What Is A Prime Mike Tyson?

“Iron” Mike Tyson is an iconic two-time world heavyweight champion who put the boxing world on alert in the mid 1980’s when he wiped out the entire division at the age of 21.

In the first 37 fights of his professional career, Tyson’s elite head movement, speed, and punching power made him look invincible. Present day, social media makes Tyson look invincible with a term they use which is known as “Prime Mike Tyson.”

A product of Brownsville Brooklyn, New York, Mike Tyson won his first nineteen professional fights by way of knockout. On November 22, 1986 at the age of 20-years-old, Mike Tyson stopped Trevor Berbick in the second round and won the WBC world heavyweight title.

Four months later, Tyson outpointed James “Bonecrusher” Smith and won the WBA strap. On August 1, 1987, Mike Tyson beat IBF champion Tony Tucker by way of unanimous decision, and became the undisputed world heavyweight champion.

Mike Tyson would reign supreme as he successfully defended his undisputed crown six times. Tyson proceeded to travel to Tokyo, Japan and unfortunately, he would get hit with a dose of humbling reality.

On February 11, 1990, Mike Tyson defended his undisputed title against 42-1 underdog James “Buster” Douglas. Fans were in a state of shock as Douglas dominated Tyson over the course of the first seven rounds.

In the 8th round, Mike Tyson floored Buster Douglas when he connected with a solid uppercut. Douglas would get up, and in the 10th round Douglas landed a devastating uppercut followed by a three punch combination that sent Tyson down to the canvas.

Next came that unforgettable visual of Tyson on his hands and knees searching for his mouthpiece. After finally locating his mouthpiece, Mike Tyson tried to get up, but he didn’t beat the count.

After dealing with a legal issue, Tyson would bounce back and become a two-time heavyweight champion, but the intimidation factor wasn’t at the same level. Fast forward to present day, and Tyson’s intimidation level is preserved by the term “Prime Mike Tyson.”

In the world of social media, Prime Mike Tyson is a boxer who can beat any heavyweight in a previous era or in the current era. Prime Mike Tyson is so good he can avenge Tyson’s losses to Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis.

As the world of social media continues to drive the Prime Mike Tyson narrative, many hardcore fans are asking the question, exactly what is a Prime Mike Tyson? Fans who followed Tyson throughout his career ask this question due to the fact that Mike Tyson loss to Buster Douglas when he was just 23-years-old.

So with that being said, Prime Mike Tyson had to be from 1986-1989. During that time period, Mike Tyson became undisputed as he posted a record of (22-0, 18 KOs). Tyson seemed invincible, but that’s due to his competition level being good but not great.

Tyson’s best wins over named opponents occurred when he defeated a 38-year-old Larry Holmes in January 1988 and 31-year-old Michael Spinks in June of the same year. Later on in his boxing career when he faced boxers of his era, Tyson was stopped by both Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis.

Thanks to social media, the victories attained by both Holyfield and Lewis have been minimized due to the fact that people often make posts stating Prime Mike Tyson would have defeated both Holyfield and Lewis.

This take isn’t accurate due to the fact that the 1986-89 Mike Tyson didn’t lose, but some of his flaws were starting to come to the light. Not being intimidated, a consistent jab, good timing, and effective counter punching were some of the key components needed to have success against Mike Tyson.

When you talk about all-time great heavyweights, the Hall of Famer “Iron” Mike Tyson should be included on the list. However, giving him the moniker of “Prime Mike Tyson” and posting he would beat his former adversaries and all the heavyweights from the 1970’s is a bit absurd.