Fifteen years ago today, boxing legend Mike Tyson fought his last major bout against his great rival. An event that electrified America—but didn’t go at all the way Tyson wanted.
It was an icon’s final dance—and his swan song. On June 8, 2002, 24 years ago today, boxing legend Mike Tyson made his final bid for the heavyweight world title.
Through his bout with then-champion Lennox Lewis, “Iron Mike” delivered the biggest payday in the sport’s history up to that point—but ultimately fell well short of his ultimate goal.
The career of Tyson, once considered unbeatable, had already been on the wrong track for some time when he challenged Lewis to a fight. Tyson had spent two years behind bars for rape. After his comeback, his ear-biting incident in the fight with Evander Holyfield cemented his reputation as an unpredictable scandal-prone figure.
Five years after the scandal against Holyfield, Tyson got another chance against Lewis to reclaim the heavyweight throne he had lost in his first fight against “The Real Deal”—amid the usual massive global interest.
Tyson vs. Lewis: The Battle Before the Fight
The duel between the two boxers began long before the actual fight—mainly thanks to Tyson, who added fuel to the fire with numerous verbal attacks. In an interview, the then 35-year-old announced that he wanted to “rip out his opponent’s heart” and eat his children (whom Lewis didn’t even have at the time). He really said that word for word: “I’m going to eat your children.”
At a press conference with the two fighters on January 22, 2002, a massive brawl broke out. Tyson lunged at Lewis and sank his teeth into his opponent’s leg. The Biter was back.
Despite the huge hype, Tyson and Lewis had trouble organizing their fight: The martial arts mecca of Las Vegas was off-limits to Tyson after his repeated scandals, because the state of Nevada refused to grant him a license. Instead, the fight took place in another showbiz stronghold: Elvis Presley’s hometown of Memphis.
Dizzying sums for the Tyson fight
It was the most expensive world championship fight in the history of boxing. The event raked in over $100 million. Never before in the history of pay-TV had a broadcast generated more revenue. The two opponents were also handsomely rewarded—both are said to have pocketed around $30 million in purse money. In addition to their guaranteed $17.5 million each, the rest came from percentage shares of TV and ticket revenues.
For Tyson, who was heavily in debt at the time, the high purse in 2002 was a matter of survival. Tyson was considered the king of squandering money at the time and, according to Spiegel, blew through a whopping $115 million in two years, with “only” $112 million in earnings. He also owed the TV station $13 million. So he was more than reliant on the massive purse.
Trump and numerous other celebrities in attendance
Before the eyes of 15,000 electrified spectators, including celebrities such as Muhammad Ali, Donald Trump, and Hollywood stars Samuel L. Jackson and Denzel Washington, Tyson’s final major spectacle with any sporting value finally took place. But only in the first round was Tyson still able to hide the fact that he had already passed his prime.
Amid heightened security measures, Tyson had his best moments. With quick left and right hooks, he landed blow after blow on his opponent before the next round revealed who was truly the boss in the ring. Lewis skillfully kept Tyson at a distance and landed increasingly devastating blows.
Tyson’s defeat in his final major fight
The speed and explosiveness that once defined Tyson were slipping away from him more and more, a fact his opponent—a year older but clearly in much better physical shape—knew how to exploit mercilessly. As the fight progressed, Tyson took increasingly harder blows—defeat was only a matter of time.
With a thunderous left hook, Lewis signaled the end of the duel. Tyson went down on one knee and was counted out. Moments later, the former top dog failed to recover and was sent to the canvas with a thunderous right hand. The Tyson legend had finally run out of steam.
Bleeding profusely and badly battered, Tyson had kind words for his opponent after the fight, saying: “I have the utmost respect for Lennox Lewis and tip my hat to him. He is an outstanding boxer.”
Lewis and Tyson in the “Boxing Hall of Fame”
With his victory over Tyson, Lewis cemented his reputation as the top heavyweight of his era—though his career ended soon after: Following a final major victory against the young Vitali Klitschko, the Brit called it quits in 2003.
After the loss, Tyson stepped into the ring three more times for official bouts—all of which, historically speaking, sank into insignificance. Following two more knockout losses to Danny Williams of England and the Irishman Danny McBride—both far lesser opponents than Lewis—Tyson retired in 2005.
Nevertheless, the now 59-year-old Tyson has remained a major draw—to this day: His commercially very successful exhibition fights against Roy Jones and Jake Paul are set to be followed this fall by another against Floyd Mayweather.
Both Lewis and Tyson have been inducted into the “Boxing Hall of Fame.” Curiously, the former rivals are now friends.
