352:, Tyson's promoter, began working to try to secure a match with Larry Holmes, the former WBC and IBF champion who had not been in the ring since 1986. After starting out his career winning his first 48 fights, Holmes lost a unanimous decision to Spinks, who at the time was the reigning undisputed light heavyweight champion; this resulted in Holmes losing the IBF and lineal championships and ended his world championship reign after seven-plus years. A rematch with Spinks the next year ended with a disputed split decision loss for Holmes, who announced his displeasure with the result after the fight and retired.
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to his feet and was able to answer the referee's count at 8. Tyson would continue to hammer Holmes with powerful combinations until finally delivering the final blow with seven seconds left in the round, a right hook that dropped Holmes for the third time in the round, after which Cortez stopped the fight and awarded Tyson the victory by technical knockout.
360:, Tyson's manager at the time, the financial terms were negotiated for more than half a year, starting in the spring of 1987. and were finally agreed In October, a few weeks before Tyson’s fight vs Tyrell Biggs, The fight was officially announced on October 8, 1987 by Don King in New York and confirmed by Tyson's co-managers Jimmy Jacobs and
409:
with his left jab. As the round went on, however, Tyson would continue to attack Holmes, getting him up against the ropes and landing a right hand to the side of Holmes' head a minute into the round. After the exchange, Tyson would continue to be aggressive, causing Holmes to hold Tyson twice more. After referee
408:
Despite his brazen claims, Holmes had difficulty keeping up with the younger, faster and stronger Tyson. Like many of the fighters who challenged Tyson in the past, Holmes often held Tyson in an effort to slow the aggressive Tyson down. In round 4, Holmes started off well, hitting Tyson several times
413:
broke the second hold, Tyson hit Holmes with a left jab–right hand combination that sent Holmes to the canvas. Holmes was able to get back up but was immediately met with a furious combination from Tyson, who knocked Holmes down for the second time with a right hook to the head. Holmes stumbled back
27:
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during his era, in part since Holmes had openly admitted to patterning his pugilistic style after Ali during his prime. Rumours were abound that Tyson took the fight partially because he wanted to avenge Ali's (who was the guest of honor ringside before the bout)
355:
However, with an estimated $ 3 million being offered to him, as well as the intrigue of once again becoming the world heavyweight champion, Holmes ultimately agreed to face Tyson stating, "They stole my title, and I had to come back." According to Holmes and
399:
fight, Holmes, who had attended the fight, was interviewed and called Tyson a "dirty fighter" stating "I didn't see a guy with class in there, I see a guy who throws elbows, I see a guy who throws (head)butts and I see a guy who hits after the bell."
442:
would attend the Tyson–Holmes fight, hoping to finally come to an agreement with Tyson's promoter Don King. The two sides eventually agreed to a blockbuster deal that would pay Spinks $ 13.5 million and Tyson at least $ 20 million.
446:
Larry Holmes would announce his second retirement immediately after his loss to Tyson. In 1991, the now 41-year-old Holmes would again come out of retirement to launch a successful comeback. He would win his next 5 fights before
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Mike Tyson was entering 1988 having unified the three major world championships over the course of the previous fourteen months. In 1987 Tyson, who entered the year as the WBC champion, defeated
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earlier in the decade. A win by Holmes would have made him, at the time, the fourth fighter to win a world championship at heavyweight after having lost it; he would join
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This fight was considered 'barbershop talk'; with a victory by Tyson assumed to be a legitimate statement in the affirmative as to whether he would have beaten
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459:. Though Holmes went the distance with the younger Holyfield, he was unable to pull off the victory as Holyfield won the fight via unanimous decision.
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The outspoken Holmes was critical of Tyson, promising several times before the fight that he would knock Tyson out. Immediately after the Tyson–
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on
February 7, 1992. In an upset, Holmes would defeat Mercer by unanimous decision and earn the right to face Undisputed Heavyweight Champion
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in his first defense of all three titles. Despite this, Tyson had not achieved universal recognition as he had not faced or defeated
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instead of making a mandatory defense versus Tucker, but was still regarded as the lineal champion.
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302:, was a professional boxing match contested on January 22, 1988, for the
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392:, who lost the WBC title in 1984 only to win the WBA title in 1986.
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592:, Sports Illustrated article, 1988-01-18, Retrieved on 2013-05-01.
