SummoningSalt is best known for recording some of the greatest moments in speedrunning history, but he’s proven his own salt in beating a Punch-Out speedrun record thought to be impossible.
Streaming their latest attempt on Twitch on February 8 and subsequently uploading the footage to YouTube, SummoningSalt managed to knock out Mike Tyson in 1:59.97, the first player to ever topple the legendary boxer’s digital self in less than two minutes.
“I thought I’d be a lot more excited about this,” the streamer said immediately after recording the win, adding, “Holy s**t dude, it’s f**king over.” Following the win, SummoningSalt took to X/Twitter to reveal how long the feat took to achieve.
A world record 75,000 attempts in the making
“I’ve been trying for this for over four and a half years,” he detailed, explaining further how meeting the tight deadline required “21 frame-perfect punches, 10 frame-perfect dodges, as well as luck that has somewhere around a 1/7,000 – 1/10,000 chance of occurring.”
“It took me over 75,000 attempts,” they concluded.
Punch-Out was originally released in 1987 for the NES as Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out. After Nintendo’s license to use Tyson’s likeness expired, the former undisputed heavyweight champion’s name was removed and his sprite replaced with Mr. Dream in subsequent ports and re-releases.
Players assume the role of Little Mac, a rookie boxer who takes on a series of increasingly difficult matches, culminating with a face-off with Tyson/Dream. Little Mac has since appeared in other Nintendo titles, including the Smash Bros. franchise.
As for what happens next in the Punch-Out speedrunning scene, SummoningSalt expects the record to be beaten “one day” but that they have “no intentions of lowering it more,” as the main variable for a faster time would be “getting luckier at the end of the fight.”
Mike Tyson retired from professional boxing in 2005 but has since appeared in various fixtures, including a much-publicized fight against Jake Paul in November 2024 that aired live on Netflix.
