Don Charles (Boxing Trainer):
I’d have to say when Tyson destroyed Trevor Berbick to win the WBC title in 1986. Watching it, you knew he was going to something special. That’s the Tyson I like to remember, when he was still involved with Kevin Rooney and his old team who rallied round Mike after the death of Cus D’Amato.
Thomas Hauser (Boxing writer):
In October 1983, I’d just begun researching “The Black Lights” (my introductory foray into boxing writing). Bill Cayton and Jim Jacobs were the first two people I interviewed. They told me, “If you’re going to write about boxing, you have to meet Cus D’Amato.” They then arranged for me to spend a weekend in the house at Catskill, where I met Mike for the first time.
Paddy Considine (Actor, filmmaker and boxing fan):
His destruction of Larry Holmes. No other fighter did that to him. He was definitely past his best, but if you think that Larry went on to go the distance with Evander Holyfield and even beat Ray Mercer, then you have to say there was some life left in the old dog.
Adam Smith (Sky Sports Boxing):
In the ring, the right hand that demolished Micheal Spinks in 91 seconds – Iron Mike at his brutal peak. Out of the ring – when surrounded by a 50-man entourage including Steve Crocodile Fitch after beating Brian Neilson – I said to him, ‘All smiles then Mike?’ He replied, with Crocodile doing the throat split behind him, ‘I’m not a happy, smiley kind of guy.’
Read our in depth feature about the year Tyson spiraled out of control here
