How far exactly was Tyson from his prime when he fought Lewis in 2002?

[RussB23]

i hate when ppl use tyson being "past his prime" as an excuse to his loss to lewis. Tyson was still knocking guys out left and right back then, truth is lewis was always a tough fight for tyson.

[Soda_Popinski]

At least 50% id say...probably more so mental than physical.

Tyson was always a ticking time bomb mentally, and after hooking up with Don King it was only a matter of time, not being ready to fight Douglas, and losing cracked him...then when he goes to jail that kills his prime right there...

prime vs prime? Who knows, a big Tyson fan so my heart says Tyson, but I'm not sure it's ever a good matchup for Mike...

[-PBP-]

Neither guy was prime. But I think the fight plays out that way regardless of when they fought. Just stylistically.

[Ganondorf]

Lennox's style definitely aged a lot better than Mike's.

[BlakBread904]

Tyson was totally shot in regards to be a world-class fighter, by the time of Tyson/Lewis, im surprised this is even up for debate

[monkeyboy]

Lennox's style definitely aged a lot better than Mike's.

Prime V Prime is always tricky. Some fighters have one or two performances of genius in them. Some are just continuously great. Some follow the more normal trajectory.

Fact is that Tyson did not have the discipline to continue his early path. Once Cus died and King stepped in Tyson was a bum waiting to happen. So what was Tyson's prime? It wasn't really his own. It was the protection and discipline he was given by Cus and his team that allowed it. Also his conditioning and speed was monstrous. In that brief prime he would have given anyone hell. Lewis was great and would always be a tougher fight but that very early, protected Tyson would have won.

Any later and he would buckle at solid opposition. He was slower within one or two fights and rested in clinches which he had never done under Cus.

You could never blame Lewis for taking the fight nor feeling validated by his victory.

[MRBOOMER]

They were past Tyson more so based on his style. Due to Lewis's size and technical skill it made it easier for him to deal with much less explosive Tyson. But **** all that we all know Tyson was there for the check...

[robertzimmerman]

Tyson could have been 100% in his prime he still would have lost to Lewis ......yeah Tyson was past it for sure but Lewis wasn't exactly in his prime, he was older and was also slower and heavier.....when Lewis beat Tyson he was clever.....he used his natural weight to gradually take the fight out of him..lean on him and hit from a distance and when ever Tyson attacked he smothered him.....Tyson never faced anybody with Lewis's ability.....if you don't think so look at the way he easily beat ruddock in 2 rounds and even dealt with tucker easier ...dropped him twice and won a clear decision..Tyson also vacated his title because Lewis was his mandatory and paid Lewis 4 million to step aside....Lewis was superior

You're right, Mike never faced anyone like Lewis before.

Likewise, Lewis had never faced anyone like Mike before.

Prime for prime, it's a very intriguing fight, with a number of possible outcomes.

Yes, Lewis beat Ruddock much easier as well as Tucker.

Mike beat Bruno a lot easier.

Styles make fights.

I was reading up on the whole step aside situation last year. It was very complex, with lots of things happening behind the scenes. Rival promoters, rival networks etc. It wasn't as straightforward as a lot of people think. In the end, Mike ended up fighting Evander for huge money.

Here's an old NSB thread discussing it from 5 years ago, containing lots of interesting information:

http://www.boxingscene.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-458243.html

[robertzimmerman]

The reason why Lewis looked so good against Tyson is twin major things one is Tyson is one dimensional and one way...how many times have we seen it laced up......cracks were showing before when he boxed tucker and bonecrusher .....look I'm not saying Tyson was not way past it but Lewis wasn't as spring chicken...Lewis changed into a heavy ****er as he got older and relied on more size and brute strength tha he did on movement...against ruddock on that night he had quick feet and was a really quick sharp puncher...even though I like Tyson but the bottom line is when he was put in the ring with guys who took his shot and came back he lost...Holyfield for example took everything Tyson could throw at him...Tyson was a monster no doubt but his main weapon was fear and once he lost other fighters saw he could get beat .....you can't knock Lewis at all because he beat them all....secondly avoided Lewis in 1996 when he refused to fight Lewis and paid him 4 million to step aside.....Lewis beats Tyson because he was just a better boxer and bigger...I like Mike Tyson but we have to look at the facts

Mike wasn't one dimensional when he was younger.

Whilst Evander did take everything Mike had without being intimidated, that version of Mike in 96, was very different from the version that beat Berbick and Spinks etc in the mid 80's.

Again, prime for prime, Mike-Lennox would have been very intriguing.

[robertzimmerman]

i hate when ppl use tyson being "past his prime" as an excuse to his loss to lewis. Tyson was still knocking guys out left and right back then, truth is lewis was always a tough fight for tyson.

Mike was completely shot when he fought Lennox. He was fighting purely to pay of his debts at that point. He wasn't in top shape either mentally or physically.