What Is Mike Tyson’s Career Boxing Record?

In 58 official fights, Tyson has a career record of 50 wins, six losses and two no-contests. Of his 50 wins, 44 came via knockout, five were by decision and one was by disqualification.

Of Tyson’s six losses, five were knockouts and one was a disqualification. In his four exhibition fights, one ended in a draw and three were not scored.

Tyson’s official fighting record spans 20 years from 1985 to 2005. He won his first official fight with a first-round TKO against Hector Mercedes on March 6, 1985, kicking off a 37-0 run to begin his career. Tyson won his first 19 professional fights by knockout, including 12 in the first round.

Tyson didn’t suffer his first loss until the 38th fight of his career when he was knocked out by Buster Douglas on Feb. 11, 1990, at the Tokyo Dome in Japan. It’s considered one of the biggest upsets in boxing history and resulted in Tyson losing his heavyweight title.

After dominating early in his career, Tyson’s recent fights have been a mixed bag. He’s 5-5-2 over his last 12 fights, including losses in three of his last four fights before retiring in 2005.

Not surprisingly, Tyson set several boxing records during his distinguished career. Here are some of his most notable ones:

• Tyson is the youngest boxer to ever win a heavyweight title, claiming his first belt at 20 years, four months and 22 days old. He won the belt by beating the defending WBC world heavyweight champion, Trevor Berbick, by TKO on Nov. 22, 1986.
• Tyson is the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles. He was the first heavyweight boxer to hold all three of those titles simultaneously and the only heavyweight to unify them in succession.
• Tyson suffered the biggest upset in boxing history with his first career loss to Buster Douglas in 1990. Douglas was a 42/1 underdog against the previously undefeated Tyson.
• On June 27, 1988, Tyson fought in the richest fight in boxing history at the time. He knocked out Michael Spinks, who was then considered the lineal champ, in 91 seconds.
• Tyson’s final championship fight on June 8, 2002, set a record with 1.95 million pay-per-view purchases – a mark that has since been eclipsed by four Floyd Mayweather fights. Tyson lost the fight to Lennox Lewis in an eighth-round knockout.

Tyson has only lost to five fighters in his professional career, including twice to Evander Holyfield.

• Buster Douglas: Tyson’s first career loss came nearly five years into his career against Douglas on Feb. 11, 1990, at the Tokyo Dome. The undisputed heavyweight champ at the time, Tyson came into the fight with a 37-0 career record. Douglas knocked him down for the first time in his career with his 10th-round knockout, prevailing as a 42/1 underdog.
• Evander Holyfield: Tyson didn’t lose again until Nov. 9, 1996, when he lost the WBA heavyweight title to Evander Holyfield by TKO with an 11th-round stoppage. Tyson also lost the rematch the following June, getting disqualified for infamously biting Holyfield’s ears in the third round. Tyson never reclaimed his heavyweight title.
• Lennox Lewis: Tyson’s fourth career loss came on June 8, 2002, to Lewis with the world heavyweight title on the line. Lewis knocked out the 35-year-old Tyson in the eighth round of one of the most highly anticipated boxing matches in history, ending Tyson’s last bid for a heavyweight title.
• Danny Williams: After beating Clifford Etienne in 2003, Tyson was upset by Williams on July 30, 2004. After starting strong against Williams in the first round, Tyson was knocked down by Williams’ fourth-round barrage and failed to beat the count, losing via knockout.
• Kevin McBride: Tyson’s sixth defeat came in his last official fight against McBride on June 11, 2005, marking the only time in Tyson’s career that he’s lost consecutive fights. The 38-year-old Tyson refused to come back out for the seventh round and retired after the bout, saying his heart wasn’t in the sport anymore.

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