On a rain-soaked night 25 years ago in Glasgow, Mike Tyson stepped into the ring to face Lou Savarese.
Six months earlier, Tyson traveled to England and knocked out Julius Francis in a couple of rounds. It was the night Francis sold advertising to a national newspaper on the soles of his boots, and he got to display them five times in all.
That week in Manchester – with a few days spent in London - Tyson enjoyed life, buzzing, and receiving worship from adoring crowds everywhere he went.
The Scotland visit was different. Tyson cut a menacing presence, surly, brooding, and it all erupted in Hampden Park on the night of June 24, 2000.
It was the night a young Junior Witter survived Zab Judah for 12 rounds, but the talking post-fight was solely about what had happened in the ring.
Savarese was decimated in seconds. As referee John Coyle tried to intervene, Tyson sent him sprawling, too.
Then, during his post-fight interview, Tyson ranted about Alexander the Great, Sonny Liston, and Lennox Lewis’ unborn children. It was a night those who were there, drenched in the summer storm, will never forget.
With that in mind, here are 10 fights – nearly 20 years apart – when Tyson got things over early.
10. Reggie Gross (Jun 13, 1986)
This was the peekaboo style in full effect. Tyson had started to soften Gross up with hooks and uppercuts on the inside, but the taller Gross tried to fend Tyson off and catch him with rangy bombs and uppercuts. Tyson, however, bobbed, weaved, dipped, and exploded forward with a left hook. It could and perhaps should have been the end. But Gross, when he was back on his feet, was allowed to carry on and dropped once more for good measure. There were 24 seconds left in round one.
9. Peter McNeeley (Aug 19, 1995)
Seconds into Mike Tyson’s first fight out of prison, McNeeley came out of the blocks firing. Unfortunately for the Boston man, so did Tyson. McNeeley was down twice and it was at that point his corner entered the ring to save him, causing referee Mills Lane to stop the fight. A lot happened in 89 chaotic seconds.
8. Henry Tillman (Jun 16, 1990)
This was a case of revenge for Tyson, as Tillman had twice beaten him in the amateurs and therefore grabbed a spot on the 1984 Olympic team. But years on, as pros, Tyson landed a right hand that connected with a thud, and Tillman was flat on his back, his mouthpiece half in and half out, his eyes in orbit. Two minutes and 47 seconds of the opening round had elapsed.
7. Hector Mercedes (Mar 6, 1985)
It all started with a one round win over Hector Mercedes in Tyson’s professional debut. The bout lasted just 107 seconds and Mercedes wilted in a corner following a barrage of left hooks.
6. Michael Johnson (Sep 5, 1985)
One of the most aesthetically satisfying Tyson knockouts. After some upper-body movement that meant Johnson could not hit him, Tyson dropped Johnson with a glorious left to the body. Courageously, Johnson rose and marched back into battle only to be greeted by one of the best right hands Tyson ever threw. It all occurred in just 39 seconds.
5. Carl Williams (Jul 21, 1989)
On another of Tyson’s banner nights in Atlantic City in the 1980s. Tyson swept through Carl Williams, dipping to his left to avoid a jab and then leapt in with a left hook to end matters in 93 seconds.
“My right hand is my better punch, but I never hit anyone with it,” said Tyson. “It is always my left hook. The hardest part is getting in to throw the left. Once I’m inside – bing – I throw it. There is nobody that can beat me. I love doing this. No man is invincible, but I will take all comers to find out.”
4. Clifford Etienne (Feb 22, 2003)
The last win of Tyson’s career, it took him just 49 seconds to dismiss Etienne at The Pyramid in Memphis. A short right hand folded Etienne and he was looking up at the lights when referee Bill Clancy counted him out. “It came like a bolt out of the blue,” screeched the late commentator, Colonel Bob Sheridan.
3. Marvis Frazier (Jul 26, 1986)
In Glens Falls, in upstate New York, Tyson was explosive as he nailed Marvis with a sickening right uppercut that still features on highlight reels today. Frazier was 16-1 going in but Tyson finished him in a mere 30 seconds.
2. Lou Savarese (Jun 24, 2000)
On a wet night in Scotland, Lou Savarese was caught by a left hook high on top of the head and went over. As Savarese tried to regain his equilibrium, Tyson followed in with a violent flurry and forced referee John Coyle to intervene. It was over in 38 seconds.
1. Michael Spinks (June 27, 1988)
The most famous of all Mike Tyson obliterations. Michael Spinks – an unbeaten two-division world champion - was blown away in 91 seconds in Atlantic City in one of the biggest fights of the 1980s. Tyson was at his awesome best, and Spinks – who had never lost until that point in his Hall of Fame career – never fought again.
Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, is on The Ring ratings panel and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.