Question about Mike Tyson...

nope. The hype was never really over until the second Holyfield loss. The hype was over after Lewis imo. Most people picked Tyson to win at that age against a prime Lewis :eek:

the hype was over after the douglas fight nope. The hype was never really over until the second Holyfield loss.

I'm neutral on this situation but I just want to clarify something or get another opinion. Many of you dont consider Mike Tyson an "all time great" am i correct? was that his fault? I know he never ducked anyone so he knocked out the best his weight class had to offer and when there wasnt anyone else, Spinks moved up to fight him. He beat all the top contenders during that time(85-92). The fact that none of them could be considered great isnt Mike's fault. You have to recognize that at only 20, he became the youngest heavyweight champ of all time and you cant do that unless you beat some top contenders. So, he beat up the best fighters that were available for him. Lennox and Bowe werent around yet and Evander was still a rising star in the Cruiserweight division. My point is he didnt exactly have great fighters to fight when he was at his peak. Had he not gone to prison for rape maybe this question would not be asked. I consider Mike Tyson to be a great fighter, but not great on the level of Muhammad Ali. He had an excellent career and it wasn't so much who he beat, it was how he beat them. He knocked out some serious opponents, like Thomas, Berbick, Holmes, Tubbs, Spinks. These guys were no pushovers. He dominated the division for about 4 years, which is a pretty decent reign. That era was not as bad as many claim, it just happened to follow the greatest heavyweight era of all time. You don't really need great fighters if you can put up great performances. Demolishing Spinks and Holmes, two guys who had never been stopped previously, those were great performances. Tyson was supposed to take on Holyfield in 1990, but then he ran into Douglas. The funny part is, Douglas was a late replacement for Razor Ruddock. Just goes to show you that you can't take any opponent for granted. Tyson did however duck a few people after he got out of jail. Most famously, he dumped the WBC title he won from Bruno and paid Lewis 3 mil so they wouldn't have to fight in 1996.

Losing to Douglas in 90 is his biggest problem. And not only did he lose, he lost in amazing fasion. MIke won 1 or 2 rounds at best before be knocked the fuck out. He begins his comeback, then goes to jail. When mike leaves jail and faces Holyfield he's only like 30. If you're out of your prime at 30 then there's no way you can be a great of all time... that simple. Longevity of your career means something. ** You never had a prime, that's your trouble. Plenty of HOF heavies were done by age 30. Jeffries was retired. Frazier only won 2 fights after turning 30. Max Baer was 4 yrs removed from his last title shot and ready for retirement. Tyson already had a HOF career before Douglas. No heavy ever dominated so fast and so completely, and really only one other fighter dominated like Tyson and that was Wilfredo Gomez. Spinks and Holmes were HOFers. Nobody else even beat or knocked down Spinks and nobody ever KOed Holmes and the absolute ease he blasted these two out have become highlight classics. Nobody ever beat more former, current, or future champs than he did. Tsyon has a mediocre record over the past 15 years, yet guys still got title shots just because of a win over a shot Tyson. That's major respect. IBRO ranks him 13th all time, just behind Lewis. You chaps really should study up.

tyson ruined alot of good fighters that were champions becuase he dominated them. they knew there was no way of beating him. tucker, thomas, berbick and tyrell biggs were never the same after they fought tyson. i think biggs thomas and tucker had the potential to be great fighters. and holmes was only 38 when he fought tyson and he came back in his forties and almost beat everybody he destroyed mercer and almost beat holyfield when he was injured ,foreman wouldnt even fight holmes.homes also said the only fighthe would take is a rematch with tyson. in that rudduck fight tyson skills were gone . as soon as damato died tyson skills started diminishing . he threw nothing but haymakers but becuase of his atheticism he got away with it. and still was nearly unbeatable. until he met holyfield who was probably on steriods so his athetacism alone wasnt enough .

Of course Tyson is going down as 1 of the baddest HW of all time, but at this point of his career he's turned himself into a joke, so you have to ask yourself which Tyson will go down in history, the HW destroyer or the wife-beating, shit talking, ear biting, arm breaking, & unstable Tyson. I hope the former, but i believe it'll be the latter.

He's the greatest of all time in my opinion. No one will ever change my mind no matter what anyone says.

Marciano is considered an "all time great" also, but he didn't fight anyone worth mentioning either....

mike beat ppl so easily in his prime that ppl see those same ppl as bums. very true that he made his opponents look bad...........for example spinks beat holmes twice and tyson destroyed spinks,so all of a sudden spinks was to small to fight at heavy......nobody said that when he beat holmes who is bigger than tyson tyson is an all time great in my opinion

lets not forget.... I'm neutral on this situation but I just want to clarify something or get another opinion. Many of you dont consider Mike Tyson an "all time great" am i correct? was that his fault? I know he never ducked anyone so he knocked out the best his weight class had to offer and when there wasnt anyone else, Spinks moved up to fight him. He beat all the top contenders during that time(85-92). The fact that none of them could be considered great isnt Mike's fault. You have to recognize that at only 20, he became the youngest heavyweight champ of all time and you cant do that unless you beat some top contenders. So, he beat up the best fighters that were available for him. Lennox and Bowe werent around yet and Evander was still a rising star in the Cruiserweight division. My point is he didnt exactly have great fighters to fight when he was at his peak. Had he not gone to prison for rape maybe this question would not be asked.1 his 2 main problems after Cus dies 1. His stupid bitch x wife and tehn raping another woman...so his biggest problem IMO was chicks. It took his prime years away...lesson...no chicks! Especially ones who try to run your life....

