Legendary broadcaster Adam Smith has revealed the one fight that made heavyweight icon Mike Tyson look indestructible.
Smith has been one of the most renowned voices in boxing for over 30 years due to a stellar career as a commentator
The Brit departed Sky Sports last November, three decades since joining, after battling and surviving cancer.
He had worked at Sky since August 1994 and witnessed Tyson face off with some of boxing’s biggest stars, including Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield.
But Smith revealed that there was one particular bout that Tyson really stood out in.
“Probably when he destroyed Michael Spinks in 90 seconds,” Smith told talkSPORT on Thursday, with little to no hesitation.
“He was indestructible. It was unbelievable that night. I think he could have beaten pretty much anyone in history on that, for that minute-and-a-half.
“I was there for the Carl Williams fight which also lasted about a minute-and-a-half. He was magnetic, there was a magnetism about Mike Tyson.
“I’ve talked to a lot of his opponents who said that they were literally terrified before the first bell. They admitted openly as fighters that they just saw an animal in front of them.”
Tyson was undefeated in 34 bouts since making his professional boxing debut in March 1985 going into his fight with Spinks.
So it’s no wonder why someone like Spinks, even though he too was undefeated with 31 wins to his record, would’ve viewed Tyson like an unbeatable animal.
Billed as ‘Once and For All’, a 21-year-old Tyson put all three of the WBA, WBC and IBF world heavyweight titles on the line when he made the walk to his fight with Spinks in June 1988.
Spinks, who was ten years Tyson’s senior, was The Ring and Lineal champion going into the bout at the Convention Hall, Atlantic City, in what turned out to be the richest fight in boxing at the time.
It was the 31-year-old who made the walk first with “Michael Spinks ‘Jinx’ The World Heavyweight Champion” knitted on the back of his Everlast robe.
Tyson followed shortly after, making the walk shirtless and looking as if he was ready to scrap anyone along his short entrance to the ring.
Rumours have it that the ‘Baddest Man on the Planet’ punched the wall in the dressing room before the fight because he had to re-wrap his hands, which scared the life out of Spinks and beat him mentally.
Tyson instantly put Spinks on the backfoot and it didn’t take long before the latter took a knee following an uppercut and brutal shot to the body.
Spinks was allowed time to recover as the referee managed a count of eight.
Only seconds later, however, Spinks was down again – but this time for good as Tyson caught him with a devastating right hand that knocked him out cold.
The punch sent Spinks’ eyes into orbit in what was a real nasty knockout that cemented the 21-year-old’s astonishing power.
“He won so many fights before the first bell. The aura was there,” Smith added.
“Yes, Buster Douglas broke that but he still had it and it probably took Evander Holyfield in those two fights to really sort of put him back in his place.
“But yeah, Mike was frightening, he had incredible hand speed. He’s only little, 5ft 10ins, for a heavyweight 15-and-a-half stone.
“But he was a wrecking ball. And he was good, he was very, very good as well as just a come-forward guy with power and with menace. He was thrilling.”
Smith was on talkSPORT previewing Mike Tyson’s imminent fight with Jake Paul and the increasing impact of influencer boxing.
He is now back in a full-time position in the sport of boxing as the Director of Broadcasting for boxing promotion GBM Sports.
The former Sky broadcaster was questioned as to why YouTuber-turned-professional boxer Paul has fallen in love with the sport, having already made enough money to last him a lifetime.
“Boxing is the most thrilling, unpredictable, addictive sport in in the world,” Smith said.
“I think once you’re in it, you never get out of it, as I found. I’ve been in it for 30 years and I’m still dancing around the periphery to this day.
“It’s the fighters that make it and we all love them. We love the fact that they get in the ring, they put their careers, their lives on the line and we are the the observers.”
Tyson vs Paul is shaping up to be one of the most-viewed fights of the 21st century and is being broadcast live on Netflix on November 15.
