Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is cons ...

vs.

Tony Tubbs Tony Tubbs (born February 15, 1958) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 2006, and held the WBA heavyweight title from 1985 to 1986. Amateur career As an amateur, Tony Tubbs competed in 253 bouts, compiling a reco ...

was a professional boxing match contested on March 21, 1988 for the WBA, WBC, and

IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

heavyweight championships.

Background

Tyson was only two months removed from an impressive victory over ex-Heavyweight champion

Larry Holmes Larry Holmes (born November 3, 1949) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 2002 and was world heavyweight champion from 1978 until 1985. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, which led to his boxing nickname of the "Eas ...

. Shortly after his victory, Tyson's promoter

Don King Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. He has been a controversial figure, partly due to a manslaughter conviction and civil cases against him, as well a ...

was able to work out a blockbuster deal with

Michael Spinks Michael Spinks (born July 13, 1956) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1988. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the undisputed light heavyweight title from 1983 to 1985, and the lineal ...

and Spinks' promoter

Butch Lewis Ronald "Butch" Everett Lewis (June 26, 1946 – July 23, 2011) was an American boxing promoter and manager. He is best known for having managed the careers of boxing brothers Leon and Michael Spinks. Born in Woodbury, N.J., but raised in Philadelp ...

that would see Spinks finally meet Tyson for the Undisputed Championship. Before that fight would happen, however, Tyson would first have to defend his titles against former WBA Heavyweight champion Tony Tubbs in

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

for his first ever title defense outside of the United States. Much was made about the weight of Tony Tubbs. The Japanese promoters had offered Tubbs an additional $50,000 had he weighed less than 235 and Tubbs himself claimed he would come into the fight at 230 pounds, however it was revealed at the final weigh-in that he in fact weighed 238 pounds. It was revealed before the fight that Tubbs had a falling out with his trainer Richie Giachetti, who had been recommended to Tubbs by Tyson's previous opponent, Larry Holmes. Giachetti would claim lack of motivation on Tubbs' part, stating "I tried to kick him in the ass, get him in shape, and Tony didn't like that. It's a shame. The guy has real ability, but I don't think he's in good shape." Despite his weight issues, Tubbs remained confident that he could pull off the upset and defeat Tyson, stating "A lot of guys who've lost to him have made the mistake of getting caught up in his kind of fight, and I won't let him suck me up into his kind of fight. I won't let him do that. I'm going to make him box. He's never faced a guy with my hand speed."

Fight

The two fighters fought a close 1st round. Tubbs was able to land several jabs and avoid Tyson's power punches. At the end of the round, one judge ruled in favor of Tubbs 10–9, another gave the round to Tyson 10–9, and the third awarded a draw 10–10. At the beginning of 2nd round, Tubbs again fought Tyson well, being able to land several punches within the first two minutes of the round. However, with 30 seconds left in round 2, Tyson landed a right body shot–right uppercut combination as Tubbs was against the ropes. Tubbs, clearly hurt from the exchange, staggered towards Tyson. Just exactly as the HBO expert

Sugar Ray Leonard Ray Charles Leonard (born May 17, 1956), best known as "Sugar" Ray Leonard, is an American former professional boxer, motivational speaker, and occasional actor. Often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, he competed professiona ...

, commenting the fight, said that Tubbs gained respect of his punches from Tyson, a solid left hook thrown by Tyson landed to the side of Tubbs' head, staggering him very badly. Tubbs immediately clinched Tyson to recover. Referee

Arthur Mercante, Sr. Arthur Mercante Sr. (January 26, 1920 – April 10, 2010) was an American boxing referee. His career lasted from the 1960s until 2001. Mercante's son also became a noted referee. In his youth, Arthur Mercante Sr. was a member of the Merchant M ...

then separated the two men, Tyson continued with his devastating barrage, leading Tubbs to clinch him again. Mercante again separated them, and as Leonard continued with the words "I couldn't tell that this punch hurt..." Tubbs received another blockbusting left hook to the head, stumped a few steps back with his knees wobbling side-to-side and went down to the canvas permanently with 15 seconds left in the round. Almost immediately afterwards, Tubbs' trainer Odell Hadley jumped into the ring, causing Mercante to stop the fight at 2:54 and award Tyson the victory via technical knockout.

Aftermath

Next up for Tyson would be his highly anticipated bout against '' Lineal'' Heavyweight champion

. Despite months of heavy buildup with two undefeated Heavyweight champions going up against one another, the fight did not last long, with Tyson knocking out Spinks within 91 seconds. After this Tyson would take an eight-month layoff before returning in February to face England's

Frank Bruno Franklin Roy Bruno, (born 16 November 1961) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1982 to 1996. He had a highly publicised and eventful career, both in and out of the ring. The pinnacle of Bruno's boxing career was winning ...

, defeating him via 5th round technical knockout. After another successful defense against Carl Williams, Tyson would return to the Tokyo Dome to face little-known James "Buster" Douglas in what was supposed to be another easy fight for Tyson before he would face

Evander Holyfield Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) 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 on ...

. However, Douglas would pull off the shocking upset, defeating Tyson by 10th round knockout.

Undercard

Confirmed bouts:

Broadcasting

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyson, Tubbs 1988 in boxing 1988 in Japanese sport March 1988 sports events in Asia Boxing matches in Japan

Tubbs Tubbs is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:: * Alfred L. Tubbs, American businessman * Billy Tubbs, American college basketball coach. * F. Eugene Tubbs, American politician. * Greg Tubbs, American Major League Baseball player. * H ...

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