Was Tyson's power overated?

Depends on to what extent you'r referring to "overrated". If you're arguing against him being the HARDEST hitter ever, then that seems fine to argue. However, he was one of the hardest hitters. He was short with short arms and had to create leverage differently than guys like Liston and Foreman. Look at it this way. Chris Byrd's single hardest punch may be a 45/100 Foreman's slow, single right hand may have been a 95/100. but each uppercut, hook, straight punch in Tyson's speedy 3-6 punch combinations were like 80/100 He may not have hit the hardest, but EACH and ever punch he threw was fast, accurate and hard enough. What you've said is basically what I'm saying. Tyson is damn hard just not the hardest single shot. I think Shavers,Foreman,Louis,Lewis and Lyle had a single harder punch power wise. But Tyson still hit exremely hard and very fast combos which made him dangerous. I just disagree that he had the hardest punch in history and those they say he did (While entitled to their opinion) I think are wrong and overating his power.

Depends on to what extent you'r referring to "overrated". If you're arguing against him being the HARDEST hitter ever, then that seems fine to argue. However, he was one of the hardest hitters. He was short with short arms and had to create leverage differently than guys like Liston and Foreman. Look at it this way. Chris Byrd's single hardest punch may be a 45/100 Foreman's slow, single right hand may have been a 95/100. but each uppercut, hook, straight punch in Tyson's speedy 3-6 punch combinations were like 80/100 He may not have hit the hardest, but EACH and ever punch he threw was fast, accurate and hard enough.

Beerneer - You're right Tyson's performances against Bruno were superior to Lewis's in the speed he got him in. Bruno I think feared Tyson but not Lewis. I was actually at the Bruno-Lewis fight and I was absolutely spot on with my prediction. I said before the fight Bruno would win the first 6 rounds and then Lewis will take him out in 7 or 8. It was a poor performance by Lewis, but the finish was emphatic. What a great left hook to start it all off a punch he wasn't supposed to have. Bruno had a great chin he was allways stopped on his feet and it was because of his stamina that he always faded and got caught. He always just lay there on the ropes and took at least a dozen clean punches but never went down with the exception of Bonecrusher. He should never have concentrated on the weights as he was a good boxer and would have been much quicker of hand and foot,had more stamina and been just as powerful as some of the power comes from the speed.Bruno is the only Heavyweight I can think of that actually outboxed Lewis for a long period of a fight. Agreed, his lack of stamina and survival instincts lost him his fights not his chin.

No, Bruno was dropped, & knocked semi-conscious by Bonecrusher Smith. He was ahead on all cards, when caught in the last rd. He was out on his feet & took one final, massive left hook that leveled him. Bonecrusher was a very big puncher, so that KO doesn't tell you that Bruno was weak-chinned. Fair enough, I couldn't remember to be honest. I just remember Bruno being ahead comfortably.

Agreed on all but one point. Neither Tyson nor Lewis knocked out Bruno, he was TKO'd on all occasions, even the Witherspoon loss he went out on his feet. The Bonecrusher Smith loss is recorded as a KO although I recall him being on his feet for that one as well. Bruno had a good chin but poor boxing brain hence he never took a knee! Sorry...it sticks in my gut. No, Bruno was dropped, & knocked semi-conscious by Bonecrusher Smith. He was ahead on all cards, when caught in the last rd. He was out on his feet & took one final, massive left hook that leveled him. Bonecrusher was a very big puncher, so that KO doesn't tell you that Bruno was weak-chinned.

Agreed on all but one point. Neither Tyson nor Lewis knocked out Bruno, he was TKO'd on all occasions, even the Witherspoon loss he went out on his feet. The Bonecrusher Smith loss is recorded as a KO although I recall him being on his feet for that one as well. Bruno had a good chin but poor boxing brain hence he never took a knee! Sorry...it sticks in my gut. Beerneer - You're right Tyson's performances against Bruno were superior to Lewis's in the speed he got him in. Bruno I think feared Tyson but not Lewis. I was actually at the Bruno-Lewis fight and I was absolutely spot on with my prediction. I said before the fight Bruno would win the first 6 rounds and then Lewis will take him out in 7 or 8. It was a poor performance by Lewis, but the finish was emphatic. What a great left hook to start it all off a punch he wasn't supposed to have. Bruno had a great chin he was allways stopped on his feet and it was because of his stamina that he always faded and got caught. He always just lay there on the ropes and took at least a dozen clean punches but never went down with the exception of Bonecrusher. He should never have concentrated on the weights as he was a good boxer and would have been much quicker of hand and foot,had more stamina and been just as powerful as some of the power comes from the speed. Bruno is the only Heavyweight I can think of that actually outboxed Lewis for a long period of a fight.

