Three months ago, Mike Tyson’s illustrious record of eighteen knockout wins within one year of his debut was on the verge of being broken by an ambitious 43-year-old. Now that record has been broken, but Jesus ‘Tito’ Escalera isn’t done yet.

The Puerto Rican southpaw both equalled and defeated ‘Iron Mike’s’ numbers in September, first knocking out Francisco Cordera in Tolima, Columbia in the second-round and then adding his nineteenth victory by recording a third-round TKO over Alejandro Berrio just sixteen days later.

Those two stoppages both came within 365 days of ‘Tito’s’ debut on October 14th 2022, outdoing the legendary Tyson by one, although the American’s record of eighteen is disputed after officially winning by TKO against Jesse Ferguson, who was disqualified for excessive holding.

At the ripe age of forty-three, many would be led to believe that Escalera has had his fun and that he may soon hang up the gloves after outperforming Tyson’s debut year.

Instead, Escalera is on the verge of a breakthrough fight, taking on Jonathan Guidry (19-1-2) this weekend on the undercard of the WBC Cruiserweight Title clash between Noel Gevor Mikaelyan and Ilunga Makabu in Miami.

Guidry defeated former world champion, Bermane Stiverne, in his last outing and, with the WBA Gold Heavyweight Title on the line, a win could see him shoot up the rankings.

‘The King’ is currently ranked as the world number 13 with the sanctioning body and goes into the contest as a hot favourite, although the indisputable power of Escalera should be of a major concern.

Should Escalera upset the odds and come out on top, we may witness one of the greatest stories in recent memory of the heavyweight division – and it’s hard to discredit the chances of someone who has just eclipsed one of Mike Tyson’s most arduous records, no matter his age.