 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date | June 16, 1990 | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Caesars Palace in Paradise, Nevada, US | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | None | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tyson wins via 1st-round KO | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Mike Tyson vs. Henry Tillman , billed as The Road Back, was a professional boxing match contested on June 16, 1990.
In his previous fight, Mike Tyson had lost his undisputed heavyweight title after being knocked out in the tenth round by 42–1 underdog James "Buster" Douglas in one of the biggest upsets in sports history. After a failed protest, Tyson's promoter Don King attempted to quickly gain a rematch with Douglas, but Douglas turned down King's offer and instead chose to face the number one contender Evander Holyfield. [1] Left with little choice, Tyson was forced down the comeback trail. Former welterweight and middleweight champion Thomas Hearns [2] and former heavyweight contender Renaldo Snipes [3] emerged as possible opponents for Tyson, but it was announced on May 1 that Tyson would face 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist Henry Tillman, who had twice defeated Tyson as an amateur, effectively costing Tyson a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. [4] In spite of his successful amateur career, Tillman's professional career was unimpressive, facing mostly unknowns and losing his only high-profile fight to Evander Holyfield by way of knockout. Tillman entered the fight as a 25–1 underdog and was given virtually no chance of defeating Tyson. The Tyson–Tillman fight was the second fight of a doubleheader event that also featured George Foreman taking on Adilson Rodrigues.
Tyson charged at Tillman once the opening bell sounded, causing Tillman to quickly retreat. Tillman offered very little offense during the fight, instead spending the first minute of the fight circling the ring in an effort to avoid Tyson's powerful punches. Tyson eventually caught up to Tillman and began throwing powerful combinations at Tillman, causing Tillman to clinch several times whenever Tyson would mount a substantial amount of offense. With around 25 seconds left in the round, Tyson trapped Tillman in the corner. Tillman attempted to throw a jab, but Tyson countered with a strong right hand that dropped Tillman to the mat. Tillman remained on his back as the referee counted him out and Tyson was named the winner by way of knockout at 2:47 of the first round. [5]
Evander Holyfield is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and is the only boxer in history to win the undisputed championship in two weight classes in the three belt era. Nicknamed "the Real Deal", Holyfield is the only four-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified WBA, WBC, and IBF titles from 1990 to 1992, the WBA and IBF titles again from 1993 to 1994, the WBA title a third time from 1996 to 1999; the IBF title a third time from 1997 to 1999 and the WBA title for a fourth time from 2000 to 2001.
James "Buster" Douglas is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1981 and 1999. He reigned as undisputed world heavyweight champion in 1990 after knocking out Mike Tyson to win the title, handing the undefeated Tyson his first ever loss. He also defeated heavyweight world champions Oliver McCall, Trevor Berbick, and Greg Page.
Donovan "Razor" Ruddock is a Jamaican-born Canadian former professional boxer who competed from 1982 to 2001 and in 2015. He is known for his two fights against Mike Tyson in 1991, a fight against Lennox Lewis in 1992, and a fight with Tommy Morrison in 1995. Ruddock was also known for his exceptionally heavy punching; some of the best examples of his left hand and overall power was his knockouts of former WBA heavyweight champions James Smith in 1989, Michael Dokes in 1990, and Greg Page in 1992. His favoured weapon at the ring proved to be a highly versatile half-hook, half-uppercut left-handed punch he called "The Smash" which accounted for the majority of his knockout wins -- it also happened to be his major downside throughout his career. Being a left-handed puncher fighting out of the orthodox stance, he didn't throw a single right hand during most knockout flurries.
As in the 1980s, the 1990s in boxing's popularity focused on all divisions. When 1980s legends Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, as well as others retired, newer superstars filled the void: Pernell Whitaker, Julio César Chávez, in the early 1990s, Oscar De La Hoya, Félix Trinidad, Roy Jones Jr. and Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the mid to late 1990s.
Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield, billed as Finally, was a professional boxing match fought between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson for the WBA heavyweight championship on November 9, 1996, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada. The bout was Tyson's first defense of the WBA title that he had won from Bruce Seldon on September 7 of that year.
Mike Tyson vs. Peter McNeeley, billed as He's Back, was a professional boxing match contested on August 19, 1995. The match marked the return of Mike Tyson to professional boxing after over four years away due to his 1991 arrest and subsequent conviction for rape in 1992 which led to Tyson serving three years in prison.
Buster Douglas vs. Evander Holyfield, billed as "The Moment of Truth", was a professional boxing match contested on October 25, 1990, for the WBA, WBC, and IBF heavyweight championships. The bout took place at the Mirage in Paradise, Nevada, USA and saw Douglas making the first defense of the titles he won from Mike Tyson in February 1990.
Evander Holyfield vs. George Foreman, billed as The Battle of the Ages, was a professional boxing match contested on April 19, 1991 for the WBA, WBC, and IBF heavyweight championships.
Evander Holyfield vs. Riddick Bowe was a professional boxing match that took place on November 13, 1992 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fight was contested for the undisputed world heavyweight championship, which consisted of the WBA, WBC, and IBF championships.
Mike Tyson vs Frank Bruno was a professional boxing match contested on February 25, 1989 for the WBA, WBC, IBF and The Ring heavyweight championships.
Mike Tyson vs. Alex Stewart, billed as The Hard Way Back, was a professional boxing match contested on December 8, 1990.
Mike Tyson vs. Donovan Ruddock II, billed as The Rematch, was a professional boxing match contested on June 28, 1991. It was the second time the two fighters fought that year, as their first bout in March was mired in controversy.
Evander Holyfield vs. Larry Holmes, billed as "Class of Champions", was a professional boxing match contested on June 19, 1992, for the WBA, WBC, and IBF heavyweight championships.
Lennox Lewis vs. Donovan Ruddock, billed as "The Fight for the Right" was a professional boxing match contested on 31 October 1992. The fight was a WBC heavyweight title "eliminator", with the winner scheduled to challenge the winner of the Evander Holyfield–Riddick Bowe championship bout held two weeks later. In addition, Lewis' Commonwealth heavyweight title was also on the line.
Mike Tyson vs. Orlin Norris was a professional boxing match contested on October 23, 1999. The match was stopped and ruled a no contest before the second round after Tyson committed a foul, injuring Norris, Norris won by disqualification.
Mike Tyson vs. Brian Nielsen was a professional boxing match contested on October 13, 2001.
Evander Holyfield vs. James Tillis was a professional boxing match contested on July 16, 1988. The fight is notable for being Holyfield's first in the heavyweight division.
Evander Holyfield vs. Adílson Rodrigues was a professional boxing match contested on July 15, 1989 for the WBC continental Americas heavyweight title.
Evander Holyfield vs. Alex Stewart, billed as "Undefeated" was a professional boxing match contested on November 4, 1989 for the WBC continental Americas heavyweight title.
Evander Holyfield vs. Seamus McDonagh was a professional boxing match contested on June 1, 1990 for the WBC continental Americas heavyweight title.
