How far could Tyson have gone if he had not fired Rooney?

[The Viper]

What makes you guys so sure, holy beats a prime mike?

[D4thincarnation]

Tyson never beat a Great Heavyweight in their prime

He is a bad character and he reaped what he sowed.

[D4thincarnation]

I remember the first time I saw Holyfield at HW. It might have been against Dokes, my first thought was this mfer will beat the fuck out of Mike. I give Tyson in prime shape and on his game a legit shot against the focused Bowe we saw a few fights prior to and winning the championship but I still think Bowe is the favorite.Prime Mike more than likely crushes Lewis before Manny turned him into what most folks remember but he gets done after Manny but he dont ever beat Holyfield. Its almost like Holyfield was built in a lab to be Tysons kryptonite. I won so much money on both of those fights and I never bet on fights.

Mike was mentally weak as well, couldn't deal with the rough stuff Holy had for him.

[Tatabanya]

Its almost like Holyfield was built in a lab to be Tysons kryptonite

That's right. Somehow, Holyfield was all wrong for Iron Mike.

Still, to this day I believe that the second fight would have been quite interesting had Tyson not snapped. The surprise factor was important in the first fight, as Tyson expected Holyfield to fold in a couple of rounds like all the other bums. When he realized it was not going to happen, he lost focus.

But in the second chapter he knew that he had to bring a serious fight to Evander, and be more disciplined. He was boxing well enough until the bite, and those who still write that Holyfield was "kicking his ass again" are biased. It was a rather level fight until the third round.

For the record, I do think Holyfield's headbutts had indeed to be penalized, which Mills Lane didn't do.

[Sun_Tzu]

That's right. Somehow, Holyfield was all wrong for Iron Mike.

Still, to this day I believe that the second fight would have been quite interesting had Tyson not snapped. The surprise factor was important in the first fight, as Tyson expected Holyfield to fold in a couple of rounds like all the other bums. When he realized it was not going to happen, he lost focus.

But in the second chapter he knew that he had to bring a serious fight to Evander, and be more disciplined. He was boxing well enough until the bite, and those who still write that Holyfield was "kicking his ass again" are biased. It was a rather level fight until the third round.

For the record, I do think Holyfield's headbutts had indeed to be penalized, which Mills Lane didn't do.

Ill have to go back and watch the fights again but if memory serves the second wasnt much different than the first early on. The difference was imo that Holyfield didnt know what quit meant and Tyson did. Tyson knew where it was heading eventually and snapped.

[Tatabanya]

The difference was imo that Holyfield didnt know what quit meant and Tyson did

The first version of Tyson didn't (remember how he took his beating against Douglas). And even the second version was not a quitter, given the beatings he took by Holyfield and Lewis. He just quit against McBride, and he was thoroughly finished then.

That's why we are still debating how a prime Tyson would do against a prime Evander.

All things considered, the post-jail Tyson was even an over-achiever. I don't think any other heavyweight of today could win titles again after three years in prison, though Bruno and Seldon were not exactly scary propositions...

Ultimately, prison can break a person. Tyson was ruined by the jail stint IMO.

[Luilun]

Beating Bowe and Lewis? Lmfao .. since when did Rooney become this saviour?
Rooney was just a small piece..

Cus being alive might have made a difference though.

Cus made a big difference but Rooney kept the peek a boo style which was Cus 's style the style was picture perfect for Tyson. Once Rooney was fired Mike fought Mexican style or Margarito style face first absorbing shots while swinging with yours no defense. Which is a nO No when your 5 foot 10 and fighting guys up to 6 foot 5 . You have to slip boob and weave when your the small man fighting the big man with the longer reach

[Luilun]

What makes you guys so sure, holy beats a prime mike?

He doesn't why did all these guys avoid Tyson when he was in his prime. Lewis stayed amateur to avoid Tyson . No one was going to beat Tyson of 1985 to 1989 not even King Kong

[redmish]

He wouldn't have lost to douglas that's for sure and wouldn't have went to jail. He would still have struggled with holyfield, bowe and Lewis. I watched the first Bruno fight recently and Tyson was awful. He was gassed after 3 rounds, at 23 years old, and I'm not sure anyone could have controlled him.

[Elroy The Great]

If tyson stayed focused and didnt waste his career partying he could have been a GOAT HW contender. He would have been dominant.

He had a really short prime because he ****ed his own career up.

so many guys could sing that same if only song.

strange how tyson was ''focused'' vs bums but ''distracted'' vs ATGs

timing is everything when making excuses