Exactly 36 years ago in the ring in Las Vegas Mike Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history. He was just over 20 years old when the entire boxing world lay at his feet. He came out as a clear favorite to fight for the WBC belt, which, given his age and lack of experience in fighting with rivals in the class, was really unique.
The reigning champion, originally from Jamaica but representing Canada, Trevor Berbick may not have been a great boxer, but he had a 10-year career with 36 fights and the fame of the last offender of the legendary Muhammad Ali, when in fact he defeated only the shadow of Ali. He also lasted 15 rounds in the ring with Larry Holmes himself, losing only on points, and won the championship belt after a close fight with Pinklon Thomas.
It is worth mentioning that Ali, defeated by Berbick, approached Tyson before the fight and asked the young boxer: "Kick his ass for me."
Berbick was considered a belligerent boxer, but he wanted to avoid a fight with Tyson. Young Mike was already a notorious ring destroyer who won most of his 27 fights by knockout in the first or second round. The two-million-dollar fee eventually spurred the world champion to accept the challenge and, unfortunately for him, on the evening of November 22, 1986, he entered the ring with "Iron" Mike.
Berbick lost this fight before it even started. When his opponent chose black shorts, Tyson paid a fine of several thousand dollars so that he could also fight in the color he had worn in previous fights. He did not show any respect for the champion, provoked him earlier at the official weigh-in and rushed into a hurricane attack from the first gong. He looked like a real champion in this meeting, and Berbick looked like a frightened victim thrown to the lion.
No doubt Tyson wanted to end the fight as soon as possible, perhaps also because he was weakened by the antibiotic treatment he had to undergo to get rid of a venereal disease he had contracted weeks before the fight. Thus, Tyson was afraid for his physical form if the fight dragged on for too long.
But it all ended very quickly, already in the second round, as Tyson had promised before the fight. When Berbick first fell after a side challenger, and when he struggled to get up, in the last minute of this fight, the left side of the "Iron" knocked him down again. Berbick, trying to get up, was drunkenly staggering around the ring, clinging to the ropes and falling helplessly. Referee Mills Lane had no choice but to stop the fight, declaring Tyson the winner.
Over the next few months, Tyson added the WBA and IBF belts to his WBC title, which he won against Berbick, and at just 21 years old became the undisputed champion for the first time in heavyweight history in more than eight years. And although his boxing career was full of ups and downs, and its individual stages were marked by dramatic events in his personal life, he very quickly became a legend. Mike Tyson is considered one of the best heavyweight champions in history and, next to Muhammad Ali, is undoubtedly the most famous boxer in the world. It is difficult to find a person who has never heard of Tyson. "Iron" Mike has long gone from a great champion to a global pop culture icon.