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in his first defense of both of those titles, won a decision over
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1406:
International Boxing
Federation heavyweight championship matches
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1173:; co-trainers: Aaron Snowell, Jay Bright and Stacey McKinley →
380:, who accomplished the feat in 1960 by avenging his defeat to
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685:, Miami Herald article, 1988-01-23, Retrieved on 2013-05-01.
673:, L.A. Times article, 1988-06-19, Retrieved on 2013-05-01.
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World Boxing
Association heavyweight championship matches
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World Boxing
Council heavyweight championship matches
636:"Holmes Will Come Out of Retirement to Take On Tyson"
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1371:January 1988 sports events in the United States
671:Tyson-Spinks Is More Than a Fight, It's History
334:to claim the IBF championship, and knocked out
1234:
1207:; co-trainers: Stacey McKinley and Jay Bright
779:
1023:Fallen Champ: The Untold Story of Mike Tyson
422:Mike Tyson's next fight would take place in
388:, who did so in 1974 and again in 1978, and
1376:Boxing matches in Atlantic City, New Jersey
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661:, 1987-10-16, Retrieved on 2013-05-01.
326:for the WBA championship, knocked out
1391:Boxing matches refereed by Joe Cortez
1386:Boxing matches involving Larry Holmes
1222:
767:
634:Archives, L. A. Times (1987-10-09).
603:"HOLMES-TYSON FIGHT SET FOR JAN. 23"
585:
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1381:Boxing matches involving Mike Tyson
13:
1155:(1982–1988); cutman: Matt Baranski
177:5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
14:
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451:undefeated Olympic Gold Medalist
180:6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
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683:Tyson batters Holmes in 4 rounds
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438:. Both Spinks and his promoter
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1:
1089:I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson
562:"Mike Tyson vs. Larry Holmes"
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1366:1988 in sports in New Jersey
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169:38 years, 2 months
166:21 years, 6 months
7:
314:Heavyweight Championships.
259:Former heavyweight champion
10:
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1161:mid-career (King's stable)
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324:James "Bonecrusher" Smith
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50:Atlantic City, New Jersey
41:
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1127:initial (D'Amato stable)
1103:Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!
1044:Mike Tyson: The Knockout
256:No. 1 Ranked Heavyweight
1294:M. Spinks vs. Holmes II
1284:Holmes vs. Witherspoon
919:Holyfield vs. Tyson II
659:Larry Holmes Interview
217: lb (102 kg)
1109:Iron Mike Productions
964:Tyson vs. D. Williams
864:Tyson vs. C. Williams
740:vs. Michael Spinks II
201: lb (98 kg)
117:"The Easton Assassin"
1309:Holyfield vs. Holmes
1289:Holmes vs. M. Spinks
1274:Holmes vs. L. Spinks
1037:Mike Tyson Mysteries
889:Tyson vs. Ruddock II
248:Heavyweight Champion
135:Easton, Pennsylvania
57:Title(s) on the line
914:Tyson vs. Holyfield
299:Heavyweight History
276:wins via 4th-round
21:
20:Heavyweight History
1068:In popular culture
939:Tyson vs. Savarese
904:Bruno vs. Tyson II
894:Tyson vs. McNeeley
590:I Had to Come Back
436:Tyson–Spinks fight
72:heavyweight titles
19:
16:Boxing competition
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1314:McCall vs. Holmes
1304:Mercer vs. Holmes
1279:Holmes vs. Cooney
1264:Norton vs. Holmes
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1215:
1212:
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969:Tyson vs. McBride
959:Tyson vs. Etienne
949:Tyson vs. Nielsen
934:Tyson vs. Francis
884:Tyson vs. Ruddock
879:Tyson vs. Stewart
