Mike Tyson is known as one of boxing’s biggest ever punchers but he also dealt with his fair share of heavy hitters too.
Tyson burst onto the scene in the 1980s, with that massive power evident from the beginning, as he won his first 19 professional fights by knockout, 12 of them inside the very first round.
He would become the youngest world heavyweight champion in history at the age of 20, and held undisputed honours from 1987 to 1990.
In championship match-ups, Tyson claimed knockout victories over fighters such as Larry Holmes, Michael Spinks, Trevor Berbick and Frank Bruno, but was on the wrong side of stoppage defeats to the likes of Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield and Buster Douglas.
Tyson had another name in mind though when discussing one fighter who hit so hard he went numb, as he explained to CNN about his time in the ring with Donovan ‘Razor’ Ruddock.
“Yes, Ray Ruddock … You’re talking about when you were like whoa. When you get hit, it doesn’t hurt anymore. It’s just numb. You just hear the bell ringing — bong.”
Tyson and Ruddock met on two occasions, the first of which taking place in March 1991, with ‘Iron Mike’ earning a seventh round TKO.
The controversy over the early nature of that stoppage led to a brawl inside the ring between the two teams, resulting in an immediate rematch three months later, with Tyson this time claiming a unanimous decision victory.
Ruddock earned 40 wins in his career, 30 of them coming by knockout, and also had notable battles with Lennox Lewis and Tommy Morrison.
