TONY TUCKER
Date / site: Aug. 1, 1987 / Las Vegas Hilton
Division: Heavyweight
Records: Tyson 30-0, Tucker 34-0
At stake: Tyson’s WBA and WBC and Tucker’s IBF titles
Result: Tyson UD 12 (117-112, 118-113, 119-111)
Background: Tucker was a tough assignment for Tyson in a number of respects. He was tall, 6-foot-5, a good seven inches taller than Tyson. He was skillful and had power. Tyson years later told The Ring Magazine that Tucker was the best pure boxer he ever faced. And Tucker was confident after stopping Buster Douglas to win the vacant IBF title in his previous fight. All that might be why he pushed Tyson in ways few others had, using his jab effectively, moving, holding, landing enough power shots to keep his more illustrious opponent honest. Sugar Ray Leonard said afterward that Tucker fought “a very intelligent fight.” Perhaps too intelligent to win. He was overly tentative in the middle and late rounds, which allowed Tyson to build up a lead on the cards he wouldn’t relinquish. Tucker survived to hear the final bell but it was Tyson who had his hand raised. He had become undisputed heavyweight champion at only 21 years old. Wrote the late Pat Putnam in Sports Illustrated: “Tyson made the title whole again.”