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

[bigjavi973]

imo trainers matter. After the bruno fight you can tell he wasnt fighting the same way. The he got kod and I think they said there were rumors he got dropped in sparring.

[robertzimmerman]

Tyson was just a shell of his prime shelf when he fough Lennox. He had a animalistic quality during that press conference when he bit Lennox and went off on the press. But once the press conference was over Tyson was done.

I'm sure that brawl was staged.

If not, how can anyone account for Mike missing that left hand he threw?

[robertzimmerman]

imo trainers matter. After the bruno fight you can tell he wasnt fighting the same way. The he got kod and I think they said there were rumors he got dropped in sparring.

Oliver McCall dropped him in sparring in preparation for Douglas.

Mike was never the same when King came on the scene. He lost his dedication and he fought more for the money than for the love of the game.

By the late 80's, the guy who used to study hours of footage of the greats of the past, had long gone.

[robertzimmerman]

I think mentally bowe was intimidated by Lewis and I think it all went back to the olympics and him being stopped by him.....he never got over that with Lewis.....there was a small clip on YouTube just after he walked out the ring when he beat Holyfield the 1st time and they have a square up and say things..Lewis was commentating .....both big guys and same kind of reach but I think Lewis when he beat ruddock and was more agile and quick on his feet than bowe.....so I'll stick with Lewis because he proved himself the way he handled golota and bowe was practically beaten up on two occasssions...and I also don't think you would give up your belt and avoid a mega fight with another fighter if you had full confidence that you was going to win....I think after he beat Holyfield he had two easy defences against Ferguson & Michael dokes and then he lost to Holyfield ...the first Holyfield fight was brutal and when you look at it now....he might have suffered some damage because he deteriorated so quickly after that.....Lewis by late stoppage

Thanks for the reply.

Great post.

I agree entirely with everything you've said.

I'd still have loved to have seen it though.

[SUBZER0ED]

Tyson had lost about 20% when he fought Douglas, due to his depression over his divorce, drugs and under-training. He regained himself from that point, up through his fights with Ruddock. Then came prison for 4 years, which brought him back down about 15-20%, but he was still motivated enough to beat bums Mcneely, Mathis, JR, Bruno (what a colossal disappointment Bruno was!), and Seldon. But by the time he faced Holyfield, he was a mess, coming to those fights with 40% GONE. He was aging, drugging & hardly training. He was still able to get himself up enough to face a string of bums to set up the Lewis fight. By the time he faced Lewis though, I figure he had lost about 60%, which puts him at less than half of his prime self. Again, he managed to get himself up to beat Etienne, who wasn't much. But then to lose to Williams and finally McBride of all people, Mike realized that he didn't have anything left, including a desire to fight anymore. It was a sad end to the career of a man who was once feared by nearly every HW in the game. Here's to the former, undisputed HW champion of the world & "Baddest man on the planet", Iron Mike Tyson.

[A-Wolf]

I give Lewis no credit at all for beating Tyson at that point. None.

[BigNuts]

the first Holyfield fight was brutal and when you look at it now....he might have suffered some damage because he deteriorated so quickly after that.....

Doubtful he suffered anything major. Holyfield was very undersized in that fight and he isn't known for his power.

If anything, Holyfield was the one that suffered damage.

[The plunger man]

Doubtful he suffered anything major. Holyfield was very undersized in that fight and he isn't known for his power.

If anything, Holyfield was the one that suffered damage.

Well something did....because his next two defences were easy fights...then he lost to Holyfield and was never quite the same after that ...and seeing as Holyfield actually outlasted him by quite a few years and bowe was punch drunk by then.....who actually caused the damage then ? ...don't say it was golota because he was suffering before that.....some fighters are made of steel others are not always so resilient

[The plunger man]

Tyson had lost about 20% when he fought Douglas, due to his depression over his divorce, drugs and under-training. He regained himself from that point, up through his fights with Ruddock. Then came prison for 4 years, which brought him back down about 15-20%, but he was still motivated enough to beat bums Mcneely, Mathis, JR, Bruno (what a colossal disappointment Bruno was!), and Seldon. But by the time he faced Holyfield, he was a mess, coming to those fights with 40% GONE. He was aging, drugging & hardly training. He was still able to get himself up enough to face a string of bums to set up the Lewis fight. By the time he faced Lewis though, I figure he had lost about 60%, which puts him at less than half of his prime self. Again, he managed to get himself up to beat Etienne, who wasn't much. But then to lose to Williams and finally McBride of all people, Mike realized that he didn't have anything left, including a desire to fight anymore. It was a sad end to the career of a man who was once feared by nearly every HW in the game. Here's to the former, undisputed HW champion of the world & "Baddest man on the planet", Iron Mike Tyson.

What rubbish.....Tyson style was just not meant to last....short explosive prime and then blowout, razor ruddock showed the real cracks in Tyson armour..and also way before that with James tillis...no fighter can ever be measured on ifs. The bottom line is up to Douglas , , Holyfield and Lewis he had never faced a fighter who could give and take it....tubbs ,Bruno ,seldon,Williams,spinks are nowhere the fighters of a caliber of Lewis or Holyfield ...Tyson was an awesome fighter but he was not as good as Holyfield or Lewis sorry to say

[Motofan]

Tyson was shot and did it for the money. He said it himself. He had no heart for it anymore. 20% at best.