They weren't all affraid. Out of his 9 defences i think that only these guys were scared of him. Spinks Smith(Because of the holding) Bruno Not all of them crumbled. And hey, you should be giving credit to him for scaring strong fighters like that :rolleyes: I mean, Foreman got credit for it, Liston got credit for it..but when Mike took it to a whole new level people discredit him.

Yeah i do rate tyson as one off the finest natural boxers off all time the way he used to use his Peak a POO attack in the early years with Kevin Rooney & co tyson was awesome, i agree he beat some quality out their Spinks one off the best light-heavyweights off all time again but naturaly LH, Holmes aged alot, Tony Tucker give tyson one off the hardest battles in his prime maybe the best guy tyson faced in them years?,Bonecrusher Smith another cleaver boxer took tyson the whole 12 but still out off this league, Pinklin Thomas former WBC champion got a ass whiping, Tyrell Biggs classy boxer who came thru olimpics a ali style boxer with flair but his legs where SHOT, Berbick o well yano what happend their, Tubbs was very average had a good right but his weight was a problem, and most off them guys even before the bouts where scared tyson made this one off this many huge advantage Guys like Lewis and Holyfield i guess did not believe the HYPE the hype was over after the douglas fight

Yeah i do rate tyson as one off the finest natural boxers off all time the way he used to use his Peak a POO attack in the early years with Kevin Rooney & co tyson was awesome, i agree he beat some quality out their Spinks one off the best light-heavyweights off all time again but naturaly LH, Holmes aged alot, Tony Tucker give tyson one off the hardest battles in his prime maybe the best guy tyson faced in them years?,Bonecrusher Smith another cleaver boxer took tyson the whole 12 but still out off this league, Pinklin Thomas former WBC champion got a ass whiping, Tyrell Biggs classy boxer who came thru olimpics a ali style boxer with flair but his legs where SHOT, Berbick o well yano what happend their, Tubbs was very average had a good right but his weight was a problem, and most off them guys even before the bouts where scared tyson made this one off this many huge advantage Guys like Lewis and Holyfield i guess did not believe the HYPE

he'll always be a great in my book...the only thing going against him like u said is the longevity issue. he almost had his comeback ko victory but thats one thing he missed..

thats what i mean. He fought what the div had to offer at that time. I honestly think even if he had not gone to prison he probably still would have been successful in destroying whomever was put in front of him. I dont think he reigned for long enough either. But no matter who you are, its tough to stay at the top for so long, even fighting B level fighters. There are alot of hungry fighers waiting for their chance to shine. Thats one reason why I give Tyson alot of credit for domination like he did.

thats what i mean. He fought what the div had to offer at that time. I honestly think even if he had not gone to prison he probably still would have been successful in destroying whomever was put in front of him. actually no. the tyson that fought ruddock would of lost in my opinion to holyfield.cause he jus tried for 1 bombs

Correct. He beat up some quality fighters in impressive fashion. But he never had career defining wins against great opposition. thats what i mean. He fought what the div had to offer at that time. I honestly think even if he had not gone to prison he probably still would have been successful in destroying whomever was put in front of him.

i think tyson will always be rememberd for how he fought, not who he fought or beat. he was damn near flawless in his prime. defense, speed, power, technique, stamina, he had all of it. but people will always remember his breathtaking power delivered with such awesome speed. tyson was a helluva thing to behold. regardless of what people think he did or whatever, he will never be forgotten in the history of boxing.

Larry Holmes wasnt a bum, he was my grandpas age when they fought but he wasnt a bum. Michael Spinks wasnt a bum. Spinks was a great LHW champ but an undersized HW. He was afraid of Tyson and that combined with his lack of size made him a perfect opponent for Mike, but he wasnt a bum. Tyson beat some quality fighters. Razor Ruddock and Tony Tucker were not bums IMO ... But he didnt only fight bums, he beat up on some decent guys. -- Correct. He beat up some quality fighters in impressive fashion. But he never had career defining wins against great opposition.

I'm neutral on this situation but I just want to clarify something or get another opinion. Many of you dont consider Mike Tyson an "all time great" am i correct? was that his fault? I know he never ducked anyone so he knocked out the best his weight class had to offer and when there wasnt anyone else, Spinks moved up to fight him. He beat all the top contenders during that time(85-92). The fact that none of them could be considered great isnt Mike's fault. You have to recognize that at only 20, he became the youngest heavyweight champ of all time and you cant do that unless you beat some top contenders. So, he beat up the best fighters that were available for him. Lennox and Bowe werent around yet and Evander was still a rising star in the Cruiserweight division. My point is he didnt exactly have great fighters to fight when he was at his peak. Had he not gone to prison for rape maybe this question would not be asked. The losses to Holyfield and Lewis were totally his fault. He wins those, hes top 3 HW of all time. I think Mike is an all time great, and probably top 10 HW.