Planet Sport
Tyson's career revival, following his shocking first career defeat to underdog James 'Buster' Douglas and his subsequent imprisonment for rape, was wrecked by Evander Holyfield in their first meeting in November 1996. As he approached the rematch eight months later, the 30-year-old Tyson knew his fearsome aura would be banished for good if he failed to beat Holyfield at the second attempt. The extraordinary pressures he faced both in and out of the ring would manifest in one of the most shocking events in sporting history, and one which served to re-establish Tyson's notoriety for all the wrong reasons. Tyson's second coming had been a relatively facile affair, with inconsequential wins over Peter McNeely and Buster Mathis Jr. leading up to a third-round stoppage of Frank Bruno to reclaim the WBC title.