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Tyson is overrated by the nuthuggers, whereas I put him between 8-10 usually. I think where most people get confused is in the fact that he was "potentially" the greatest waste of talent the sport had ever seen. And it's true what Yaman said; there were lots of guys who fought back and created adversity for Tyson and he still won. The problem, however, is that Tyson was a quitter once he had become champion. He simply didn't care anymore. This is why I place him at the bottom of the top ten list.
I think Jack Johnson is given WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY too much credit for his fight with Jeffries, even though Jeffries was gone for three years and had to shed about a thousand pounds to get into a respectable fighting form again. Other than that, Johnson was great.
Marciano is underrated because people think that his era was stains. That's unfair. It's not like he chose to be in prime fighting form during a time when Louis was a ghost, and Patterson and Liston hadn't yet arrived. Marciano took on all comers, often bigger than himself, and he won. The man had a huge heart, worked hard, and had the best P4P punching power of anyone.
Lennox Lewis is underrated. I think, given his size and skill, he could have done well in almost any era.
I think that Foreman's career parallels Tyson's in many ways, but Foreman is given a lot more credit because he avoided a lot of the antics Tyson fell into. Foreman beat up a ton of tomato cans to earn a shot at the title, and then won the belt convincingly, giving him an aura of invincibility. (same as Tyson) When Foreman simply ran out of gas against Ali, people forgot about him, and Foreman became a quitter (eventually leaving the sport all together), same as Tyson after Douglas. Tyson did come back to win the belt after his prison layoff, whereas Foreman waited until he was in his 40's. Suddenly Foreman is a hero, and Tyson's a joke. Even so, I think that both men are slightly overrated.
I think Jack Johnson is given WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY too much credit for his fight with Jeffries, even though Jeffries was gone for three years and had to shed about a thousand pounds to get into a respectable fighting form again. Other than that, Johnson was great.
Marciano is underrated because people think that his era was stains. That's unfair. It's not like he chose to be in prime fighting form during a time when Louis was a ghost, and Patterson and Liston hadn't yet arrived. Marciano took on all comers, often bigger than himself, and he won. The man had a huge heart, worked hard, and had the best P4P punching power of anyone.
Lennox Lewis is underrated. I think, given his size and skill, he could have done well in almost any era.
I think that Foreman's career parallels Tyson's in many ways, but Foreman is given a lot more credit because he avoided a lot of the antics Tyson fell into. Foreman beat up a ton of tomato cans to earn a shot at the title, and then won the belt convincingly, giving him an aura of invincibility. (same as Tyson) When Foreman simply ran out of gas against Ali, people forgot about him, and Foreman became a quitter (eventually leaving the sport all together), same as Tyson after Douglas. Tyson did come back to win the belt after his prison layoff, whereas Foreman waited until he was in his 40's. Suddenly Foreman is a hero, and Tyson's a joke. Even so, I think that both men are slightly overrated.
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