10. Buster Mathis Jr.
Mike Tyson was back after his stint in an Indiana prison. He'd just made a killing with the farce of Peter McNeeley and, for his next fight, FOX gave Tyson vs. Buster Mathis Jr. to television viewers for free.
A rusty Tyson had trouble locating Mathis in the early rounds with his punches, in the third round (2:17 mark of this clip) that all changed with a magnificent pivot followed by a crushing right uppercut.
This was a strange time to follow Tyson. Despite evidence to the contrary, he made persistent claims he was actually a better fighter than he'd ever been. He was so adamant on the point that he was able to convince a lot of people that there was some remote possibility it might be true. What nobody questioned was that his intimidation aura had returned with a vengeance.
The truth was he still had magnificent hand speed coupled with tremendous power, but the time away and all the negative influences in his life had taken their toll. The Tyson we saw against Mike Spinks never improved past that point. He fired his trainer and he never regained the dedication he'd once had.
But of course there were glimpses of that greatness that might have been the rule rather than the exception.
A slick little move like the number he uncorked on Mathis Jr. was one of these reminders.