Mike Tyson Becomes the Youngest Heavyweight Champion in History
On November 22, 1986, Tyson was given his first title fight against Trevor Berbick for the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight championship.
Tyson won the title by second round TKO, and at the age of 20 years and 4 months became the youngest heavyweight champion in history. Tyson's dominant performance brought many accolades. Donald Saunders wrote: "The noble and manly art of boxing can at least cease worrying about its immediate future, now [that] it has discovered a heavyweight champion fit to stand alongside Dempsey, Tunney, Louis, Marciano and Ali."
On November 22, 1986, 20-year-old Mike Tyson knocks out 33-year-old Trevor Berbick in just five minutes and 35 seconds to become the youngest titleholder ever. "I’m the youngest heavyweight boxing champion in history," Tyson told his manager after the fight, "and I’m going to be the oldest."
Tyson’s bravado wasn’t misplaced: When he walked into the ring to face Berbick, he had won all 27 of the matches he’d fought, knocking out 26 of his opponents.
Tyson's was a meteoric rise, as he burned through the amateur heavy circuits with a reputation for the knockout win. At just 20, Tyson was already fighting for the World Boxing Council championship against Trevor Berbick who — though older and more seasoned — could not handle Tyson's power. Berbick was knocked out in the second round and Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion ever, quickly following up that feat by securing the remaining two major heavyweight belts. By 21, "Kid Dynamite" was indisputably the best fighter in the world.
The new champion not only had a piece of the title, but also a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. At 20 years, 4 months, and 22 days, Tyson surpassed another D’Amato-trained fighter, Floyd Patterson, to become the youngest heavyweight champion of all time. Patterson won the undisputed title, vacated by the retirement of Rocky Marciano, by knocking out Archie Moore in five rounds on November 30, 1956, just five weeks shy of his 22nd birthday.