The Greatness Of Mike Tyson

[THE REAL NINJA]

Larry Holmes is going down in history as one of the best fighters ever the Ring mag has him 5th best hv in 1999. So we may ask "so who did he beat".? Answer just the best of his time or lack there of. He beat an old past prime Ali a past prime Norton and a Cooney..a chin less Shavers and a useless Leon Spinks.Holmes never had the best chin but he did have great heart he got up off the mat time after time to win .But what if we put Holmes in the 50's 60's 70's and so on. would he be as great? yes probaly.Can we do the same with Marciano? i don't think so but does that not make him great no. You see to judge a fighter against fighters from another time is not fair. So why must we always do it with Tyson ?.The answer is because he was great if he was not we would not waste time on such fantasy fights . You never see John Ruiz vs Ali and take it serious because Ruiz is not a great fighter and should not be but in such discussion . Even the most heated Tyson haters most give a prime Tyson a chance against the very best if only a chance.

[j]

tyson looked good because almost all of the brutal ko's you've seen were against c class opponents.

maybe just my opinion here, but mike never really stood much of a chance against lennox lewis or evander holyfield. an unbaised opinion would dictate that vitali would be able to do the same thing as holyfield and lewis. i actually saw these fights live. and many of his fights before ll and evander either live or recorded from a cheat box.

mike tyson's main rep has come from people watching his fights against "bums"(if you want to call them that) on espn classic from 1986 to '88.

i saw tyson when he was still full of piss and vinegar, and was not completely impressed, besides the amount of power he put into his punches and being good at finishing off his opponents.

damn, i thought some of klitschko's fans(which i am) were crazy, tyson has even crazier fans.

[THE REAL NINJA]

tyson looked good because almost all of the brutal ko's you've seen were against c class opponents.

maybe just my opinion here, but mike never really stood much of a chance against lennox lewis or evander holyfield. an unbaised opinion would dictate that vitali would be able to do the same thing as holyfield and lewis. i actually saw these fights live. and many of his fights before ll and evander either live or recorded from a cheat box.

mike tyson's main rep has come from people watching his fights against "bums"(if you want to call them that) on espn classic from 1986 to '88.

i saw tyson when he was still full of piss and vinegar, and was not completely impressed, besides the amount of power he put into his punches and being good at finishing off his opponents.

damn, i thought some of klitschko's fans(which i am) were crazy, tyson has even crazier fans.

well i don't feel i am bias on tyson

[!!Captain]

Mike Tyson is the killer. It's the Junior here that is giving him a bad name.

[THE REAL NINJA]

this is not a debate on tyson being the best ever ....no he is not... just that he was at one time a great fighter ... At his peek i would put him in the ring with any fighter... let me put it this way Ali,lewis,louis,foreman,holmes,bowe,maybe holyfield and tyson are the only fighters off the top of my head i would put in the ring if i had to pick one fighter to fight all the hv champs in history and end up with a winning record...it would be one of them

[j]

darrenshyrockford, i just read your previous post. completely agree that it is unfair, perhaps better worded as being uncalculateable, to judge fighters of different era's against each other. and i'm not even going to bother naming the innumerable amount of changes from decade to decade.


maybe i'm a bit biased, but i would include vk as being competitive in any era. imagine his punches with 4 ounce gloves. i'm sure a punch from tyson wearing 4 ounce gloves would be just as devestating.


you mentioned ali, lewis, foremen, etc. but didn't mention any of the other great fighters. jack johnson, sullivan(who fought bareknuckled early in his career), dempsey, walcott, and marciano would all have been challenging in any era of the division in my opinion.

[THE REAL NINJA]

i agree but sullivan any pre jack johnson fighter is hard for me to rate as i see them as average fighters today. i'd hate to fight sullivan in a bar or the street but thats about it. i admit my bias on the topic of the old fighters of the 20's and before.i just don't know what it is i am not that way..i agree the klits would be good in any era with there size and power.I do not see them as great but i am a bit of a fan . I was rooting for vitaly in the lewis fight soo hard it was funny.we shall never know what he could have done with tyson,holyfield,a in shape prime lewis ect he is better then the berbick's and so on so i would put him on my list if i ever make one just not in the top 20 all time

[hurricane hardy]

tysons greatness would have been even greater had he not been sent to jail,but how would he have been able to survive in an era with the likes of ali foreman frazier norton would he have been able to withstand 15 rounds of ali taunting him or would he have blew his fuse not for the first time. he will be remembered by lots not for his boxing but for his biting

[AintGottaClue]

a prime lennox lewis is not greater then mike tyson

[Mike Tyson Jr.]

Tyson beat two hall of famers
and everyone he faced between 1986
and 1989. youngest champ ever and
no one else had a violent title reign
like him. no one