Mike Tyson vs Tyrell Biggs

Mike Tyson retained the World Boxing Council, World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation heavyweight championships by stopping Tyrell Biggs with one second remaining in the seventh round at Convention Hall, Atlantic City, on 16 October 1987. Tyson, making his first defence since unifying the three belts against Tony Tucker, weighed 216 pounds and entered unbeaten in 31 contests. Biggs, the 1984 Olympic super-heavyweight champion, weighed 228¾ pounds and had won all 15 of his professional fights. Tyson was guaranteed $2,250,000, and Biggs $1,250,000. The contest was scheduled for 15 rounds and proved to be the last heavyweight championship fight arranged over that distance. Referee Tony Orlando stopped it at 2 minutes 59 seconds of the seventh after Biggs had been knocked down twice.

Biggs possessed the height, reach, and amateur schooling to pose Tyson a recognisable tactical problem. At six feet five inches, he intended to keep the champion outside with a long left jab, move continually to his left and tie him up whenever Tyson crossed into punching range. The challenger had been brought along quickly after turning professional following the Los Angeles Olympics, but his preparation had not been uninterrupted. He had undergone treatment for drug dependency and had faced only 15 professional opponents before being matched with a champion who had already completed 31 contests and defeated Trevor Berbick, James Smith, Pinklon Thomas and Tucker in succession. Biggs nevertheless spoke confidently beforehand and maintained that his movement and boxing ability would reduce the importance of Tyson’s superior strength.

The challenger began well enough. Biggs moved lightly around the perimeter in the opening round, keeping his left hand active and making Tyson follow rather than allowing him to set his feet. He jabbed accurately, sometimes doubling the punch, and stepped away before Tyson could reply with his hooks. Tyson remained low behind his gloves, slipping from side to side as he advanced, but landed only sparingly during the first three minutes. Biggs’s success was not dramatic, but his plan was sound, and he appeared composed. He had shown that Tyson could be made to miss when approached with disciplined footwork and a steady jab.

The pattern began to alter during the second round. Tyson quickened his pursuit and became more effective at cutting off the ring instead of following Biggs in a straight line. He jabbed to the chest, moved inside the challenger’s longer arms and struck with hooks to the ribs before bringing the same punch upstairs. A left hook split Biggs’s lip and provided the first clear indication that his defence was beginning to break down. Biggs continued to move and jab, but his steps grew wider and more hurried as Tyson reduced the available space. When the two came together, the challenger attempted to hold, push Tyson’s head down or turn him away, but Tyson’s compact stance allowed him to remain balanced and resume punching as soon as they separated.

By the third round, Biggs had already begun to abandon the measured boxing with which he had opened the contest. Tyson was now reaching him regularly with hooks from both hands and short rights through the centre. A right hand opened a cut around Biggs’s left eye, adding to the damage around his mouth. The challenger’s jab lost its authority as he concentrated upon retreating, and he increasingly found himself near the ropes, where Tyson could work without having to chase him. Biggs occasionally answered with a right uppercut or a short combination, but his punches lacked the weight necessary to halt the champion’s advance. Tyson did not rush his work. He moved in behind head movement, struck the body and then waited for Biggs to lift his elbows before transferring the attack to the head.

The fourth round was similarly one-sided. Biggs was still upright and able to move, but his original strategy had largely disappeared. Instead of controlling distance with the jab, he was reacting to Tyson’s pressure and attempting to escape after the champion had already entered range. Tyson drove hooks beneath the elbows and followed with punches around the guard. Biggs’s face was becoming marked, his mouth remained bloodied, and the cut beside the left eye required attention between rounds. There were no knockdowns, but the punishment was steady, and the challenger was being made to work at a pace he could not comfortably maintain.

Tyson continued without unnecessary haste in the fifth. Biggs tried to hold his ground for brief spells, but exchanging at close quarters only exposed him to Tyson’s shorter and faster punches. The champion struck with a left hook to the body, a right to the head and another hook as Biggs attempted to move away. Biggs’s height, useful during the opening round, now provided Tyson with a broad target as the challenger straightened while retreating. Tyson remained crouched, moved beneath the jab and came up throwing. When Biggs reached the ropes, Tyson shifted his feet rather than crowding his own work, leaving enough room to drive both hands into the body and head.

The sixth brought further punishment. Biggs showed courage and occasionally produced a sharp jab, but he could no longer keep Tyson at the required distance. The champion repeatedly drove him backwards and struck with left hooks and right hands as Biggs attempted to turn away. Biggs held whenever possible and sometimes pushed down upon Tyson’s shoulders, yet these measures merely interrupted the attack rather than stopping it. Tyson’s work was controlled and methodical. He was not throwing every punch with maximum force, but he was landing frequently enough to weaken the challenger and leave him no opportunity to recover. All three judges had Tyson ahead after six rounds. John Stewart and Al Wilensky scored every completed round for the champion, while Frank Brunette had Tyson still further in front.

Biggs entered the seventh with his left eye swollen and his face bloodied, but continued trying to box. Tyson pursued him from the opening bell, forcing him towards the ropes and landing hooks to the body whenever the challenger raised his guard. Biggs remained mobile for much of the round, though his movement now served principally to delay the finish. With approximately half a minute remaining, Tyson stepped within range and delivered a heavy left hook to the head. Biggs fell backwards and sideways into his own corner, his upper body passing between the ropes as he went down.

The challenger pulled himself upright and regained his feet at nine, but his condition was poor, and little time remained in the round. Orlando permitted the action to continue. Tyson moved directly across the ring and resumed the attack, landing a right hand before another left hook sent Biggs down for the second time. He collapsed heavily near the ropes, and Orlando intervened without completing another count. The official time was 2 minutes 59 seconds of the seventh round. Biggs had lasted longer than several of Tyson’s recent challengers, but he had been systematically broken down after a promising opening.

Tyson’s victory was among the most complete of his first championship reign. Biggs had the physical dimensions and technical background commonly proposed as an answer to the champion’s pressure, and for one round, he used them effectively. Tyson solved the problem by refusing to follow him in a wasteful way. He shortened the ring, attacked the body and steadily removed the challenger’s ability to move. The finish came not from a single unexpected blow but from the cumulative effect of seven rounds in which Biggs had been allowed progressively less room and less time.

The defeat was the first of Biggs’s professional career. His Olympic achievement and unbeaten record had made him an attractive challenger, but he had been advanced to a championship contest before acquiring the professional experience required to withstand Tyson’s sustained pressure. Tyson improved his record to 32 victories, 28 inside the distance, and moved towards a January 1988 defence against former champion Larry Holmes. Biggs had entered with a sensible plan and carried it out competently for three minutes. Once Tyson began reaching the body and closing off his escape routes, however, the gap between a decorated amateur and the established heavyweight champion widened.