Champions who cleaned out their division avoiding no-one

[GJC]

For someone who cleaned out a division Tyson seems to have missed Dokes, Page, and especially Witherspoon

Poet

Be fair Poet Dokes and Page were pretty much done by then, no credit in fighting them.

Witherspoon would have been a live contender for sure but Don King pretty much screwed him out of that whole period.
I would have had more chance of fighting Tyson than Witherspoon once King got his claws into Tyson.
Shame because Witherspoon would have made a good fight

You know as well as I do that no matter who we name someone will dig out a name and say he was ranked number 9 in so and so year.

I don't buy into the Tyson couldn't have been beat in 88 by anyone in history but he was an active champion and didn't really duck anyone.

[HaglerSteelChin]

I think Evander pretty much fought everyone at Cruiser before he went to HW, he was the first unified champ at cruiser.

[CarlosG815]

For someone who cleaned out a division Tyson seems to have missed Dokes, Page, and especially Witherspoon

Poet

Witherspoon is the only person on that list that even deserved a shot. Page is garbage, and Dokes was beat up by every contender he faced.

Witherspoon would have been a good fight but I don't see any reason to duck him.

Those are fights that didn't happen because of the politics. Nobody would want to see Tyson face a guy that got destroyed by Ruddock when he could just fight Ruddock again.

If he had fought Doke's we'd be saying Tyson fought a Dokes that got destroyed by Ruddock and he ducked Ruddock.

[CarlosG815]

I think Evander pretty much fought everyone at Cruiser before he went to HW, he was the first unified champ at cruiser.

+1 Evander would fight anybody tomorrow.

[joe strong]

lennox lewis...

[CarlosG815]

lennox lewis...

LMAO!

He's trying to bait sonnyboy.

Why did Lennox get stripped of his belts?

[The Iron Man]

For someone who cleaned out a division Tyson seems to have missed Dokes, Page, and especially Witherspoon

Poet

Dokes, Did not fight to much from 85 to 87 then lost to Holyfield in 89 and so never got back into being a top contender. Im thinking if Witherspoon didnt lost to Bonecrusher smith he would have got a shot against Tyson. And Page lost against almost every decent heavyweight he faced during the 80s. So i wouldnt say these people were ducked by Tyson, just others were more worthy of a shot at the undisputed champ.

[HaglerSteelChin]

i wont say Tyson ducked Holyfield around 1987-1989 but his name was mentioned often By Lou Duva as an opponent but he blamed Don King for not allowing it to happen. Than Tyson loss to Douglas and the fight didn't happen. But than when he was going to fight Holyfield in 1991 he got charged with ****. But long before the **** conviction Tyson was named and called out by the Holyfield camp. In fact, Duva said we are willing to fight Tyson tomorrow.

[CarlosG815]

i wont say Tyson ducked Holyfield around 1987-1989 but his name was mentioned often By Lou Duva as an opponent but he blamed Don King for not allowing it to happen. Than Tyson loss to Douglas and the fight didn't happen. But than when he was going to fight Holyfield in 1991 he got charged with ****. But long before the **** conviction Tyson was named and called out by the Holyfield camp. In fact, Duva said we are willing to fight Tyson tomorrow.

Of course, everybody wants a big payday. I'll fight Tyson tomorrow night on PPV, too.

Holyfields first fight at HW was 1988. How could he come up and just face the undisputed HW champion of the world when Spinks was a much bigger fight, and at the time was talked about nonstop? Tyson was asked about Spinks after a few fights, and it was almost being asked condescendingly in post fight interviews as if Tyson was ducking him.

There were better fights available for Tyson at the time so he took those. When you get to be as big as he was you fight 2-3 times per year - you can't fight every yahoo that calls you out.

I think 92 was the appropriate time for Holyfield to get his shot, but Tyson got the **** conviction, like you mentioned earlier.

There really isn't a legit case that anybody can make toward Tyson ducking people.

[geribeetus]

Of course, everybody wants a big payday. I'll fight Tyson tomorrow night on PPV, too.

Holyfields first fight at HW was 1988. How could he come up and just face the undisputed HW champion of the world when Spinks was a much bigger fight, and at the time was talked about nonstop? Tyson was asked about Spinks after a few fights, and it was almost being asked condescendingly in post fight interviews as if Tyson was ducking him.

There were better fights available for Tyson at the time so he took those. When you get to be as big as he was you fight 2-3 times per year - you can't fight every yahoo that calls you out.

I think 92 was the appropriate time for Holyfield to get his shot, but Tyson got the **** conviction, like you mentioned earlier.

There really isn't a legit case that anybody can make toward Tyson ducking people.

you deserve rep for this post.

also, you could kinda say lennox lewis fought just about everybody. it's just that some of the fights should've happened a decade or so earlier. whether or not this was his fault i don't know, but his timing was perfect as far as having an easy fight goes.