackadaisical performance in Tokyo Dome is parting ways with long-time trainer Kevin Rooney. The trainer who took over Tyson’s training after Cus D’Amato passed away in 1985 has long been accredited with his incredible success. However, they went their separate ways after the fight against former champion Michael Spinks in 1988.

The opinion has been shared by other personalities such as promoter Butch Lewis and sports journalist Jerry Izenberg who, in the documentary Mike Tyson – The Fallen Champ, famously remarked about Tyson’s new corner, “They assemble a corner for that fight which looks like it was picked up out of the semi-finals of the Intercity Golden Gloves.”

But adding a twist to the saga, singer Bobby Brown a long-time friend of Mike Tyson, presented one more angle. According to him, the real reason why Tyson lost the fight was a two-day heavy partying that went right up to the night before the battle.

According to an article published on Marca, in an interview, Brown revealed, “We used to do crazy sh*t…but there was a time when we partied in Japan right before his fight with Buster Douglas. We partied like really, really, really hard. There must have been two dozen girls in the room with me and Mike. We partied, and I was trying to tell him to get some sleep. Eventually, he got some sleep [in the ring]…”

Other famous losses of Mike Tyson

Many believe the loss at Tokyo Dome in 1990 marked Mike Tyson’s downfall. His personal life also started grabbing headlines. The Desiree Washington case resulted in him receiving a prison sentence. By August 1995, he was back in the ring, and the following year, on March 16, 1996, he once again became the WBC Heavyweight champion. But the happiness didn’t last long. On November 9, 1996, Mike Tyson faced his second defeat.

Vs. Evander Holyfield I, November 9, 1996 – The bout was labeled ‘Finally’. It was Tyson’s WBA Heavyweight title defense after taking it from Bruce Seldon in September of that year. The fight lasted till the eleventh round when the referee, convinced that Tyson could not take any more punishments, stopped it handing over a technical victory to Holyfield.

Vs. Evander Holyfield II, June 28, 1997 – Titled ‘The Sound and The Fury’, the fight is remembered infamously as ‘The Bite Fight’. It was a rematch between Tyson and Holyfield. However, by the third round, the former bit-off chunks of Holyfield’s right ear, forcing the referee to stop the fight. Tyson was immediately disqualified. A subsequent decision by the Nevada State Athletic Commission saw him banned from boxing. It wasn’t until 1999 that Mike Tyson could return to the ring.

Vs. Lennox Lewis, June 8, 2002 – The Lennox Lewis – Mike Tyson match was called ‘Lewis–Tyson: Is On’. It took place in Memphis, Tennessee’s The Pyramid. It was to be Tyson’s last attempt at winning world titles. But, unfortunately, he couldn’t succeed as Lewis’ heavy right cross sent him to the canvas in the eighth round.

Vs. Danny Williams, July 30, 2004 – Mike Tyson met British boxer Danny Williams at Louisville, Kentucky’s Freedom Hall. Though he started on a good note, Williams surprisingly knocked him out in the fourth round. It was later revealed that his knee injury prevented Tyson from performing to his full potential.

Vs. Kevin McBride, June 11, 2005 – Mike Tyson’s last professional fight occurred at Washington D.C.’s MCI Center. The bout against the Irish boxer Kevin McBride ended as Tyson retired after the sixth round. He eventually called it quits on the sport forever.

Read More: ‘Always Felt Tyson Was Drugged’: Fans Go Berserk as Mike Tyson’s ‘Most Painful’ Moment Goes Viral

Which is your favorite Mike Tyson fight of all time? Do let us know in the comments below.

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