After turning professional in 1985, Tyson went on to win his first 19 bouts by knockout, 12 of them coming inside the very first round.
His peak is regarded to have come in the late 1980s, beginning when he knocked out Trevor Berbick inside two rounds to win the WBC heavyweight title.
Tyson went on to become undisputed, defeating the likes of Larry Holmes, Michael Spinks, Tony Tucker and James Smith to earn that accolade, before he then lost his titles in a shock defeat to Buster Douglas in 1990.
‘Iron Mike’ later revealed to ThisIs50 that he feels there is only one man who would have been able to defeat him during his prime, and that is the legendary Muhammad Ali.
“There is no man like him, there just isn’t. Everything we have he supersedes us in. He was an animal, he looked more like a model than a boxer.
“He’s like a Tyrannosaurus Rex with a pretty face, he’s just mean and evil, he’ll take you to deep waters and drown you. He’s very special. The best. Nobody beats Ali. I can’t beat that man, hell no. No way.”
Ali transcended the sport of boxing, illustrating exactly why he is known as ‘The Greatest.’ He defeated icons like George Foreman, Joe Frazier and Sonny Liston during his career, and remains the only three-time lineal heavyweight champion in history.
