Tony Mandarich vs. Mike Tyson
In 1989, Sports Illustrated trumpeted him as “the best offensive line prospect ever” but instead “The Incredible Bulk” revealed himself to be “the incredible bust” becoming one of the top 5 biggest busts in NFL history. By September 28, 1992, Sports Illustrated magazine completely changed opinion and labelled Mandarich as “The NFL’s Incredible Bust.”
“The Incredible Bulk” Tony Mandarich
NFL Offensive lineman
Birthdate: September 23, 1966
Birthplace: Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 315-330 pounds
Weight at birth: 13 pounds
Bodyfat: 11%
Age: 22
Chest: 54″
Neck: 22″
Fists: 15″
40-Yard Dash: 4.65 seconds
Standing Long Jump: 10’3″
Vertical Leap: 30″
225-pound Bench Press: 39 reps
Bench Press: 550 pounds
Daily Food Intake: 15 000 calories over 7 meals (15.5 pounds of steak a week)
Boxing Training: 9 months (if it was to happen)
Other Aspiration: Wanted to be bodybuilding Mr. Universe after his football retirement.
“Iron” Mike Tyson
 |
| Mike Tyson circa 1989 |
Undisputed and undefeated World Heavyweight Boxing Champion
Birthdate: June 30, 1966
Birthplace: Catskill, New York, USA
Billed Height: 5’11.5″
Actual Height: 5’10”
Fighting Weight: 220
Age: 23
Boxing Record: 37-0 by the end of 1989.
 |
| Mike Tyson’s Punch Out!! (June 1987) |
In 1989, Tyson’s people saw the huge and shirtless Tony Mandarich on the cover of Sports Illustrated and offered him $5 million to fight then–undisputed and undefeated Heavyweight Boxing Champion Mike Tyson. But Tony Mandarich wanted $10 million to fight Mike Tyson. A really good deal for a fight, since Mandarich would have to play football for six, seven years to earn that kind of money. But in my view, as explaned below by Mandarich himself, it was just a brilliant publicity stunt to effectively get more money out of his NFL contract.
But several people just like myself would have loved to see Tyson vs. Mandarich. I love freak shows!
Here is his explanations about the Tyson fight:
“Well, Lou Duva [Tyson’s trainer] and Shelly Finkel [Tyson’s manager] came to me right after the SI cover. They said, “Would you be interested in fighting Mike Tyson?” And I said, “Of course I’d consider any offer.” Lou Duva worked with me in the ring, and he said, “We need about nine months of training, and you’ll be ready to do it. The fight won’t last three rounds, and only one of two things will happen: You will kill him, or he will kill you.” So they went back to N.Y. in late August and made an offer of $5 million. Then, I was thinking, “I’m going into the ring with a killer at the top of his game. He’s probably going to destroy me. So I better get paid for it.” I asked for more money, which helped put pressure on the Packers to get my contract done, and that’s what happened. And we never talked about it again”. (source 1)