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

[_Rexy_]

hell yeah he was scared. didnt mean he had to retire.....unless.....

he wanted that tyson money before retiring.

It was a title unification tournament, how is the Lineal going to not take part in that?

also, Spinks KO'd Gerry Cooney only a year earlier and was 31 when he fought Tyson. You're acting like he was over the hill.

[Elroy The Great]

It was a title unification tournament, how is the Lineal going to not take part in that?

also, Spinks KO'd Gerry Cooney only a year earlier and was 31 when he fought Tyson. You're acting like he was over the hill.

im not catching what youre throwing....

regardless of a tourney, spinks was out. done. no coming back.

a person can get old fast and will be eager to get that one last check.

it all fell into place, imho

[SonnyboyReturns]

He couldn't overcome adversity so not very far. He still folds like a deck chair against Holyfield in an alternate universe.

I give him credit though for being supremely skilled. He would flatten the overrated stiffs in the modern era like Klitschko, Fury and Femi.

[_Rexy_]

im not catching what youre throwing....

regardless of a tourney, spinks was out. done. no coming back.

a person can get old fast and will be eager to get that one last check.

it all fell into place, imho

What I'm throwing is that Spinks was the lineal champion at the time and was taking part in a title unification tournament. It's how Mike won the IBF, WBA and WBC titles in such a short timespan (beating Bonecrusher, Smith and Berbick in less than a year)

a 31 year old Spinks who is lineal champion and just coming off a good fight isn't going to go "yeah, I'm going to retire now because I didn't want Tyson to win the tournament"

That would have tarnished his legacy far worse than a first round knockout against a top 3 heavyweight of all time who had 23 first round KO's in his career.

[Elroy The Great]

What I'm throwing is that Spinks what the lineal champion at the time and was taking part in a title unification tournament. It's how Mike won the IBF, WBA and WBC titles in such a short timespan (beating Bonecrusher, Smith and Berbick in less than a year)

a 31 year old Spinks who is lineal champion and just coming off a good fight isn't going to go "yeah, I'm going to retire now because I didn't want Tyson to win the tournament"

That would have tarnished his legacy far worse than a first round knockout against a top 3 heavyweight of all time who had 23 first round KO's in his career.

but thats exactly what he did....retire.

what am i missing

[_Rexy_]

but thats exactly what he did....retire.

what am i missing

yes, he retired AFTER the fight. If you don't understand the difference between retiring simply to duck a fighter and be considered a cherrypicker for the rest of his life, or retire after a convincing loss...I don't know what to tell you.

[Elroy The Great]

yes, he retired AFTER the fight. If you don't understand the difference between retiring simply to duck a fighter and be considered a cherrypicker for the rest of his life, or retire after a convincing loss...I don't know what to tell you.

shlt want that serious back then (cherry, duck, roids.....meh)

spinks was ready to leave.

[_Rexy_]

shlt want that serious back then (cherry, duck, roids.....meh)

spinks was ready to leave.

it was still serious, After every Tyson fight they would talk **** about him cherry picking opponents and giving his management staff **** until he fought Mitch Green or Quick Tillis IIRC (which was over 20 fights in)

Floyd Patterson fired his manager (Cus D'Amato) because Cus refused to let Floyd fight Sonny Liston (due to Listons mob connections) Floyd fired Cus and took the fight so he wouldn't be considered a cherry picker.

it's ALWAYS been a serious accusation. Larry Holmes had to deal with the criticism his entire career.

[Elroy The Great]

it was still serious, After every Tyson fight they would talk **** about him cherry picking opponents and giving his management staff **** until he fought Mitch Green or Quick Tillis IIRC (which was over 20 fights in)

Floyd Patterson fired his manager (Cus D'Amato) because Cus refused to let Floyd fight Sonny Liston (due to Listons mob connections) Floyd fired Cus and took the fight so he wouldn't be considered a cherry picker.

it's ALWAYS been a serious accusation. Larry Holmes had to deal with the criticism his entire career.

i guess.....in any event, tyson wasnt so impressive vs quality guys.

[_Rexy_]

i guess.....in any event, tyson wasnt so impressive vs quality guys.

also debatable. The landscape had changed when he got out of prison, and he had been inactive for 3 years. I think a Prime Tyson (Rooney in his corner, pre prison) could have beat Holyfield, Douglas, Lewis

but that's just me.