Mike Tyson: When did his prime end?

[1SILVA]

At what phase in Tysons career would you class him as past prime? Also please give reasons


http://community.seattletimes.nwsour...6&slug=2107196
Poll to come

Mike Tyson was already declining in skills before he went to prison in 1992. In his fights with Ruddock, his defense was very poor. He would have had trouble winning the title back from Evander had their scheduled November, 1991 fight taken place. The Riddick Bowe that defeated Holyfield in November of 92 would have given Tyson hell as well. Mike no longer bobbed and weaved, and if a limited Ruddock gave him problems, imagine what Bowe would have done with his great jab, explosive uppercut, and an innate ability to fight inside for a big man.

[Joeyzagz]

Logan Hobson, of CompuBox, has charted punch statistics for many of Tyson's bouts. He said Tyson's trainers might or might not be to blame, but something obviously had reduced his level of effectiveness inside the ropes.

"Mike Tyson in his prime wasn't that busy, but he would jab his way in, move his head and flurry," Hobson said. "Starting with the Bruno fight, his jab output started dropping and his opponents' power-punch connect percentage began to rise. He was getting hit with punches he never got hit with before. By the time he went to jail, he was a fighter who was content just to load up on every punch. I think he got too enamored of his own power."

In other words, Mike Tyson was finished as a fighter at 23.

Giving up, not training, raping women, whatever Tyson's problem was it is INEXCUSABLE and he gets no sympathy from me whatsoever. These are all issues that can be controlled and he as to deal with the consequences of his actions.

Age is beyond ones controll Human Beings begin to lose athleticism once they turn 35, so I do not blame Calzaghe or Lennox for retiring when they did. This is a legit reason to hang up the gloves, and any person who discredits them for that and praises a guy like Tyson is a hypocrite.

[SBleeder]

After the second Ruddock fight.

A fighter is "past his prime" when nature and age render him incapable of doing the things he used to be able to do. It's not when a fighter simply gets lazy because his trainer isn't there to hold his hand. That's called being lazy and mentally weak.

In other words, Mike Tyson was finished as a fighter at 23.

Giving up, not training, raping women, whatever Tyson's problem was it is INEXCUSABLE and he gets no sympathy from me whatsoever. These are all issues that can be controlled and he as to deal with the consequences of his actions.

Age is beyond ones controll Human Beings begin to lose athleticism once they turn 35, so I do not blame Calzaghe or Lennox for retiring when they did. This is a legit reason to hang up the gloves, and any person who discredits them for that and praises a guy like Tyson is a hypocrite.

Bingo.

Tyson-tards are careful to limit his "prime" to his best fights only. At the same time, they include Ali's post-exile era in any comparison to Tyson. "Frazier gave Ali trouble, so Tyson would have given Ali trouble blah blah blah I sleep with Tyson's picture under my pillow blah blah blah did you see how he knocked out Sammy Scaff unbelievable! blah blah blah.

Don't get me wrong. He was good. Unifying the titles and successfully defending the (WBC) Title 9 times is impressive.

He's just not nearly as good as people think. Most high-profile analysts agree and rank him around the tenth best HW of all time. I'd put him at about number 12. He beats most, but could never compete with the all time greats who would not succumb to his intimidation. He was a big fish in a small pond, a sign of life in a dead era of the heavyweight division.

[Toney616]

In other words, Mike Tyson was finished as a fighter at 23.

No one said that, so how are you coming to this conclusion? Since when does a fighter showing signs of slipping mean they are finished?

Giving up, not training, raping women, whatever Tyson's problem was it is INEXCUSABLE and he gets no sympathy from me whatsoever. These are all issues that can be controlled and he as to deal with the consequences of his actions.

What has this got to do with this thread? We are talking about at what time you started to notice Tyson slipping and you are now going on about his behaviour OUTSIDE of the ring?
Also notice the POLL results

Age is beyond ones controll Human Beings begin to lose athleticism once they turn 35

You have to train hard to get your reflexes to their peak level, just imagine how hard you have to train if you are a 5"11 hw with a reach of 71″ and you are competing in a divison, where on average everyone has a height and reach advantage over you? He basically had to train much harder than all the other guys out there so he could compete with them

He stopped doing the same drills so his reflexes started to slip and you started to notice that he was getting hit a lot more than normal i.e he was a fighter on the slide. You cannot always associate age with a fighter slipping, there are many cases of fighters slipping way before they get to mid 35

so I do not blame Calzaghe or Lennox for retiring when they did. This is a legit reason to hang up the gloves, and any person who discredits them for that and praises a guy like Tyson is a hypocrite.

You dont know what you are talking about, also why are you bringing up Calzaghe and Lewis in this thread, which has nothing to do with them?

Lennox retired because he didnt want to face Vitali again, it had nothing to do with him being 35. He was prepared to fight Jones and Tyson II, just not Vitali again

[Toney616]

After the second Ruddock fight.

What did you think of his performance in the first Bruno fight?

Don't get me wrong. He was good. Unifying the titles and successfully defending the (WBC) Title 9 times is impressive.

He's just not nearly as good as people think. Most high-profile analysts agree and rank him around the tenth best HW of all time. I'd put him at about number 12. He beats most, but could never compete with the all time greats who would not succumb to his intimidation. He was a big fish in a small pond, a sign of life in a dead era of the heavyweight division.

I can agree with these points

[Toney616]

Thanks to everyone for posting your input has been most welcome

[Toney616]

TS, I think we all know who that is

Yeah I know who that is, lol

[Vadrigar.]

Yeah I know who that is, lol

One deluded fool he is........

[Toney616]

One deluded fool he is........

I should of made the poll public, lol

[StarshipTrooper]

I put it at the point where he went to prison: His reflexes looked fine to me in the two Ruddock fights.....and clearly had slid in his post prison fights.

Poet