“I was offended by how bad he beat up Ali. When we drove home to Catskill [about an hour from Albany], nobody in the car said a word, we were all so upset. The next morning, Cus was on the phone with Muhammad Ali after taking this shellacking from Holmes. He said to Ali, ‘I have this young black kid who is going to be heavyweight champion someday and I want you to talk to him.”<\/p>Mike Tyson<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nSo Tyson actually got on the phone and made Ali a promise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“When I grow up, I'll fight Holmes and I'll get him back for you.”<\/p>Mike Tyson<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nMike Tyson said this at 14 years old. 14! Little did he know, or maybe he actually did back then, that he'd get to keep that promise a little over seven years later, with Ali in attendance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mike Tyson knocks out Larry Holmes with Muhammad Ali in the crowd<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hInTDtqLexM\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
A little over seven years after vowing revenge on Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson actually had the chance to keep his promise to Muhammad Ali. Cus D'Amato's vision had become a reality as Tyson was indeed the heavyweight champion of the world, the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, having won his first title at the age of 20. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Larry Holmes, like Ali had done to fight him, came out retirement at the age of 38 for a big payday to fight Tyson at Trump Plaza in Atlantic City. It had been nearly two years since Holmes had been in the ring, a loss to Michael Spinks in April 1986. While he still packed a punch, nobody gave him a chance against Tyson, who had a special guest in attendance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Muhammad Ali was invited to the Tyson-Holmes bout and he gave the young champion some extra incentive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Remember what you said — get him for me.” <\/p>Muhammad Ali to Mike Tyson<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nAnd Tyson made good on his promise. Holmes simply couldn't keep up with Tyson's speed and was overmatched on power as well. In the fourth round, Tyson floored Holmes for the first time with a left-right combo. Holmes got up immediately but was soon met with another barrage and went down again. Clearly staggered, Holmes answered the count at eight but couldn't keep Tyson away. A right hook as the round came to an end floored Holmes for a third time and the fight was stopped, giving Tyson his 33rd win. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mike Tyson would continue to dominate the heavyweight division, defeating undefeated Michael Spinks later that year, a fight that included another crazy story<\/a> as Spinks didn't even want to leave his dressing room. <\/p>\n\n\n\nTyson would say later that being able to avenge Ali's loss to Holmes was one of the highlights of his career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A teenage Mike Tyson was in person for one of Muhammad Ali's final fights and vowed revenge after watching his hero lose. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":142,"featured_media":1131512,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4898],"tags":[12328,64569,16743],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Teenage Mike Tyson Saw Muhammad Ali Get Beaten and Got Revenge for His Hero 7 Years Later<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n