Old footage of Mike Tyson’s knockouts in his prime highlights the devastating sound of his punches

IRON MIKE was no joke in his prime.

Mike Tyson, a former WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight champion, has retired since 2005, meaning an entire generation is ignorant of the now 56-year-old’s devastating in-ring prowess.

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With a 50-6 record, including 44 wins by KO, Tyson dominated the heavyweight world for the better part of two decades.

In fact, he went undefeated in his first 37 fights between 1985 and 1990 when he lost his three belts to James Douglas in Tokyo.

He then went undefeated in his next eight fights until losing his first fight or two to Evander Holyfield in 1996, losing the WBA World Heavyweight Belt in the process.

However, their second fight did not become famous for the boxing, but for Tyson fending off part of Holyfield’s ear, resulting in his disqualification and loss.

Tyson would only make ten more professional appearances, losing five and having two annulled as no contests.

But that last stint in his career, and even his comeback in a show match against Roy Jones Jr. in 2020, are no true indicators of his true power and strength in his prime.

For proof, check out this clip of his 1985 knockout of Michael Johnson just 39 seconds after their fight in Atlantic City.

All it took was a solid right hook to end Johnson’s night, whose thud was clearly heard, followed by shocked reactions from fans.

Whether fans will see such a devastating punch from Tyson again seems unlikely given his age, but he said after his fight with Jones that he “absolutely” plans to return to the ring – so boxing fans of all ages can only hope.

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