874:Tyson vs. Tillman
869:Tyson vs. Douglas
819:Berbick vs. Tyson
814:Tyson vs. Frazier
762:
761:
755:Succeeded by
752:January 22, 1988
727:Succeeded by
724:January 22, 1988
640:Los Angeles Times
545:
544:
467:Confirmed bouts:
457:Evander Holyfield
382:Ingemar Johansson
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1330:Richie Giachetti
1299:Tyson vs. Holmes
1243:
1236:
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1171:Richie Giachetti
1124:
1123:
1096:Tyson vs Douglas
944:Tyson vs. Golota
929:Tyson vs. Norris
909:Seldon vs. Tyson
899:Tyson vs. Mathis
854:Tyson vs. Spinks
844:Tyson vs. Holmes
834:Tyson vs. Tucker
829:Tyson vs. Thomas
788:
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757:vs. Tim Anderson
737:Preceded by
712:vs. Tyrell Biggs
709:Preceded by
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696:"BoxRec - event"
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77:Tale of the tape
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37:January 22, 1988
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1135:; co-managers:
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1030:Taking On Tyson
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974:Tyson vs. Jones
954:Lewis vs. Tyson
924:Tyson vs. Botha
859:Tyson vs. Bruno
849:Tyson vs. Tubbs
839:Tyson vs. Biggs
824:Tyson vs. Smith
809:Tyson vs. Green
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390:Tim Witherspoon
378:Floyd Patterson
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1269:Holmes vs. Ali
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1197:Ronnie Shields
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1151:(1980–1982) →
1147:(1978–1980) →
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374:loss to Holmes
340:Michael Spinks
328:Pinklon Thomas
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1250:Larry Holmes
1193:Tommy Brooks
1175:Tommy Brooks
1153:Kevin Rooney
1137:Jimmy Jacobs
1101:
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1042:
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1021:
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747:Larry Holmes
745:
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643:. Retrieved
639:
629:
618:. Retrieved
606:
597:
570:. Retrieved
565:
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481:Broadcaster
471:Broadcasting
466:
445:
421:
407:
397:Tyrell Biggs
394:
369:Muhammad Ali
366:
362:Bill Clayton
354:
348:
344:Gerry Cooney
336:Tyrell Biggs
321:
298:
297:
296:, billed as
293:Larry Holmes
287:
286:
277:
273:
251:
158:48–2 (34 KO)
155:32–0 (28 KO)
106:Larry Holmes
1335:Eddie Futch
1205:Jeff Fenech
1191:; trainer:
1183:late career
1177:(1999–2001)
1169:; trainer:
1149:Teddy Atlas
1143:; trainer:
1141:Bill Cayton
1133:Cus D'Amato
500:GMA Network
495:Philippines
440:Butch Lewis
332:Tony Tucker
233:Recognition
147:$ 3,100,000
144:$ 3,000,000
46:Trump Plaza
1355:Categories
1078:Peek-a-boo
1015:Television
795:Mike Tyson
719:Mike Tyson
645:2023-09-22
620:2023-09-22
566:boxrec.com
548:References
453:Ray Mercer
432:Tony Tubbs
428:Tokyo Dome
411:Joe Cortez
358:Jim Jacobs
318:Background
289:Mike Tyson
96:Mike Tyson
1187:manager:
1165:manager:
749:'s bouts
721:'s bouts
615:0190-8286
463:Undercard
418:Aftermath
404:The fight
1340:Don King
1167:Don King
1131:mentor:
572:21 March
568:. BoxRec
478:Country
430:against
350:Don King
252:The Ring
228:Orthodox
225:Orthodox
130:New York
126:Catskill
122:Hometown
111:Nickname
1073:Tattoos
212:⁄
196:⁄
1257:Fights
1083:Balrog
1006:(2008)
998:(1995)
802:Fights
613:
532:
512:
492:
449:facing
310:, and
268:Result
185:Weight
174:Height
114:"Iron"
68:, and
1120:Tyson
1061:Other
1004:Tyson
996:Tyson
988:Films
424:Japan
274:Tyson
222:Style
141:Purse
86:Boxer
42:Venue
1323:Team
1139:and
1118:Team
1051:Mike
611:ISSN
574:2024
291:vs.
243:and
34:Date
540:HBO
520:ITV
426:'s
386:Ali
312:IBF
308:WBC
304:WBA
245:IBF
241:WBC
237:WBA
205:225
189:215
163:Age
70:IBF
66:WBC
62:WBA
1357::
1203:→
1199:→
1195:→
638:.
609:.
605:.
582:^
564:.
384:,
364:.
306:,
279:KO
239:,
128:,
64:,
48:,
1242:e
1235:t
1228:v
1098:"
1094:"
1091:"
1087:"
787:e
780:t
773:v
698:.
648:.
623:.
576:.
214:4
210:3
207:+
198:4
194:3
191:+
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