Mike Tyson Names The Boxing Legend Who Inspired His ‘Mean’ Persona: “He Was The Devil”

‘Iron’ Mike rose to prominence shortly after making his debut in 1985, winning his first nineteen bouts via knockout with twelve of these coming inside the opening round.

He was just 20-years-old when he defeated WBC heavyweight champion Trevor Berbick in the second round of their showdown in 1985, becoming the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history.

He defeated WBA champion James Smith and IBF champion Tony Tucker in the year that followed his historic victory over Berbick, achieving undisputed status just one month after his 21st birthday.

Despite being arguably one of, if not the most feared and formidable heavyweight of all time, Tyson has revealed the one legendary fighter in particular who he aspired to be like.

In an interview, Tyson paid homage to four-weight world champion and Panamanian icon Roberto Duran, who he describes as ‘the devil’.

“I knew I wanted to be a fighter, but then I saw Roberto Duran and I said that’s who the f**k I wanna be, I said that’s who I wanna be a mean mother f***r, people are scared to look at him. The devil … Duran was an animal outside the ring … I used to go to his restaurant and say feed me what you feed Duran.”

Duran, who was known as ‘Hands of Stone’, is undeniably one of the greatest pressure fighters of all time. He exploded onto the scene in the early 80’s, with one of the most defining moments of his career coming against fellow all-time-great Sugar Ray Leonard, who he defeated in June 1980 to capture the WBC welterweight title in a classic.