Mike Tyson record was broken by tragic boxer who died at age of 35
Paul Bamba, who tragically passed away at the age of 35, broke Mike Tyson’s long-standing record after fighting 14 times in one year.
In 1986, ‘Iron Mike’ was in the form of his life as the American icon established himself as one of the biggest stars in the sport. In his last – and record 13th fight of the year – Tyson picked up the WBC heavyweight title after sensationally knocking out Trevor Berbick in the second round.
Nearly four decades later, the record breaking achievement was beaten by Bamba. He fought on 14 occasions this year and won every fight by way of knockout. He had a bout in every month this year with the exception of September, albeit against limited opposition. Bamba begun the year with a win over Guillermo Ponce before defeating Sergio Luna in the same month. Those back-to-back knockout wins were followed up with victories over Jefferson Troncoso, Victor Coronado, Pedro Miranda, Adoni Zapata Garcia, Jose Ramon Escobedo, Francisco Fuentes, Ronald Montes, Jose Luis Herrera, Angel Giovanni Ocano Garcia, Francisco Cordero and Santander Silgado Gelez.
He then claimed gold after picking up the WBA Gold Cruiserweight strap following a win over Rogelio Medina in New Jersey earlier this month. However, just days after picking up his 14th knockout win of the year, Bamba tragically passed away at the age of 35. Confirming the tragic news, Ne-Yo and Bamba’s family released a joint statement which read: “It is with profound sorrow that we announced the passing of beloved son, brother, friend and boxing champion Paul Bamba, whose light and love touched countless lives.
“He was a fierce yet confident competitor with an unrelenting ambition to achieve greatness. But more than anything he was a tremendous individual that inspired many with his exceptional drive and determination. We are heartbroken by his passing and kindly ask for privacy and understanding during this difficult time as we collectively navigate our grief.”
After his final win, Bamba challenged Paul to a fight. He said: “[Jake Paul] you can come get it, you can come fight for it or whatever, you can keep doing the gimmick fights. At the end of the day, I’ve put in the work. You can say you’ve taken boxing seriously and yeah you’ve made a lot of money but you haven’t earned anything in boxing.
“If you think about how I started everything versus how everything is going now, I didn’t wait for an opportunity I created one. And I went out and grabbed it by the horns so to speak and did my thing this year. Look at the facts; 14 fights, 14 KOs in one year, how many belts have I got here?”
