How good was prime Mike Tyson?

[MiDKnighT]

Thanks man. I had the video game, we rented Tyson’s greatest hits repeatedly as kids. My Dad was disappointed that Spinks didn’t put up a better effort against Mike, try to box and stay away early. Not get caught against the ropes right away like he did. Maybe that’s all credit to Mike. I know my Dad paid to see it closed circuit back then. So I felt bad. As much as us kids were part of the Tyson craze, I knew it wouldn’t be good for the sport if Tyson just creamed everyone. So the day after the Spinks fight I asked my Dad if he thought anyone out there could beat Mike Tyson? His eyes widened and he said “Well Son there is this guy named Evander Holyfield...”. When they finally fought he only took even odds at the bar because he didn’t want anyone to lose out too much when Evander inevitably won. I like to tell this story when people call me a hater. I had Tyson pics on my wall. I practiced his moves. I lifted weights to match his physique. But I’ve also since seen all his fights and he’s extremely overrated as a fighter, but not as an attraction. He had style for sure. I think u said it perfectly with putting him in the category of one of those guys “that looked unstoppable for a while.” Only Mike Tyson could lose in the biggest upset in history.

I have a similar story. In 1987 my science teacher said that a guy named Holyfield was gonna beat Tyson. I barely knew who that was. Unfortunately for Holyfield (and Foreman) Buster Douglas beat him to it.

[Blond Beast]

I have a similar story. In 1987 my science teacher said that a guy named Holyfield was gonna beat Tyson. I barely knew who that was. Unfortunately for Holyfield (and Foreman) Buster Douglas beat him to it.

Nice!! I love that. Shows that there are fans out there that study what they see and can relate it to the history that they’ve seen. Yeah it was the first time I heard the name “Holyfield”, I imagined a field full of poppies and white crosses. My classmate in elementary school was putting up posters of his half brother Donny Lalonde fighting Sugar Ray Leonard. I thought it was cool how he was supporting his brother, but I was also a bit jealous and just assumed his brother was sum local tough guy. I took the poster home to my Dad and asked if it was anything? “Yes son it is”, was prolly the biggest fight in the world at the time. I’ve seen so many old fights on YouTube or even on tv as a kid, but my dad gets things right on a level still beyond us sons. No replacement for experience. His father was an amateur boxing champ in Holland. He thought kids should be seen and not heard though. Wish I knew enough to pick his brain as a kid. We did watch sum fights together though.

[tjones1989]

Great when he was like 18, peaked really fast, drugs n fast living ****ed him up good. Probably would be considered a top 5 heavyweight if he stayed clean n healthy.

[MiDKnighT]

Did those 2 other guys wipe Holmes out the way Tyson did?

No.

Holyfield never even knocked him down.

And he almost beat Oliver McCall. Only lost by 1 point on 2 cards. McCall also never knocked Holmes down.

Fact is, even though Holmes fought into the 21st Century and old age, nobody wiped him out other than Tyson, periodt

You don't seem to understand the well known concept of "styles make fights". For a great example look at Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier. They go to war and nearly kill each other 3 times then George Foreman walks in and absolutely destroys Frazier. Does that make him better than Ali? No...as we found out. Because Ali had a style that troubled Foreman in a way that Frazier's could not.

I do think Tyson's style was better against Holmes than a Holyfield or even a Foreman (although they never fought).

In my opinion....

Tyson beats (old) Holmes 8 times out of 10.
Holyfield beats (old) Holmes 7 times out of 10.
Holmes beats Foreman 6 times out of 10.
Holyfield beats Tyson 8 times out of 10.
Foreman beats Tyson 9.5 times out of 10.

Boxing is weird like that. Styles make fights.

Your idea that if boxer A beats boxer B and boxer C beats boxer A then that means boxer C can beat boxer B and everybody else that boxer A beat is just not true and has never been true.

Ali had trouble with fighters like Frazier and Norton that Foreman hulk smashed. Then Ali is the only person to ever KO Foreman. Once again, styles make fights.

I hate to break it to you but Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield, and George Foreman all had styles that could beat any version of Tyson.

Personally I want to see Tyson vs Liston or Tyson vs Frazier. Now that would be a hell of a fight.

[NORMNEALON]

I think you must’ve bought into the hype brother. Tyson wasn’t built the same as an Ali, Foreman etc. He failed to deal with adversity. Someone like Ali would’ve broken Tyson.

I agree ali would have dominated and stopped tyson . He would have to be on his toes for the first few rounds but once he settles in that would be a one sided fight. If mike had a tough psyche the sky could have been the limit , he just didn't. People talk about him not training and expecting his opponents to lie down but the real issue is that he didnt want it when the going got tough . He was a mental midget if he faced adversity and he proved it time and time again .

[Shadoww702]

With Gus??? A Top 10 HW!

[MiDKnighT]

I agree ali would have dominated and stopped tyson . He would have to be on his toes for the first few rounds but once he settles in that would be a one sided fight. If mike had a tough psyche the sky could have been the limit , he just didn't. People talk about him not training and expecting his opponents to lie down but the real issue is that he didnt want it when the going got tough . He was a mental midget if he faced adversity and he proved it time and time again .

If we're talking 60's Ali I see it going down this way... The fight starts and Tyson is very aggressive. Ali uses amazing head movement and footwork to dodge Tyson's bombs. While doing this Ali taunts Tyson and get him even angrier and crazier. Tyson is mostly hitting air due to Ali's speed and movement while Ali peppers Tyson with a few quick jabs. At the end of the 2nd Tyson finally catches Ali and drops him. Ali gets up at the 7 count just before the round ends. As the fight goes on Tyson starts to tire out from his early barrage while Ali gets more and more dominant. Dancing around Tyson and peppering him with jabs and combinations. With his face swollen and barely able to see, Tyson quits on his stool after the 8th round.

[emceetns]

- -U da punching bag?

Umm ok....good talk

[RJJ-94-02=GOAT]

I agree ali would have dominated and stopped tyson . He would have to be on his toes for the first few rounds but once he settles in that would be a one sided fight. If mike had a tough psyche the sky could have been the limit , he just didn't. People talk about him not training and expecting his opponents to lie down but the real issue is that he didnt want it when the going got tough . He was a mental midget if he faced adversity and he proved it time and time again .

I agree.

Tyson was like fire, if he couldn’t burn you, he’d simply burn out.

[uppercut510]

very good but a lot of IFs surround him