do you think tyson getting knocked down in sparring affected his fight with douglas?

[joeytrimble]

tyson reminds me of that really great basketball player in elementary that beats everybody but as soon as the new kid comes to class and beats him he dosnt wanna play anymore

[joeytrimble]

watch his earlier fights then watch the first bruno fight ...the look is totally gone and by the time he gets to tokyo theres no intimedation what so ever in his stare just a blank look like hes some hired thug just going in to beat somebody up then go to the next party

[scap]

i think it may have dis heartened him,cause i havent heard of him ever being knocked down in sparring before that

Are you serious?

He got knocked down because boxing was no longer his superme priority.
Couple that with the fact that Douglas put together one of the better performances in the history of the sport and you have got yourself an annihilation

The outcome had nothing to do with a sparring session and everything to do with Douglas and Tyson and where their hearts were on that night in Tokyo and during the lead up to the fight.

[K-DOGG]

i think it may have dis heartened him,cause i havent heard of him ever being knocked down in sparring before that

No. He'd been knocked down before, so Page dropping him, which was just for a moment...what would have been a two-count....meant nothing and had on effect on the outcome of the fight.

Tyson lost to Douglas because...

1. He took Douglas lightly and didn't train the way he should have
2. He had an inexperience corner
&
3. It was just Douglas's night....Douglas was great that night because he had nothing to lose. If #'s 1 & 2 didn't exist, I personally think THAT Douglas could have beaten Mike on any night.

[EsB818]

Yea good points. Although Tyson was the better fighter, Douglas was better that night. That combined with Douglas' huge reach and height advantage made him too big of an obstacle for a complacent Tyson to beat. Douglas was too much of a private guy to be champion though, I heard him say that he really didn't enjoy the lack of privacy it brought with it. His heart definately wasn't in the Holyfield fight, thats not the same guy who beat Tyson.

No. He'd been knocked down before, so Page dropping him, which was just for a moment...what would have been a two-count....meant nothing and had on effect on the outcome of the fight.

Tyson lost to Douglas because...

1. He took Douglas lightly and didn't train the way he should have
2. He had an inexperience corner
&
3. It was just Douglas's night....Douglas was great that night because he had nothing to lose. If #'s 1 & 2 didn't exist, I personally think THAT Douglas could have beaten Mike on any night.

[cupcrazy01]

Yea good points. Although Tyson was the better fighter, Douglas was better that night. That combined with Douglas' huge reach and height advantage made him too big of an obstacle for a complacent Tyson to beat. Douglas was too much of a private guy to be champion though, I heard him say that he really didn't enjoy the lack of privacy it brought with it. His heart definately wasn't in the Holyfield fight, thats not the same guy who beat Tyson.

Yeah, I've often wondered if the same Douglas who fought Tyson fought Holyfield, who would win? It would have been a great fight IMO.

[K-DOGG]

For one night in his life, James Douglas fullfilled all of his physical potential; for one night in his life, he was great. That's more than can be said about most people on the planet whether they are boxers or not.

If any fight I've ever seen had a feeling of "fate" or "destiny" too it...it was that one. I dare say any fighter who's ever lived would have had trouble beating "THAT" Douglas. For one night, he put it all together....and it was a thing of beauty.

[hollister]

I think being punched in the head so many times by Douglas had a much greater effect on the fight than the sparring session did.

[Dynamite76]

As much as I like Greg Page, it was more of a case of Mike Tyson not being focused and into other things.

[hugh grant]

Not to take anything away from Buster but i agree that Tyson wasnt in as good shape as he could have been going into that fight. Everything had become too easy. I suppose he once trained hard. Turned up for the fight and his opponent couldnt last more than a round or 2. Tysons probably thinking "all that training and the kids cant take me more than a couple of rounds or so. I guess i wont have to train so hard next time" is prbably what Tyson was thinking.

But it is generally accepted that Tyson came along when the heavyweight division was very weak. Making Tyson look better than he actually was. Do people think that the heavyweights at present are stronger or weaker than when Tyson ruled the division. Would the likes of Wladimir, Vitali, Valuev, Briggs been better than any opponents Tyson had fought?