Speedrunner Summoning Salt Breaks Two-Minute Barrier in Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!

After five years and over 75,000 attempts, renowned speedrunner Summoning Salt has achieved a historic milestone in the NES classic Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! He became the first player to defeat the formidable Mike Tyson in under two minutes, clocking in at 1:59.97.

This accomplishment required a blend of impeccable skill and favorable luck. Summoning Salt executed all 21 frame-perfect punches—each within a 1/60th of a second window—and performed ten flawless dodges and ducks. The odds of Tyson displaying the necessary patterns for this feat are estimated to be between 1 in 7,000 to 1 in 10,000.

Reflecting on the journey, Summoning Salt noted the immense dedication involved, stating that it took “more than 40,000 Tyson attempts” to shave just one second off his previous record. While he acknowledges that someone could surpass this feat in the future with even better luck and execution, he expressed immense pride in breaking the two-minute barrier first.

For context, the tool-assisted speedrun (TAS) of this fight—which utilizes emulator precision and optimal conditions—stands slightly faster. However, achieving such a time in real-time play remains a monumental challenge.

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