Mike Tyson is regarded as a knockout artist and rightfully so. 44 of his victories come by knockouts, giving him a knockout ratio of 88% which is nothing to scoff at. Moreover, his knockouts were something to behold. However, it bears mention that, ‘Iron Mike,’ has been the nail to someone else’s hammer numerous times in his professional career.
After competing 56 times, the Heavyweight suffered six defeats and five of them came via knockouts. Moreover, did you know that he was also dropped once in sparring that was caught on camera? That clip, decades later, resurfaces online.
Sparring is an effective way to prepare for a fight. Although a spar is supposed to mock a fight, it can get intense. In a post made by @the_box_game, the resurfaced video made rounds online. In the video, the former Heavyweight champion of the world is sparring with head guards at his own gym.
Moreover, despite wearing a head guard, Tyson suffered a knockdown. Initially, Tyson overextended his left hook and his chin was susceptible to getting punched. In fact, it so happened that while Tyson threw a hook, his sparring partner simultaneously threw a hook but his hook landed cleaner. Despite wearing a head guard, the ‘Baddest man ever,’ was floored.
It is safe to say that despite his celebrated career, he was vulnerable quite a few times inside the ring. Moreover, this has not been the only instance the former Heavyweight champion was thrown off guard.
Tyson’s worst nightmare in sparring
‘Iron Mike,’ is very candid about his shortcomings and in an episode of his ‘Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson’s podcast, he revealed getting beaten up by a sparring partner. Waymore Reese, who hailed from Atlantic City, would always get the better of Tyson during sparring ever since he knocked Reese out.
While comparing Reese to Muhammad Ali, ‘Kid Dynamite’ stated, “He would beat me like Muhammad Ali playing the Bengals on my bongos. He beat my a*s. One day, I hit him and knocked him cold, right? And everybody’s talking about how I knocked this guy cold. But only if they knew, he’s been kicking my a*s every day, and I got that one knockout I got, but he kicked my a*s for three months, you know.”
