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Thanks. I fell in love with boxing watching Mike as a kid. 13 isn't any sort of insult. 1000's of contenders, all the champions and great fights...13 is HIGH.Good stuff Cliff.
"13) Mike Tyson (1985-2005): Brooklyn’s “Iron” Mike was a mammoth star whose physical talent almost lived up to the hopes he inspired. Fast of hand and foot, Tyson was an offensive machine whose early run through the ranks rivaled the rise of Joe Louis…career mark of 50-6, 44 KO, 2 No Contests…Lineal World Champion 1988-90, 2 Defenses…WBC titlist (1986-87, 1 Defense); WBC/WBA (1987, 2 Defenses); WBC/WBA/IBF (1987-90, 6 Defenses); WBC Heavyweight (1996); WBA Heavyweight (1996)….was the youngest titlist, and second youngest lineal champion, of all time…a title challenger less than two years into his career, Tyson knocked out Trevor Berbick in two to win the WBC belt in November 1986…would add the WBA belt of “Bonecrusher” Smith in March and the IBF belt of Tony Tucker in August of 1987 to unify all the major titles…made clear his undisputed claim in June 1988 with a 91 second destruction of lineal champion Michael Spinks…ultimately made nine defenses of the WBC belt and, starting with Berbick, beat a string of nothing but former titlists and top ten contenders including knockouts of Pinklon Thomas, Tony Tubbs, and former champion Larry Holmes…managerial issues and a training switch preceded a tougher than expected defense against Frank Bruno in 1989 and a shocking upset loss to James “Buster” Douglas in February 1990, derailing a planned defense against Evander Holyfield…bounced back with four straight wins, stopping contender Alex Stewart before stopping and decisioning big puncher Razor Ruddock in 1991…pulled out of a shot at then-champion Holyfield in late 1991 with a **** indictment hanging over his head and, following a conviction for the crime in 1992, would not fight again until 1995…returned to find a division which, through careful political manipulation and some timely upsets, featured a haggard trio of titlists in Bruce Seldon, Frank Bruno and Frans Botha before the year was out…defeated Bruno in three for the WBC belt in March 1996, was stripped because a mandatory with Lennox Lewis couldn’t be made, and then won the WBA belt from Seldon in August…was dominated and stopped in eleven by a surprising Holyfield in November 1996…disqualified in round three of the rematch the following June for biting Holyfield on each ear…out of the ring for a year and a half due to a subsequent suspension, Tyson saved himself from a looming defeat with a mammoth right hand to stop Botha in January 1999…returned to jail for a short period of time and was back in the ring by the end of the year…forced Andrew Golota to quit in October 2000 but had the win voided when he tested positive for marijuana…inactivity saw Tyson grow to record weights, slimming down just a bit for a shot at Lewis in June 2002…never really in the fight, Tyson would be stopped in eight…Tyson would win only once more, stopped in each of his last two fights and retiring in 2005…Tyson’s prime was short, and he lacked the longevity and consistency of the men in front of him, but it’s hard to argue that the best of the fighter the world saw from late 1986 to the summer of 1988 couldn’t have been hell for almost anyone. While the field he ran through wasn’t great, he beat most of them like they were less than good…Liston and Tyson are so similar in many respects as to make them almost interchangeable. Tyson’s stronger performance as champion wins the coin flip today…Tyson is eligible for the IBHOF later this year."Comment
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Well then it sucks. Holyfield is definitely a top 10, but I think you should just not list him for now. I hate double standards. And he's not semi-active, he's active period, even if he's just the shadow of his former self. Dude has had 2 shots at titles in the last couple years. It would be surprising, since he has failed to capture another title, if he managed to enhance his legacy, but still, you shouldn't rank him yet. You're giving a reason to the Klitschko nuthuggers to brag. When they see Holy who is still an active fighter listed in the top 10, they will call it a heresy and start another cold war.Comment
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Nonsense. Utterly.
I rated Holy for the same reason I rated Jones at 75. He's SO FAR PAST his prime that we can objectively assess him at this point because the beginning, middle and end are already there. He's not going to enhance anything. Even if he pulled off a big win it wouldn't erase all the bad of the last few years. It would just be a nice fluke for an old warrior. That he wants to fight again at 47 has no bearing. To not rate him would be as dumb as doing a Heavyweight list on the eve of Larry Holmes-Butterbean and leaving Larry off because he's 'active.'
I rated active fighters on a by division basis (with a different criteria/standard) for rating in the Jr. divisions based on how much history was there. I chose to avoid active fighters in these classes for stated reasons with two exceptions, both of them fighters who I feel can't move up or down anymore than where they are now.Last edited by crold1; 02-18-2010, 10:30 PM.Comment
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