Originally posted by Dempsey19
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Even if I concede that Tyson had: 1) a better chin; 2) a harder punch; 3) a nastier disposition than Floyd. Do you really think the physical differences between them were that much?
They weren't. Tyson and Floyd and 16/17 were probably nearly identical in physical traits. Again, you might give the edge to Tyson, but not by much. Certainly, Floyd had the headstart in Boxing training.
But Floyd showed up pre-Liston. Obviously there have always been huge Heavyweights. But Liston ushered in a new era. With Tyson, Cus learned from his mistakes and produced a far, far more robust fighter. I bet a lot came from steroids. I don't doubt that a bit. But steroids really only serve to enhance training. Tyson trained harder than stone to develop a very robust body. Sure, he had speed and endurance to exploit his size (dis)advantage against bigger men. But if he hadn't packed on the 30 pounds of muscle, he would've been bullied just like Patterson had. And a lot chinnier; which is terrible for the peek-abo style.
It was a genius move by D'Amato. It defied a lot of Boxing logic. But it worked great. Tyson was Patterson 2.0
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