Lol wtf, lower grade fighters??? Trevor Berbick, Pinklon Thomas, Michael Spinks, Frank Bruno, Andrew Golota and some weren't exactly low grade if you ask me. Michael Spinks was 31-0 when he fought Tyson, Andrew Golota arguably gave Bowe tougher fights than Holyfield did and the other guys had been title holders themselves. It actually was the fact that he wasn't landing later on in his carreer, Tyson was short compared to Lewis (or most HWs for that matter) and couldn't get inside to nail him, though his punches did have impact in that fight. Lewis was a smart fighter who used his reach advantage to set up with his jab and when the occasion rose nail opponents with a power punch. Tyson used to be able to use his speed and agility to get inside and his power took over from there. I agree Tyson wasn't the hardest punching HW of all time, but his power was dangerous enough to strike fear into his oppenents for over a decade and rightfully so. I think speed is the first thing to go in a fighter and Tyson was only a shell of himself speedwise when he fought Lewis (not to take anything away from Lewis, because both fighters in their prime would've been an incredible fight). What you're doing is selectively picking fights to make Tyson look bad an Lewis look good, you for example failed to mention Tyson's knocked Bruno out earlier than Lewis did (twice in 3 and 5, before and after he fought Lewis), just to prove a point Agreed on all but one point. Neither Tyson nor Lewis knocked out Bruno, he was TKO'd on all occasions, even the Witherspoon loss he went out on his feet. The Bonecrusher Smith loss is recorded as a KO although I recall him being on his feet for that one as well. Bruno had a good chin but poor boxing brain hence he never took a knee! Sorry...it sticks in my gut.

Lol wtf, lower grade fighters??? Trevor Berbick, Pinklon Thomas, Michael Spinks, Frank Bruno, Andrew Golota and some weren't exactly low grade if you ask me. Michael Spinks was 31-0 when he fought Tyson, Andrew Golota arguably gave Bowe tougher fights than Holyfield did and the other guys had been title holders themselves. It actually was the fact that he wasn't landing later on in his carreer, Tyson was short compared to Lewis (or most HWs for that matter) and couldn't get inside to nail him, though his punches did have impact in that fight. Lewis was a smart fighter who used his reach advantage to set up with his jab and when the occasion rose nail opponents with a power punch. Tyson used to be able to use his speed and agility to get inside and his power took over from there. I agree Tyson wasn't the hardest punching HW of all time, but his power was dangerous enough to strike fear into his oppenents for over a decade and rightfully so. I think speed is the first thing to go in a fighter and Tyson was only a shell of himself speedwise when he fought Lewis (not to take anything away from Lewis, because both fighters in their prime would've been an incredible fight). What you're doing is selectively picking fights to make Tyson look bad an Lewis look good, you for example failed to mention Tyson's knocked Bruno out earlier than Lewis did (twice in 3 and 5, before and after he fought Lewis), just to prove a point

I think people are misunderstanding what I'm trying to say. HE IS A GREAT PUNCHER but NOT AS GREAT AS A LOT OF PEOPLE MAKE OUT. I think some other heavyweights hit harder that's all. Cant argue with that. Tyson was a small heavyweight and did/could not hit with the force of say Lewis but his technique and speed made up for the shortfall in strength and his punches where equally effective. He has still got to be in the top ten for punch power. Shavers, Lyle, Bruno, Lewis, Foreman and a few others may have hit harder.

Some people say he's the hardest puncher of all time, but there's no way to prove that, or disprove it. Besides that, most honest fans just rank him as a VERY HARD puncher, it's only the "worshippers" that claim he's more than human.

I think people are misunderstanding what I'm trying to say. HE IS A GREAT PUNCHER but NOT AS GREAT AS A LOT OF PEOPLE MAKE OUT. I think some other heavyweights hit harder that's all.

