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Mike Tyson’s Training Methods That Made Him ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’

By rjoachim | October 15, 2022

Tyson was one of these few chosen ones, and he reached extraordinary levels of success. While his out-of-the-ring persona definitely gathered a lot of attention, it was his vicious peek-a-book style of boxing that left a trail of bodies in the ring that coined him ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’He had 58 professional fights, of which he won 50, with 44 knockouts. These numbers do not tell the full story, though. Tyson fought with unparalleled ferocity as a young and hungry lion, winning his first 19 fights with knockouts, 12 of them in the first round. He then became the youngest heavyweight champion at only 20 years of age and went on to simultaneously hold the WBA, WBC, IBF, and lineal heavyweight titles.Each morning, or might I say late at night, started with a 3-to-5-mile run. Tyson rose at around 4 am for his jog. It’s not that this was mandatory, but this is yet another one of those small things that gave him the psychological edge over the opposition. (Check out my article on why boxers run here)Mike used the rope as another way to demonstrate his otherworldly explosiveness, doing lightning-fast double and triple under while squatting halfway to the ground. Tyson fought with a very specific and not very common style called peek-a-boo, created by his tutor, Cus D’Amato. The Peek-a-boo is a boxing style that emphasizes counter-punching, but contrary to regular counters, which are usually delivered while on the back foot and from a distance. In the peek-a-boo style, the fighter applies aggression and forward momentum, pressuring the opponent to throw an attack that is then countered.

[
Iron Mike using the peek-a-boo style
Tyson fought with a very specific and not very common style called peek-a-boo, created by his tutor, Cus D’Amato. The Peek-a-boo is a boxing style that emphasizes counter-punching, but contrary to regular counters, which are usually delivered while on the back foot and from a distance. In the peek-a-boo style, the fighter applies aggression and forward momentum, pressuring the opponent to throw an attack that is then countered.
This style features a stance where both fists are on the cheeks and the fighter constantly bobs and weaves from side to side, evading and countering with sharp combinations.
The peek-a-boo style used by Tyson also employs a lot of shifting footwork that works on multiple levels at the same time. The specifics of the style require significant explosiveness to work, and this made it perfect for Tyson’s physique.
Cus D’Amato was an old-school trainer and, as such, believed that the only way to be a good boxer is to box. So sparring for Mike was daily. He would spar 10-20 rounds every single day and even sometimes do it without headgear. Cus believed that headgear gave fighters a sense of false protection. And today we know that headgear may prevent artificial damage like cuts and bruises, but does not help at all with brain damage.
Mike was very elusive and hard to hit in his early career. A big part of that, no doubt, was his boxing-specific training. Despite the insane number of sparring rounds, he would also spend a lot of time drilling specific things.
His shadowboxing and mitt work sessions often focused on a single technique or scenario he wanted to improve on. The sparring rounds then provided the opportunity to test it.

Mike Tyson vs Jimmy Clark – Sparring a pro 1983 – Amateur Boxing
Everlast Training Gloves
Strength and Conditioning
Tyson was famous for his insane callisthenic routines. They were simple but brutal. He would split his overall routine into 10 sets of the following:
500: bench dips
500: pushups
2,000: sit-ups
500: squats
He would do it throughout the day, which honestly does not make it any less impressive. Have in mind that this was done as a supplement to all the boxing training and the running. Mike was well known to avoid the weights, but he did have a favorite exercise that he did weighted and that was the shoulder shrugs. Around 500 of them were part of his daily routine.

Tyson was one of these few chosen ones, and he reached extraordinary levels of success. While his out-of-the-ring persona definitely gathered a lot of attention, it was his vicious peek-a-book style of boxing that left a trail of bodies in the ring that coined him ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’He had 58 professional fights, of which he won 50, with 44 knockouts. These numbers do not tell the full story, though. Tyson fought with unparalleled ferocity as a young and hungry lion, winning his first 19 fights with knockouts, 12 of them in the first round. He then became the youngest heavyweight champion at only 20 years of age and went on to simultaneously hold the WBA, WBC, IBF, and lineal heavyweight titles.Each morning, or might I say late at night, started with a 3-to-5-mile run. Tyson rose at around 4 am for his jog. It’s not that this was mandatory, but this is yet another one of those small things that gave him the psychological edge over the opposition. (Check out my article on why boxers run here)Mike used the rope as another way to demonstrate his otherworldly explosiveness, doing lightning-fast double and triple under while squatting halfway to the ground. Tyson fought with a very specific and not very common style called peek-a-boo, created by his tutor, Cus D’Amato. The Peek-a-boo is a boxing style that emphasizes counter-punching, but contrary to regular counters, which are usually delivered while on the back foot and from a distance. In the peek-a-boo style, the fighter applies aggression and forward momentum, pressuring the opponent to throw an attack that is then countered.

[
Iron Mike using the peek-a-boo style
Tyson fought with a very specific and not very common style called peek-a-boo, created by his tutor, Cus D’Amato. The Peek-a-boo is a boxing style that emphasizes counter-punching, but contrary to regular counters, which are usually delivered while on the back foot and from a distance. In the peek-a-boo style, the fighter applies aggression and forward momentum, pressuring the opponent to throw an attack that is then countered.
This style features a stance where both fists are on the cheeks and the fighter constantly bobs and weaves from side to side, evading and countering with sharp combinations.
The peek-a-boo style used by Tyson also employs a lot of shifting footwork that works on multiple levels at the same time. The specifics of the style require significant explosiveness to work, and this made it perfect for Tyson’s physique.
Cus D’Amato was an old-school trainer and, as such, believed that the only way to be a good boxer is to box. So sparring for Mike was daily. He would spar 10-20 rounds every single day and even sometimes do it without headgear. Cus believed that headgear gave fighters a sense of false protection. And today we know that headgear may prevent artificial damage like cuts and bruises, but does not help at all with brain damage.
Mike was very elusive and hard to hit in his early career. A big part of that, no doubt, was his boxing-specific training. Despite the insane number of sparring rounds, he would also spend a lot of time drilling specific things.
His shadowboxing and mitt work sessions often focused on a single technique or scenario he wanted to improve on. The sparring rounds then provided the opportunity to test it.

Mike Tyson vs Jimmy Clark – Sparring a pro 1983 – Amateur Boxing
Everlast Training Gloves
Strength and Conditioning
Tyson was famous for his insane callisthenic routines. They were simple but brutal. He would split his overall routine into 10 sets of the following:
500: bench dips
500: pushups
2,000: sit-ups
500: squats
He would do it throughout the day, which honestly does not make it any less impressive. Have in mind that this was done as a supplement to all the boxing training and the running. Mike was well known to avoid the weights, but he did have a favorite exercise that he did weighted and that was the shoulder shrugs. Around 500 of them were part of his daily routine.

https://myboxinglife.com/mike-tysons-insane-training-methods-and-routine/

Posted in Exercise & Fitness