Why did Mike Tyson duck Ray Mercer?

[robertzimmerman]

That would've been a great fight but it's funny how Mercer fought Lennox and Holyfield back to back but somehow didn't fight Mike Tyson.

Also, Mike Tyson also somehow escaped fighting Moorer, Tommy Morrison, Tua and Bert Cooper. Shocking, isn't it?

No, it’s not shocking at all.

Look back at the circumstances and the timelines.

Mike was in prison for 3 years. And an awful lot happened in those 3 years.

When he was released, he was always going to fight a few low level guys due to inactivity, before being lined up for a title, in the hope of building a huge fight afterwards.

After he’d beaten Bruno again for his belt, he fought a huge fight against Evander, which had originally been scheduled in 1991.

Moorer lost to Foreman whilst Mike was in prison and beat Evander. If Mike had’ve beaten Evander, there would have been a demand for the fight. But after Evander had beaten Mike twice, he went on to fight his own rematch with Moorer.

Tommy Morrison lost to Mercer just prior to Mike’s prison sentence. He then beat Foreman and lost to Bentt whilst Mike was in prison. Upon Mike’s release, Morrison then lost to Lewis before retiring for more than a decade.

Bert Cooper lost to numerous fighters whilst Mike was in prison.

Mercer lost to Evander and Lennox before Evander beat Mike twice. Although many people think that Mercer deserved to beat Lewis. After Mike had lost twice to Evander, Mercer only fought once or twice a year against mostly low level guys.

David tua was dangerous. In the late 90’s-early 00’s, Mike was steered away against top level guys, in order to try and cash out in a huge fight against Lewis.

[Tatabanya]

Still wondering why Tyson never fought Francesco Damiani, who was dominating Mercer until he was knocked out.

That would have been a legacy-enhancing fight for Mike.

[robertzimmerman]

Tyson also didn't fight Bowe, Foreman, or Briggs.

post 1989 Tyson just wasn't that good.

He didn’t, but the timelines didn’t match up.


Nobody really took Foreman’s comeback too seriously until he put in a great showing against Evander. But Mike then went to prison for 3 years. Upon his release from prison, he then took a few tune ups before he beat Bruno and fought Evander twice. Foreman then retired shortly afterwards.

Bowe was a great fighter when he was on form. But his prime was during Mike’s exodus. By the time Evander had fought Mike, Bowe had fought Golota twice in those horrible DQ matches. Then afterwards, Bowe retired for almost a decade.

Briggs would have been a dangerous opponent. But by the time he’d made a name for himself by fighting Foreman, Mike had already lost twice to Evander. Briggs then went onto lose to Lennox, after which he fought mostly low level fighters like Mike did. There was no demand for the fight.

Mike’s 3 year exodus from the sport made a huge impact in the division. If that hadn’t have happened, who knows what would have happened. But what we do know, is that Mike and Evander would have met 5 years earlier.

[robertzimmerman]

But he could've fought him after Lennox. Mercer didn't retire until mid-2000s.

Did you even watch Mike’s career?

Mike couldn’t beat a European level fighter in Danny Williams after he’d lost to Lennox.

He only had 3 fights after Lennox, which saw him retire after quitting against another European level fighter in Kevin McBride.

[robertzimmerman]

Mercer was fighting everyone but Tyson didn't want that smoke.

Look at the names he skipped:

Moorer, Tommy Morrison, Tua and Bert Cooper.

You are talking nonsense and obviously possess no knowledge of the era.

[robertzimmerman]

Old Foreman would have crushed him. David Tua at that point could have knocked him out. Mercer could have taken him to deep waters and stopped him late. Ibeabuchi same story. Late 90s Vitali would have crushed him too.

It's true that Tyson fought in the strongest or second strongest HW era ever and barely fought the best, and the few he did face mostly beat him up. I don't rank Tyson as a top 10 ATG and many historians don't either.

Mercer, Tua and Vitali could all have beaten him. I’m certain that Vitali would have beaten him. But it’s ridiculous to criticise him for missing lots of guys when he was in prison for 3 years and he fought Evander twice before fighting Lennox. Those 2 were the best opponents of the era.

[PRINCEKOOL]

Mercer, Tua and Vitali could all have beaten him. I’m certain that Vitali would have beaten him. But it’s ridiculous to criticise him for missing lots of guys when he was in prison for 3 years and he fought Evander twice before fighting Lennox. Those 2 were the best opponents of the era.

None of them fighters would of beaten Mike Tyson in the 90's.

[robertzimmerman]

I agree with this part, even though I’m a fan

He was a very exciting fighter and obviously notorious for everything surrounding him. He’s a great highlight reel KO fighter and the casual fans idea of the best.

The reality is like you say, he rarely fought the best and come up short when he did.

He’s not one of the best HW’s of all time, no matter how much attention he drew for boxing.

He is probably one of the most important fighters in history but not one of the best

Of course he’s one of the best.

He’s a lock for anyone’s top 20 HW’s of all time.

Anybody in the top 20 is a great HW.

He had no longevity due to a loss of focus and dedication, not because he wasn’t good enough.

[PRINCEKOOL]

Did you even watch Mike’s career?

Mike couldn’t beat a European level fighter in Danny Williams after he’d lost to Lennox.

He only had 3 fights after Lennox, which saw him retire after quitting against another European level fighter in Kevin McBride.

Mike Tyson was bashing Danny Williams up, until he injured his knee 'Williams was all over the place'.

There was a distinct drop in Tyson's performance, soon after he injured his knee 'Which he later needed treatment'.

[buddyr]

Mercer was fighting everyone but Tyson didn't want that smoke.

Look at the names he skipped:

Moorer, Tommy Morrison, Tua and Bert Cooper.

tyson did skip a lot of guys, but Moorer isn't one of them. He would have stretched him in 2 rounds or less