Tony Craig Tucker was born on December 27,1958 and is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 1998.
23 Facts About Tony Tucker
1.
2.
Tony Tucker won the IBF heavyweight title in 1987, and was the shortest-reigning world heavyweight champion at just 64 days.
3.
Tony Tucker is best known for giving Mike Tyson in his prime a relatively close fight, in which he, in the words of Larry Merchant, "rocked Tyson" in the first round.
4.
Tony Tucker became a boxer under influence of his father Bob Tucker, a former amateur boxer, who became his trainer and manager, put all his wealth into the development of his son's boxing career.
5.
Since 1979 Tony Tucker anticipated participating in the Moscow Olympics.
6.
Several people, including Tony Tucker, missed the flight and stayed in the United States due to various reasons, in Tucker's case an injury sustained just prior to the accident.
7.
At that point Tony Tucker became religious, believing that God spared his life for a purpose, in order for him to become the heavyweight champion of the world.
8.
Tony Tucker was injury-prone, missing more than a year with a knee injury suffered in a bout against Danny Sutton.
9.
Tony Tucker changed managers and trainers several times; his father, Bob Tony Tucker, eventually performed both roles.
10.
Home Box Office and Don King Productions orchestrated a heavyweight unification series for 1987, planning among its bouts a match between Tony Tucker and reigning IBF champion Michael Spinks.
11.
Spinks refused to face Tony Tucker, opting instead for a more lucrative bout with Gerry Cooney.
12.
Tony Tucker, as the winner of the IBF title, was obliged to immediately defend his title in a unification bout with WBA and WBC champion Mike Tyson 64 days after winning the title, in what would be the tournament final, where Tony Tucker was a 10-to-1 underdog.
13.
Tony Tucker did what a lot of us thought he couldn't do, and that's why I respect him so much, because he boxed, he clinched, he was very strategic, very tactical, very intelligent fighter.
14.
Tony Tucker returned to boxing in 1989 and was back in Don King's stable by 1992.
15.
Tony Tucker won the NABF belt with a 12-round split decision over highly-ranked Orlin Norris and successfully defended it against future world champion Oliver McCall, winning another 12-round split decision.
16.
Tony Tucker finished 1992 with a sixth-round TKO of Frankie Swindell and set himself up for another world title shot.
17.
The 34-year-old Tony Tucker had never been off his feet in his pro career until this bout.
18.
The situation in which Tony Tucker had found himself in 1987 now played out again: the WBA vacated the title due to Foreman's non-compliance, setting up an April 1995 title bout between Tony Tucker and number-two contender Bruce Seldon.
19.
Seldon won by TKO after seven rounds when doctors stopped the fight due to Tony Tucker's eye closing shut.
20.
Tony Tucker lost his chance at a rematch later that year when he lost a ten-round decision to a newly-signed Don King heavyweight, British-Nigerian boxer Henry Akinwande.
21.
Tony Tucker scored two low-key wins in California, and in 1997 traveled to the UK to challenge Herbie Hide for the vacant WBO title.
22.
Tony Tucker was dropped three times en route to a second-round knockout.
23.
In 1998 Tony Tucker challenged John Ruiz for his NABF belt.