In an interview with Barry Tompkins, he referred to himself as the "invisible champion," due to the press and general public largely neglecting him.

As an amateur, he won the 1979 United States national championships, the 1979 World Cup, and a gold medal at the 1979 Pan American Games, all in the light heavyweight division.

[2] Robert Surkein, the national boxing chairman for the Amateur Athletic Union, said of Tucker: “Believe me, he's better than Leon Spinks.

On March 14, 1980, en route to Poland, their plane Polish Airlines IL-62 crashed near Warsaw, with the U.S. boxing team aboard, consisting of 22 boxers, there were no survivors.

At that point Tucker became religious, believing that God spared his life for a purpose, in order for him to become the heavyweight champion of the world.

In June 1984, he scored a win by knocking out Eddie "The Animal" Lopez in nine rounds on the undercard of the Tommy Hearns–Roberto Durán fight.

In September 1986, Tucker finally landed a big fight, against 242 lb James "Broad-Axe" Broad, for the USBA belt and a world title eliminator.

Home Box Office and Don King Productions orchestrated a heavyweight unification series for 1987, planning among its bouts a match between Tucker and reigning IBF champion Michael Spinks.

As the co-feature of reining unified champion Mike Tyson and ex-champ Pinklon Thomas, Tucker won the bout and the vacant IBF crown via tenth-round technical knockout.

By that time for that same purpose a joint venture named Tucker Inc. was formed by his promoters Cedric Kushner (18% of total share), and Josephine Abercrombie with Jeff Levine (also 18%), partnering with Dennis Rappaport and Alan Kornberg (13%,) and lastly Emmanuel Steward (6%).

[1] HBO host and boxing great Sugar Ray Leonard said: "What Tucker displayed tonight was the fact that he is a non-conformist.

After beating Michael Moorer in November 1994 to become the oldest world heavyweight champion in history, George Foreman began negotiations in early 1995 to make the first defense of his WBA and IBF titles against German mid-level prospect Axel Schulz.

Seldon won by TKO after seven rounds when doctors stopped the fight due to Tucker's eye closing shut.

He came back in May to knock out journeyman Billy Wright in one round, but later had his license revoked due to medical concerns about Tucker's vision.