ATGs who retired on top?

[Barn]

Lol at McCall when he won.

On Topic - If you count Sanchez he is a good example.

[Canes Ghost]

On a scale of poor, average, good - please rate Lennox Lewis.

Footwork - Poor
Speed - Poor
Power - Average
Chin - Poor
Movement - Poor
Defense - Average
Overall athletic ability - Poor
Boxing Skills - Average

Let's now rate Tyson on a scale of very good, great and exceptional.

Footwork - Great
Speed - Exceptional
Power - Exceptional
Chin - Great
Movement - Great
Defense - Great
Overall athletic ability - Great
Boxing Skills - Very Good

See PRIME Tyson destroys Lewis KO1.

[NChristo]

Technically you're correct. But my thinking is that he retired without suffering any humiliating defeats and went out on his terms. He also didn't lose his title in the ring. To me he went out on top with his dignity.

Fair enough I can see that.

He did lose his Bantam titles in the ring to Harada though but imo Jofre should of won, watched both Harada fights countless times and score it for him.

[Toney616]

Based on outcome, quality of opponent, and the age they retired.

Here is how I rank the heavyweights...

1. Lennox Lewis: Age 37, WBC holder who defeated Prime champ of next era.

I wouldnt exactly say he retired on top, the circumstances surrounding his retirement left a lot to be desired
I hate to hate on Vitali, but he hasn't exactly beaten anyone who could be classed as above B- level

[bklynboy]

Let's now rate Tyson on a scale of very good, great and exceptional.

Footwork - Great
Speed - Exceptional
Power - Exceptional
Chin - Great
Movement - Great
Defense - Great
Overall athletic ability - Great
Boxing Skills - Very Good

See PRIME Tyson destroys Lewis KO1.

I loved prime Tyson and was devastated when he lost to Buster Douglas. But we now, in retrospect, know something about Tyson that we didn't know before. He lacked a fighting heart. He lacked that special greatness of refusing to lose. You can excuse an over-confident, under-prepared loss to Douglas.

But Tyson couldn't handle the mental pressure of being in a close fight. A fight where he had to dig deep to, not only win, but to stay in the fight.
He couldn't take the pressure.

Cus D'Amato said:

When two men are fighting, what you're watching is more a contest of wills than of skills, with the stronger will usually overcoming the skill. The skill will prevail only when it is so superior to the other man's skill that the will is not tested.

So how do we rate Tyson on fighting will? Poor. As Jack Dempsey said:

"A champion is someone who gets up when he can't"

[Toney616]

But Tyson couldn't handle the mental pressure of being in a close fight. A fight where he had to dig deep to, not only win, but to stay in the fight.
He couldn't take the pressure.

Depends on the stage of his career. He had a close fight with Tucker and he might have been behind on the scorecards before the Thomas ko. He basically became a 1d headhunter after he fired Rooney. Douglas fought a great fight, but Tyson did himself no favors with the way he prepared for that fight

[bklynboy]

Depends on the stage of his career. He had a close fight with Tucker and he might have been behind on the scorecards before the Thomas ko. He basically became a 1d headhunter after he fired Rooney. Douglas fought a great fight, but Tyson did himself no favors with the way he prepared for that fight

Who knows how good Tyson could have become if he had a few more years with Cus D'Amato, Bill Cayton, and Kevin Rooney?

Although devastated at the time I have no problem with him losing to Buster Douglas. If he came back, well-trained, great footwork and head movement, working off the jab and then BAM, BAM, BAM took care of the opposition no body would care about Buster Douglas.

But he got beat by Holyfield in their first fight and fell apart mentally in their second. The first one you have to blame on preparation (still head hunting, not working off the jab); on ability to adjust to an unexpected game plan (Holyfield stepping inside instead of moving away).

If he had (I'm channeling the movie Rudy here) half the heart and determination of Marciano, Ali or Frazier he could have been the greatest.

Reading back on this I think I've had enough to drink for tonight.

[Toney616]

Who knows how good Tyson could have become if he had a few more years with Cus D'Amato, Bill Cayton, and Kevin Rooney?

Although devastated at the time I have no problem with him losing to Buster Douglas. If he came back, well-trained, great footwork and head movement, working off the jab and then BAM, BAM, BAM took care of the opposition no body would care about Buster Douglas.

That was never going to happen because he didnt want to train that hard at that stage of his career. Lampley would call him a fraud, a bad impersonation of Mike Tyson(lol)

But he got beat by Holyfield in their first fight and fell apart mentally in their second. The first one you have to blame on preparation (still head hunting, not working off the jab); on ability to adjust to an unexpected game plan (Holyfield stepping inside instead of moving away).

He was finished post prison and was just going through the motions to get paid. I stopped follwing his career post Holyfield II, that was just a train wreck. I did a mike tyson pic thread and started to get depressed because I knew how things had turned out for the kid, who had such a bright future

If he had (I'm channeling the movie Rudy here) half the heart and determination of Marciano, Ali or Frazier he could have been the greatest.

Reading back on this I think I've had enough to drink for tonight.

lol,Green K sent

[Joeyzagz]

I wouldnt exactly say he retired on top, the circumstances surrounding his retirement left a lot to be desired

That is the definition of retiring on top. When you leave the fans wanting more.

Everyone knew that even a 40 year old Lennox was miles better than any of the scrubs the Klitschkos are fighting today. Lennox retired at the top of the sport.

Was anyone clamouring for Ali to come back after his display against Holmes or Berbick? Lennox could still do it, and do it well.

[CarlosG815]

That is the definition of retiring on top. When you leave the fans wanting more.

Everyone knew that even a 40 year old Lennox was miles better than any of the scrubs the Klitschkos are fighting today. Lennox retired at the top of the sport.

Was anyone clamouring for Ali to come back after his display against Holmes or Berbick? Lennox could still do it, and do it well.

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