This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/14/2024
Today, it’s hard to remember Mike Tyson as a champion. The cartoonish version we see today is nothing like the awe-inspiring and unstoppable force that was Iron Mike in his prime. This gorgeous black and white image of Tyson circa 1989 was part of a session with noted celebrity photographer John Paschal during the filming of a Toyota commercial. Mike was in the middle of his Heavyweight Championship reign and just 23-years-old when he showed off the vicious uppercut that won him his first 19 fights by knockout. Paschal’s image evokes the beautiful studio photography of past champs of the 1930s and 40s and is a perfect foil to the current way we see Tyson today. The image has been printed to the edges and shows some surface abrasions. The reverse has several John Paschal Celebrity Photo stamps and the original August 4, 1989-dated caption slug affixed. The photograph measures 7” x 9” and has been encapsulated and graded a Type 1 by PSA.