Mike Tyson, one of the most awesome and intimidating forces the sport of boxing had ever seen before he underwent a spectacular fall from grace, was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and Museum.
Tyson, now 44, finished with a 50-6-0-2 record, winning 44 of those fights by knockout — or better yet, by bludgeoning. The New York-bred boxer was a charismatic ring presence and massive commercial success who captured the naton’s imagination in the post Muhammad Ali-Sugar Ray Leonard era. He became the youngest boxer to ever hold the WBA, WBC and IBF titles simultaneously and the only heavyweight to unify those titles individually before losing the titles to Buster Douglas in a massive 1990 upset.
A controversial conviction on sexual assault and subsequent three-year prison stint immediately halted a meteoric career and began a dizzying tailspin from the summit of boxing from which he never was able to ascend again. Tragically, this force of nature became a caricature of himself and a comedic punchline as he endured one failed relationship and financial miscues after another. So-called trusted advisers, promoters and managers kept their hands in his pockets and pillaged his personal treasure chest until it was bare. The man who made more than $400 million throughout his career became completely broke.
Tyson engaged in a series of comeback fights, most notably two fights against Evander Holyfield, one of which ended after Tyson bit off a portion of Holyfield’s ear off. He retired from boxing in 2006.
Three-division champion Julio Cesar Chavez of Mexico and Russian-born Kostya Tszyu, a junior welterweight champion, also were selected, along with Mexican trainer Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain, referee Joe Cortez, and screenwriter Sylvester Stallone.
Posthumous honorees to be enshrined June 12, 2011, include: bantamweight Memphis Pal Moore, light heavyweight champion Jack Root, and middleweight Dave Shade in the old-timer category; British heavyweight John Gully in the pioneer category; promoter A.F. Bettinson; and broadcaster Harry Carpenter.
Inductees were voted on by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America and a panel of international boxing historians. –terry shropshire
