Mike Tyson during his fight with Jake Paul (Image: Getty Images for Netflix © 2024)
Paul Bamba, who sadly died at the age of 35, had broken ‘s long-standing record by fighting 14 times in a single year.
Back in 1986, ‘Iron Mike’ was at the peak of his career, establishing himself as one of boxing’s biggest stars. In his 13th and record-breaking fight of that year, Tyson clinched the WBC heavyweight title after a sensational second-round knockout of Trevor Berbick. Fast forward nearly four decades, and Bamba surpassed this feat. He fought 14 times this year, winning each bout by knockout. He had a fight every month except September, albeit against limited opposition.
Bamba kicked off the year with a victory over Guillermo Ponce, followed by a win against Sergio Luna in the same month. These consecutive knockout wins were succeeded by triumphs over Jefferson Troncoso, Victor Coronado, Pedro Miranda, Adoni Zapata Garcia, Jose Ramon Escobedo, Francisco Fuentes, Ronald Montes, Jose Luis Herrera, Angel Giovanni Ocano Garcia, Francisco Cordero and Santander Silgado Gelez.
Following a triumphant victory in New Jersey where he won the WBA Gold cruiserweight title, Paul Bamba was riding high with his 14th knockout win this month. However, just days after this career milestone, the boxing world was shaken by the news of Bamba’s untimely death at 35.
In a heartfelt joint statement, international superstar Ne-Yo and Bamba’s family declared: “It is with profound sorrow that we announced the passing of beloved son, brother, friend and boxing champion Paul Bamba, whose light and love touched countless lives. He was a fierce yet confident competitor with an unrelenting ambition to achieve greatness. But more than anything he was a tremendous individual that inspired many with his exceptional drive and determination. We are heartbroken by his passing and kindly ask for privacy and understanding during this difficult time as we collectively navigate our grief.”
In the wake of his final triumph, Bamba didn’t shy away from future prospects, brazenly challenging Jake Paul: “[Jake Paul] you can come get it, you can come fight for it or whatever, you can keep doing the gimmick fights. At the end of the day, I’ve put in the work. You can say you’ve taken boxing seriously and yeah you’ve made a lot of money but you haven’t earned anything in boxing.
“If you think about how I started everything versus how everything is going now, I didn’t wait for an opportunity I created one. And I went out and grabbed it by the horns so to speak and did my thing this year. Look at the facts; 14 fights, 14 KOs in one year, how many belts have I got here? “.