If you never got a chance to see Mike Tyson fight, you missed one of the greatest spectacles in sports.
Many know about Iron Mike's reputation from the 1980s when his rule of the heavyweight division was legendary. Because every card Tyson headlined wasn't just a fight, it was an event. The biggest stars flocked to his bouts in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, and other locales and his pay-per-view numbers were huge because while his fights may not have lasted very long, you were guarnateed to see fireworks.
Tyson's stupefying combination of speed, power, agility, and ferociousness at such a young age and smaller size (5'10" and around 220 pounds) hadn't really been seen in the heavyweight division. Nor had boxing hardcores and casual fans alike been attracted to someone so intimidating and electrifying in the same breath. He was a shooting star, shining brighter than just about anyone else on the sports scene before he began to burn out, starting with his upset loss to Buster Douglas in 1990 and a three-year jail stint on a felony rape conviction in 1992.
Now, at age 54, Tyson's returning to the ring for the first time in 15 years to face off with a fellow legend in Roy Jones Jr. for a PPV exhibition match. While images and videos of Tyson training for the fight have garnered plenty of attention on social media since he's looked explosive and fit at such an advanced age, they're nothing compared to the clips of prime Tyson when he annihilated just about every opponent. So before the individual formerly known as The Baddest Man on the Planet fights again, here's a rundown of his greatest knockouts.