Where did this myth come from that Mike Tyson folded whenever someone wasn't afraid?

[Curtis Harper]

''Berbick''


Couldn't continue after that

[soul_survivor]

I agree with you to a point, but I thought he showed that bloody mindedness in the Douglas fight, almost pulling off the KO.

I'd class Tony Tucker as a prime world class opponent who came to win and while he failed against Holyfield and Lewis I think it's fair to say he wasn't quite the same fighter by then.

But Tucker, in the grand scheme of things is not at op level heavyweight, whereas Tyson was. He is expected to beat the likes of Tucker and he should have been more competitive against Holyfield and Lewis. Heck, Holyfield was at the tail end of his career and still battered Tyson as the fight wore on. Yes Tyson started well early and its a fun fight to watch but Holyfield's physicality was too much and you could see Tyson wilting psychologically before physically.

This is not to speak badly of Tyson, who was one of the absolute best but he was not at the same level of grit, determination and willingness to drown his opponents in deep water that the upper tier are (Ali, Holyfield, Foreman, Frazier etc). I think Tyson admitted as much in his interview about Ali v Tyson and Alis best quality.

[Earl-Hickey]

Love Mike and I'm truly happy to see how He's turned out, a super mellowed out happy guy,love his podcast, was a big fan of him in the ring too.

But intimidation was a big part of his game, he was a tortured soul psychologically, and Holyfield 100% broke him mentally.

Evander went into those fights like a Viking warrior, 100% faith in God, he walked into those fights KNOWING he was going to win, and Tyson couldn't respond to it.

Later fights in his career such as Lennox, he broke in that fight.

It doesn't make me think any less of the man, we are all human.

[Cobra Curry]

But Tucker, in the grand scheme of things is not at op level heavyweight, whereas Tyson was. He is expected to beat the likes of Tucker and he should have been more competitive against Holyfield and Lewis. Heck, Holyfield was at the tail end of his career and still battered Tyson as the fight wore on. Yes Tyson started well early and its a fun fight to watch but Holyfield's physicality was too much and you could see Tyson wilting psychologically before physically.

This is not to speak badly of Tyson, who was one of the absolute best but he was not at the same level of grit, determination and willingness to drown his opponents in deep water that the upper tier are (Ali, Holyfield, Foreman, Frazier etc). I think Tyson admitted as much in his interview about Ali v Tyson and Alis best quality.

I'm with you on Holyfield but he was c never going to be competitive with Lewis by the time that fight happened.
He was essentially a four round fighter by then.