Mike Tyson vs. Pinklon Thomas

Mike Tyson vs. Pinklon Thomas, billed as "Hard Road to Glory", was a professional boxing match contested on May 30, 1987, for the WBA and WBC heavyweight championships.

"Hard Road to Glory"
DateMay 30, 1987
VenueLas Vegas Hilton in Paradise, Nevada
Title(s) on the lineWBA/WBC Heavyweight Championships
Tale of the tape
Boxer Mike Tyson Pinklon Thomas
Nickname "Iron" "Pink"
Hometown Catskill, New York, US Los Angeles, California, US
Pre-fight record 29–0 29–1–1
Recognition WBA/WBC Heavyweight Champion WBC
No. 1 Ranked Heavyweight

Background

In 1986, the three major boxing organizations, the WBA, WBC and IBF, teamed with HBO to develop the heavyweight unification series, a tournament that would ultimately unify all three Heavyweight titles and determine the next Undisputed Champion.[1] The first fight in the series pitted WBC Heavyweight champion Pinklon Thomas against Trevor Berbick on March 22, 1986.[2] Berbick captured the WBC Heavyweight title after defeating Thomas by unanimous decision and moved on to face the undefeated Mike Tyson in his first title defense. Tyson dominated Berbick in their match, knocking out the champion in the second round to win his first heavyweight championship. Meanwhile, James "Bonecrusher" Smith defeated Tim Witherspoon to become the new WBA Heavyweight champion, thus setting up a match with Tyson with both fighters' titles on the line, which Tyson won by unanimous decision. The IBF champion Michael Spinks was scheduled to defend his title against Tony Tucker with the winner of that match facing the winner of the Tyson–Smith bout; however, Spinks decided to pull out of his match with Tucker, instead choosing to face Gerry Cooney in a more lucrative fight that would pay him $4 million, leading to the IBF stripping Spinks of their title.[3] As a result, the organizations sanctioned an event that would see Tyson defend his WBA and WBC titles against Thomas, while Tony Tucker and James "Buster" Douglas would meet each other for the vacant IBF crown. The winners of these two matches would then face one another for the right to become the next Undisputed Heavyweight Champion.

The fight

Tyson was the aggressor for nearly the entire fight, constantly getting the better of Thomas with his power punches. Tyson was nearly able to get the victory in the first round. With about 40 seconds left in the round, Tyson staggered Thomas with a left hook–right hook combination. With Thomas' back now against the ropes, Tyson delivered an 8-punch combination in an attempt to get the knockout victory, but Thomas was able withstand Tyson's assault and survived the round without being knocked down. Thomas was able to rebound and last another four full rounds with Tyson, using his left jab to keep Tyson off-stride while clinching Tyson whenever Tyson came close. The fight would come to an end with a minute remaining in round 6. 30 seconds into the second minute, Tyson was able to catch Thomas with a left hook that clearly hurt the challenger. Tyson would follow this with a relentless 15-punch combination that dropped Thomas to the canvas for the first time in his professional career. Before referee Carlos Padilla, Jr. could reach the count of 10, Thomas' trainer Angelo Dundee entered the ring causing Padilla to stop the fight and officially declare the result a technical knockout victory for Tyson.[4]

Undercard

In the co-feature for the vacant IBF championship, Tucker defeated Douglas by knockout in the tenth round to claim the title.

Former champions Greg Page and Tony Tubbs also fought in undercard matches, with Page defeating James Broad and Tubbs defeating Jerry Halstead.

Aftermath

Tyson extended his winning streak to 29 fights.[5] In his next fight Tyson took on and defeated Tucker, becoming the first man since Leon Spinks to be undisputed champion and the first to do it with three world titles.

Thomas never contended for a major title again, and his trainer Angelo Dundee elected to stop training him following his loss. He would return to the ring in 1988 and fought until 1993.

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References
  1. Hbo Series Tries Clearing Boxing Mess, by Skip Myslenski, Chicago Tribune, April 15, 1986, Retrieved on March 16, 2017
  2. It's Tournament Time--in Boxing : Thomas Fights Berbick Tonight in Unification Opener, L.A. Times article, March 22, 1986, Retrieved on May 19, 2013
  3. IBF Takes Title Away From Michael Spinks, Philadelphia Inquirer article, February 27, 1987, Retrieved on May 19, 2013
  4. Iron Mike Passes A Test, Sports Illustrated article, 1987-06-08, Retrieved on 2013-05-19
  5. Phil Berger (June 1, 1987). "Boxing; respect for Tyson grows and grows". The New York Times. p. 3.
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