Mike Tyson was the first boxer to attain worldwide fame after Muhammad Ali. Tyson, who became a champion at the very young age of 20, reigned terror on the heavyweight division in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Tyson became the champion under the tutelage of the father figure Cus D’Amato.
Tyson was known for popularizing the peek-a-boo style that Cus D’Amato brought to the boxing world. Moreover, the style, coupled with Tyson’s already devastating power, was a scary proposition for opposing fighters.
Mike Tyson revealed the reason for numbering punches
Mike Tyson was coached by Kevin Rooney after the death of mentor Cus D’Amato. Rooney had a peculiar training regimen. It was also Rooney who coached Vinnie Paz after the boxer broke his neck in an accident. Paz would go on to defeat Robert Duran after recovering from the injury
Tyson’s popularity led him to many celebrity appearances on talk shows. In 1986, Tyson was interviewed by David Brenner, a popular talk show host. During the podcast, Brenner asked Tyson of why his trainer was shouting numbers during the fight. Tyson explained the reason in detail to Brenner.
Tyson explained that the numbers were in fact code words for different punches. It was a tactic used so that the opponent fighter would not get a hold of their plans. If his opponents can get a hold of what Tyson is about to do, they can defend it properly. However, using code words is a solution to such a problem.
Tyson was in the corner of Francis Ngannou in his bout against Tyson Fury. Under his tutelage, Ngannou fought bravely. For the bout, Tyson Fury was paid $62 million whereas Ngannou got around $10 million. Mike Tyson was in the corner of Ngannou as he promised the former UFC champion he would do so if a fight like this ever came to fruition.
Explaining Mike Tyson’s numbered punch system
Mike Tyson, who was initially known as “Kid Dynamite”, became a legendary boxer due to his unique training methods. This included the use of numerical codes which contributed to his mystique. Using numbers for punches is now a common practice in combat sports training.
Tyson and Rooney devices a boxing strategy where they used 8 numeric codes. 1 means a left hook to the head. Tyson using the Peek-a-boo style heavily employed hooks. 2 was a straight right hand or a right hook to the head. Tyson normally does a left hook-right hook combo but has also used a straight right rarely.
3 and 4 were left and right uppercuts respectively. Normally, 3 and 4 are deemed left and right hooks. 5 and 6 were left and right hooks to the body respectively. 7 was a jab to the head and 8 was a jab to the body.
In normal boxing language 1 and 2 stand for a jab and rear straight hand. 3 and 4 are the hooks and 5 and 6 are the uppercutts. It comes as no surprise that Tyson and Rooney used their own version of the punches as it can indeed confuse the opponent.
What do you think of Tyson and Rooney’s secret code? Leave your comment below!
