Top 10 all-time heavyweights!

[Mugwump]

Ah, yes I can. In order to be good, you have to stay hungry to be a fighter. You have to train.
That's why it can be hard being Champion. Being Champion for some can make them feel accomplished already, well fed...and that leads to their downfall.
If you don't train, you are going to look like a bum (I guess) would be your point.

Bum = never good

Douglas had the ability to be good when he trained and not so good when he didn't. It is all a part of what makes a fighter Bad, Average, Good, Very Good, Great.


You can see the athleticism and technical skills Douglas had so no way can he be a bum. Bums have nothing and they have losing records.

McCall didn't think Buster was a bum.

We appear to be quibbling over semantics. But I'm sure we can agree that Douglas was no George Foreman. And he certainly shouldn't have posed a problem to an all-time top 10 heavy.

[Inthewhitegirls]

Can't understand the Tyson mania. I mean, guys like Ali & Frazier & Foreman and even Holyfield have a stack of victories against TOP fighters backing them up. Who did Tyson beat - prime, or very close to prime - that gets anywhere near being a top 10 HW? Who?

Ratliffe? Ribalta? Biggs? Carl Williams? It's tomato can city. His first defeat was at the hands of the first bum who realised that once you saw through the Tyson hype machine there was a terrified young man with a lot of psychological issues looking back. Easy meat.

Tyson fought two top heavies. He was beaten senseless twice and was disqualified in the other. He shouldn't be anywhere near top 30, let alone 10.

Couldn't of said it better myself. Right on. I think Tyson became overrated because of his bad boy looks and fighting style. He was great, but not top 10 great. His resume is mostly bums and he lost most of his big fights pretty badly.

[[ILLMatic]]

Overated!?

Anyone Who Calls Mike Tyson Overated Is A Fool...

[Benny Leonard]

We appear to be quibbling over semantics. But I'm sure we can agree that Douglas was no George Foreman. And he certainly shouldn't have posed a problem to an all-time top 10 heavy.

Hahaha...not at all. From a technical stand-point he was better than Foreman, but from a Mental and Fighter stand-point...forget it...not comparable.

Take Douglas on that night vs. an ATG top 10 HW that is living it up, not training properly, and doesn't have a trainer and let's see what happens. This wasn't the HW Champion Tyson from Berbick to Spinks.

This is Pro boxing. Upsets tend to happen when Top Guys aren't in their best shape.

[Mugwump]

Anyone Who Calls Mike Tyson Overated Is A Fool...

Why?

Look, I'm trying to be rational here. What's the first thing any experienced boxing observer will say to someone who is excited over the arrival of the latest "boxing sensation"?

Yep. Who has he beat?

Guys like Calzaghe, Mayweather, Cotto, Hatton even Roy Jones have had this question fired at them countless times. It's the only anywhere near reliable method we have to judge the ability of a boxer.

So - I'm asking it here: Who has Tyson beat to be ranked top 10 all time?

[Benny Leonard]

Couldn't of said it better myself. Right on. I think Tyson became overrated because of his bad boy looks and fighting style. He was great, but not top 10 great. His resume is mostly bums and he lost most of his big fights pretty badly.

I'm not arguing against him not being a top 10 HW all time.

However, it brings up the Marciano discussion. How does Marciano's resume compare since he fought fighters that were under 200 pounds and basically blown up past prime Light-Heavyweights?
Of course, Marciano himself wasn't a big guy either but for discussion sake...since we put "HW" next to his name and many have him in the top 10...how do we rate it?

[Benny Leonard]

Why?

Look, I'm trying to be rational here. What's the first thing any experienced boxing observer will say to someone who is excited over the arrival of the latest "boxing sensation"?

Yep. Who has he beat?

Guys like Calzaghe, Mayweather, Cotto, Hatton even Roy Jones have had this question fired at them countless times. It's the only anywhere near reliable method we have to judge the ability of a boxer.

So - I'm asking it here: Who has Tyson beat to be ranked top 10 all time?

If Maricano can get credit for beating up past prime LH fighters, why not Tyson who fought an undefeated Spinks (who won the title off of an undefeated Larry Holmes). Tyson blew out Spinks while Marciano didn't look as impressive.



Now if you want to take Maricano out of the top 10...that's when we have a problem with Tyson being a top 10.

[[ILLMatic]]

Why?

Look, I'm trying to be rational here. What's the first thing any experienced boxing observer will say to someone who is excited over the arrival of the latest "boxing sensation"?

Yep. Who has he beat?

Guys like Calzaghe, Mayweather, Cotto, Hatton even Roy Jones have had this question fired at them countless times. It's the only anywhere near reliable method we have to judge the ability of a boxer.

So - I'm asking it here: Who has Tyson beat to be ranked top 10 all time?

you have to understand,
tyson came up and was fighting the champions at that time.
no vacant titles, he was fightin the CHAMPS.
now tyson unified the titles and cleaned the HW division OUT.
now i agree with you that alot of the dudes he fought where bums.
but we'll never know how good tyson would of been, well good enough to get your respect, mah bad tyson wasnt fighting ali's frazier's and the greats.
but hes great to me

[Junito-Rulez]

1) Clifford Etienne
2) Tye Fields
3) Henry Akinwande
4) Chuck Wepner
5) Kevin McBride
6) John Ruiz
7) Ray Austin
8) peter McNeeley
9) Louis Monaco
10) Butterbean

[Mugwump]

If Maricano can get credit for beating up past prime LH fighters, why not Tyson who fought an undefeated Spinks (who won the title off of an undefeated Larry Holmes). Tyson blew out Spinks while Marciano didn't look as impressive.

The Spinks fight is a pretty complicated issue. On the one hand there is no doubt that Spinks had an excellent record and certainly LOOKED the part. But on the other you kind of question his credibility by the performance he put on - or didn't.

He was a shambles. If ever a guy was beaten before he entered the ring by the aura of his opponent Spinks is it.