MIKE TYSON w rsf 7 TYRELL BIGGS
October 16, 1987; Convention Hall, Atlantic City, NJ
AT this point in his career, Mike Tyson was always respectful of his opponents before he pounded them senseless. There was something different about this fight. Tyson didn’t like Biggs and vice-versa. The grudge dated back to the 1984 Olympics (where Biggs won gold in a super-heavyweight tournament Tyson was overlooked for) and reignited by Biggs’ pre-fight trash talk. What followed was a savage, controlled and cruelly prolonged beatdown. Biggs was cut on the left eyebrow, right cheek, mouth and the bridge of the nose. By the time Tyson ended matters in the seventh (in arguably the most complete performance of his entire career), Biggs’ face looked like it had been dropped into a blender.
DID YOU KNOW? After the fight, Biggs – perhaps ashamed of taking such a pasting – claimed he could win a rematch while claiming that Jeff Simms hit harder than the man who had just ruined him. Biggs, frankly, was never the same again.
WATCH OUT FOR: Both Larry Merchant and Angelo Dundee stating beforehand that the unbeaten Biggs could beat Tyson.
