Mike Tyson

No truth to Mike Tyson-Bobby Gunn bare-knuckle “super-fight” rumours

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Mike Tyson - Fight fans might have read the various stories that suggested Bobby Gunn was set to face boxing star Mike Tyson in a bare-knuckle “super-fight” that would go out on pay-per-view. The story began who knows where but it picked up momentum and even RingTV.com has a piece on it. But Michael Woods of The Bible of Boxing has done us all a favor by quashing the rumors once and for all.

Fight fans might have read the various stories that suggested Bobby Gunn was set to face boxing star Mike Tyson in a bare-knuckle “super-fight” that would go out on pay-per-view. The story began who knows where but it picked up momentum and even RingTV.com has a piece on it. But Michael Woods of The Bible of Boxing has done us all a favor by quashing the rumors once and for all.

Woods got hold of former pro/turned bare-knuckle king Gunn, and though Gunn said he would “love to” fight the former world champion, a Tyson spokesman informed Woods that “There’s no truth to it.”

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George Foreman on what would have happened had he fought Mike Tyson

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Mike Tyson - “What f*****g excitement!” a well known boxing promoter speaking in 1990 on the possibility of a Mike Tyson-George Foreman super-fight

“What f*****g excitement!” a well known boxing promoter speaking in 1990 on the possibility of a Mike Tyson-George Foreman super-fight

It remains one of the most talked about “dream fights,” or super-fights that never took place. It is the biggest of all heavyweight collisions: George Foreman Vs. Mike Tyson. The fight came close to happening in the early 1990s, but, as living legend Foreman recently explained when speaking on the CBS Sports radio show Brown and Scoop, for some reason the fight didn’t happen: “I couldn’t get him, I just don’t know why,” Foreman said. “I tried.”

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Will we ever see another undisputed heavyweight champion?

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Mike Tyson - Today in 1987, a peaking Mike Tyson unified all three world heavyweight titles: the WBC/WBA and IBF belts being his property after a perhaps tougher than expected 12-round points win over a skilled Tony Tucker. Tyson was still not THE absolute and undisputed heavyweight king, as Michael Spinks, the undefeated former 175-pound king who had moved up in weight to shock Larry Holmes two years earlier, was still the lineal ruler.

Today in 1987, a peaking Mike Tyson unified all three world heavyweight titles: the WBC/WBA and IBF belts being his property after a perhaps tougher than expected 12-round points win over a skilled Tony Tucker. Tyson was still not THE absolute and undisputed heavyweight king, as Michael Spinks, the undefeated former 175-pound king who had moved up in weight to shock Larry Holmes two years earlier, was still the lineal ruler.

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The greatest living former heavyweight kings

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Mike Tyson - With the recent sad passing of the great Joe Frazier, and the even more recent - in fact still numbing - passing of The Greatest, Muhammad Ali, the world was robbed of two of the finest heavyweight world champions in history. Indeed, Ali and Frazier, who of course gave us THE most fierce and most celebrated rivalry in all of sports, were the king of kings. Ali and Frazier may no longer be with us on this physical plane, but they will live forever.

With the recent sad passing of the great Joe Frazier, and the even more recent – in fact still numbing – passing of The Greatest, Muhammad Ali, the world was robbed of two of the finest heavyweight world champions in history. Indeed, Ali and Frazier, who of course gave us THE most fierce and most celebrated rivalry in all of sports, were the king of kings. Ali and Frazier may no longer be with us on this physical plane, but they will live forever.

This distinction, or honour, is one only truly special fighters receive – Rocky Marciano, Sugar Ray Robinson and Joe Louis included. But who are the finest, the greatest, the most special former world heavyweight kings who are still with us? In short, who are the greatest living former heavyweight rulers?

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Happy Birthday, Mike Tyson – The youngest heavyweight champ in history turns 50 today

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Mike Tyson - By his own admission, Mike Tyson, who today celebrates reaching his half century, never thought he’d live to the age of thirty, let alone 50. The former street hoodlum who was saved by boxing and then went off the rails as he made too much money, was manipulated by the wrong people he became involved with and eventually fell into pretty much all the traps his mentor and father figure Cus D’Amato so wanted him to avoid, was convinced he’d be dead not too long after his 21st birthday.

By his own admission, Mike Tyson, who today celebrates reaching his half century, never thought he’d live to the age of thirty, let alone 50. The former street hoodlum who was saved by boxing and then went off the rails as he made too much money, was manipulated by the wrong people he became involved with and eventually fell into pretty much all the traps his mentor and father figure Cus D’Amato so wanted him to avoid, was convinced he’d be dead not too long after his 21st birthday.

But Tyson endured, went through many changes and, by the age of 30, had done it all – he had: made history as the youngest heavyweight champion ever at age 20, become the undisputed king by the age of 21, lost the crown at age 23, served time in jail more than once, taken all manner of drugs and had sex with too many women to possibly count, bitten off a substantial chunk of an opponent’s ear, come close to total bankruptcy, fought on when way past his best, and finally retired from the ring at the age of 39.

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The Lost Fights of Mike Tyson Part 1: George Foreman

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Mike Tyson - When discussing “Iron” Mike Tyson, and his Icarus-like ascent and descent from the summit of heavyweight boxing in the 80s and 90s, the debate always turns to the dream fights. How would the version of Tyson who crushed Trevor Berbick have dealt with the Muhammad Ali who carved up Cleveland Williams? How would the Catskills man have stacked up against “The Brown Bomber” Joe Louis? Could he have matched leather with Marciano, Frazier or Dempsey? While we will never have definitive answers to these questions, there are three intriguing fights that were at the negotiation stage during Tyson’s terrifying and controversial rule over the sport of kings. These three bouts, had they come off, could have irrevocably changed the history of the sport’s banner division for years to come. Here we take a look at the first of these match-ups: Mike Tyson vs George Foreman.

When discussing “Iron” Mike Tyson, and his Icarus-like ascent and descent from the summit of heavyweight boxing in the 80s and 90s, the debate always turns to the dream fights. How would the version of Tyson who crushed Trevor Berbick have dealt with the Muhammad Ali who carved up Cleveland Williams? How would the Catskills man have stacked up against “The Brown Bomber” Joe Louis? Could he have matched leather with Marciano, Frazier or Dempsey? While we will never have definitive answers to these questions, there are three intriguing fights that were at the negotiation stage during Tyson’s terrifying and controversial rule over the sport of kings. These three bouts, had they come off, could have irrevocably changed the history of the sport’s banner division for years to come. Here we take a look at the first of these match-ups: Mike Tyson vs George Foreman.

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