where does the peak tyson fit in

[The Noose]

As for anyone who talks about Tyson being scared of Foreman, or Liston, or whoever.
Tyson used to be ****ting himself before his fights.

We have all seen the footage of him crying with Teddy Atlas before an amatuer fight.
And look at the damage he used to inflict.

When he was young, and focused, and not relying on intimidation, he was awsome.

With the greatest heavywieghts, who knows who would beat who. Part of acheiving greatness is overcoming the odds. As Ali did with Liston and Foreman.
Or Holyfield beating Tyson. Or Marciano KO of Walcott.

Tyson beat the crap out of everyone he faced when he was young. He was never really challenged.

But every other great heavyweight, apart from Liston, had significant victories against the odds well after their primes.

[QueensburyRules]

The joke is Louis shouldn't even be in the top 10.Beating up on complete bums and ducking black guys until late in your career doesn't make you great.Every black man Louis fought kicked the shyt out of his azz.Louis has one of the worse chins of any man to be called heavyweight champion.Tyson is superior to Louis in every way and yet Tyson is nothing special.Getting your azz knocked out 5 times by average fighters for the most part does not make you great.

- -Hard to top Dum, so I'll note it.

R.I.P

[QueensburyRules]

Well, I'm sure I'll regret it soon but let me waste some time and put these predictions right.

Tyson loses against Foreman because Big George never was afraid of anyone and a lot thougher than Iron Mike. Foreman had the power in both hands to knock any fighter out and he did best against fighters that came to him (Frazier being the prime example). Mike Tyson stylewise is lost here.

Tyson loses against Jimmy Young because Young had the speed and the boxing skills to hold Mike at bay. Tyson has some chances in this one though but Young proved more than once that he was able to jab his way to a UD against power packed KO artists (see his fight vs. Foreman).

Tyson loses to Louis in every department. Joe Louis in my very personal opinion is the best heavyweight that ever fought. He showed that he was human when he let Schmeling hit him with his big right hands but after that he only become stronger and better. Louis has reach, ring movement, ring intelligence, balance and his defense working for him against a Tyson that never was faster nor thougher than Joe. After being in the ring with Louis for 5 rounds Tyson would be likely to knock himself out just to get out of there.

Tyson loses to Tunney because Tunney showed against Dempsey how to defeat the man that invented the style that made Tyson successful. Tunney would have to gain some weight though.

Tyson loses to Holmes because Larry would outbox him all night long. Holmes was far too intelligent and accurate a boxer to even let Tyson come close enough to unload. Larry also had one of the best jabs the HW division ever saw. Plus Mike showed the tendency to get frustrated and careless during fights he was losing. You can't afford a moment of carelessness against Holmes.

Tyson loses to Marciano based on heart and determination alone. His only chance would be a cut that might force a stoppage under todays understatement of the rules. Apart from that scenario Marciano has the power and the heart to stand toe to toe with Mike (whos power always was a little overrated) and knock him out. Marciano always found a way to win while Mike is more known for finding ways to lose and get out of there.

Tyson loses to Lewis because Lewis is too big for him. Lennox punishes him with his jab and his straight rights until Mike loses any interesst in trying to rush in. It'd be similiar to the fight with Holmes. Lewis isn't as fast as Larry but boxed as intelligent and would have no problem to hold Tyson on the outside where Iron Mike would be lost.

Tyson loses to Liston just on sheer intimidation. Can you imagine Liston being afraid of Tyson? And now can you imagine Tyson being afraid of Liston? I can. Liston has the power and the boxing skills to take Tyson apart in convincing fashion (see his fights with Floyd Patterson).

Tyson loses to Chuvalo because their's no way he knocks him out. And besides haveing an iron chin Chuvalo had some power and solid inside-skills as well. It takes a lot of skill AND thoughness to beat a fighter like Chuvalo. Tyson never was though.

Tyson loses to Bowe because Bowe could fight him on the inside or on long range and be effective either way. Bowe showed against Holyfield that he can take a punch and give some back immediatly. Tyson is not the kind of fighter who expects to get hit back. In fact Tyson lost most of his bouts when somebody started hitting him back with some bad intentions. Bowe is better than Berbick ever was and could do a lot more damage to Tyson. If Iron Mike can't win a fight on the inside he certainly can't on long range. Especially not against a fighter like Bowe.

Tyson loses to Schmeling because Max showed that everyone can be knocked down and out against Louis. Schmeling often gets underrated because of the pounding Louis gave him in their rematch. But Max was a great fighter and more than gritty enough to hang in there with Tyson and dish out some of his fatal right hands. Schmeling was very accurate with most of his punches. And he never gave up. Sth. that cant be said about Tyson.


Iron Mike loses most of these fights based on his lack of heart and thoughness alone. The rest of them are out of his reach because of his style or because he'd be outclassed.

Mike had the power and the speed to loke like sth. very special against medicore opposition. Yet he never defeated another great fighter in or even close to his prime. Tyson was the youngest heavyweight champion ever, that's sth. you can't take away from him and that'll ensure his place in boxings hall of fame. But he is the definition of an overhyped one-dimensional KO-Artist. I've got all of his fights on DVD and I'd have loved to see his career going differntly. He certainly was a very good heavyweight, just not a great one.

- -Heh, heh, mucho boxing expertise to absorb here.

Or not!