I don't think Tyson's power was overrated, lets face it he could seriously punch. Ok, many of the fighters he faced looking back probably weren't that great but he could hurt any of the big name heavies thats a fact. The reason why his punches has less effect against his main rivals in Holyfield and Lewis was for a few reasons. He had lost a bit of snap also Holyfield was exceptionally durable and Lewis did not allow Tyson to land. He was a great puncher.

its about style and power IMO you need to have a style where you can incorporate power into your shots and Tyson style was perfect for these 6 ft guy who could'nt see the hooks coming when he rolled a shot and came up with counters ,most tall people will tell you that the hardest punches to see when your fighting a smaller guy are the hooks Nigel Benn compromised his Aggresive style some what after the Watson & Eubank fights and focused more on evading shots and countering instead of leading and going all guns blazing for the knockout that is why IMO his ko ratio went down when he moved upto SMW ,you saw a diffrent Benn in the second fight with Eubank he was better prepared tacticly and won the fight IMO ,the old Benn would have been Ko'd by McClellan but the new Benn with his more measured aproach lasted the pace and was behind on the scorecards IMO but well in the fight ,McClellan would have eaten the old Benn for breakfast in 1 Round Benn was way to reckless in those days

Personally I think so. He was powerful and very explosive but because of the quality of his opposition especially early on it looked better than it actually was. Don't get me wrong when knocking out these lower grade fighters nobody looked more impressive than Tyson he looked awesome. But as the fighters got bigger,tougher and a whole lot better he struggled. It wasn't that he wasn't landing he was they just weren't having the same impact. Power is the last thing you lose as a fighter so even when past his prime he caught everyone cleanly with plenty of shots but to no effect. You don't lose power if you want proof just look at George Foreman. He couldn't put down Tucker only Lewis could Against Ruddock it was a premature stoppage and Ruddock was on his feet clearly aware of everything that was going on, and he proved it by slugging with Tyson in the rematch. Lewis blows Ruddock away in 2 one sided rounds. Tyson landed plenty of clean shots on Holyfield yet the smaller man out punched him and stops him twice Lewis takes his best shots without flinching (So much for a glass jaw) and outpunches Tyson in every department Even Danny Williams took loads of clean shots before firing back and knocking Tyson out. So while I think Tyson was powerful he wasn't as powerful as many people think and I think Shavers,Foreman,Louis,Lewis and even Lyle all hit harder I think you're right and its no disrespect to Tyson. He hit incredibly hard but in terms of power for power he didn't hit as hard as some heavyweights.

Forget who these guys are, or what kind of chins they had.. this video might answer this question better than anyone can. (NOTE: I'm not too high on Mike Tyson) http://youtube.com/watch?v=bvZ2roRDPYU

I hate treads like this. I can't see how his power was overrated. Watch the Botha fight again you'll see it's not over rated. Look how short that punch was. And Botha was one of the most durable fighters ever. Lewis's ko of Botha was more impressive as was his ko over Golota Yes he was powerful I'm not saying otherwise, but some people say he is the hardest hitting heavyweight ever which I disagree with. I think there were a handful of heavyweights who hit harder

Id hardly call tysons power overated!!! He was one powerful mother!!!

I hate treads like this. I can't see how his power was overrated. Watch the Botha fight again you'll see it's not over rated. Look how short that punch was.

he hit larry holmes , holmes couldnt get up anymore, shavers hit holmes, holmes got up... Holmes was an old man in boxing terms by the time he fought Tyson. There is no comparison to be made here. Tyson was a big puncher but certainly not the biggest in Heavyweight History, I don't think his power was overrated its just that when he made his seconding coming he had lost some of the snap.

he hit larry holmes , holmes couldnt get up anymore, shavers hit holmes, holmes got up... I think you'll find Holmes got up twice from Tyson shots before getting knocked out. Tyson said that the first punch that put Holmes down was the best punch he had ever thrown. Holmes was 38 and hadn't fought for 3 years and was a slow fighter Holmes almost survived that round. It took a whole round a 3 knockdowns to keep him there. Holmes in his prime would have survived and gone on to beat Tyson just as he did with Shavers.