Tysons legacy

[Da Iceman]

what will be his legacy when he dies?

[leff]

a huge could have been, he will be remembered as one off historys most gifted hws.

but as the one who didnt have the dedication, heart and disiplin to be the legend he could have been.

[Heckler]

a man with superb physical assets and skill, however lacking the psychological stability to facilitate these qualities. A man that was plagued by his rough upbringing and unfortunate circumstances.

[Da Iceman]

he did have some mental problems. floyd patterson was brought up about as rought as him but never did the things tyson did.

[Heckler]

Yeah ive read about floyd, and i dont think his circumstances were as bad as Tysons.

[Da Iceman]

but very close

[BKM-]

but very close

Not even close Buster.

You made this thread because you hate him. let that **** go.

[K-DOGG]

Mike Tyson's reign was short, it's true; but it is unfair to expect a long reign from a compact aggressor. Dempsey was done by 31, Marciano retired at 31, Frazier was past his best when Foreman bounced him at 29. Mike was 41-1 when he went to prison at 24 and 28 when he got out. That means that we missed the rest of the best of Mike. He would have been on the skids by the time he was 30 with or without the prison stint.....it's akin to his style. The problem is with perception and memory. It's easy to remember the Douglas loss, the Holyfield losses, teh Lewis fight and after; but the fact of the matter is....That was Not the Mike Tyson that ruled the division, with the exception of the Douglas fight. He never got a chance to avenge that loss; do you think Douglas would have beat him a second time? After Douglas, Mike destroyed #4 conteneder Alex Stewart, who had given Holyfield hell for 8 rounds and dominated #2 contender Razor Ruddock. There is no evidence Mike was on the skids when he went into prison, just that he underestimated Douglas, as we all did, and didn't train properly. We never saw Mike and Evander fight in 1991...and we don't really know what would have happened. Evander and Mike were different fighters in 1991 than they were in 1996. The '91 Evander was dropped by Bert Cooper and struggled with two old men. The Evander that fought Tyson was considered shot, true; but Mike was past his best as well......ergo, we underestimated Holyfield and overestimated Tyson. That fight was the equivalent of the Thrilla in Manilla in where the fighters were in their careers in respect to their primes, ala Ali and Frazier in bount #3.

The Tyson that should be judged historically, is the one that unified all the paper belts and the ring or lineal title. The one that beat Berbick, Smith, Tucker, Thomas, Holmes, Spinks, & Tubbs. That's not a bad list of fighters....Mike just made them look bad, and that says something about his dominane. Only Holmes was well past his prime, and still, the fact that Mike is the only man to knock him out while an even older Holmes took Holyfield the distance as well as McCall years later, speaks volumes of Holmes skill past his prime....and Mike's.

At his best, while Champion...Mike Tyson ranks with the All Time Greats...I've got him #6 on my Top Ten List.



1. Muhammad Ali
2. Joe Louis
3. Larry Holmes
4. Jack Johnson
5. Jack Dempsey
6. Mike Tyson
7. Lennox Lewis
8. Rocky Marciano
9. George Foreman
10. Joe Frazier


Least, that's how I see things.

[vandiar]

Mike Tyson's reign was short, it's true; but it is unfair to expect a long reign from a compact aggressor. Dempsey was done by 31, Marciano retired at 31, Frazier was past his best when Foreman bounced him at 29. Mike was 41-1 when he went to prison at 24 and 28 when he got out. That means that we missed the rest of the best of Mike. He would have been on the skids by the time he was 30 with or without the prison stint.....it's akin to his style. The problem is with perception and memory. It's easy to remember the Douglas loss, the Holyfield losses, teh Lewis fight and after; but the fact of the matter is....That was Not the Mike Tyson that ruled the division, with the exception of the Douglas fight. He never got a chance to avenge that loss; do you think Douglas would have beat him a second time? After Douglas, Mike destroyed #4 conteneder Alex Stewart, who had given Holyfield hell for 8 rounds and dominated #2 contender Razor Ruddock. There is no evidence Mike was on the skids when he went into prison, just that he underestimated Douglas, as we all did, and didn't train properly. We never saw Mike and Evander fight in 1991...and we don't really know what would have happened. Evander and Mike were different fighters in 1991 than they were in 1996. The '91 Evander was dropped by Bert Cooper and struggled with two old men. The Evander that fought Tyson was considered shot, true; but Mike was past his best as well......ergo, we underestimated Holyfield and overestimated Tyson. That fight was the equivalent of the Thrilla in Manilla in where the fighters were in their careers in respect to their primes, ala Ali and Frazier in bount #3.

The Tyson that should be judged historically, is the one that unified all the paper belts and the ring or lineal title. The one that beat Berbick, Smith, Tucker, Thomas, Holmes, Spinks, & Tubbs. That's not a bad list of fighters....Mike just made them look bad, and that says something about his dominane. Only Holmes was well past his prime, and still, the fact that Mike is the only man to knock him out while an even older Holmes took Holyfield the distance as well as McCall years later, speaks volumes of Holmes skill past his prime....and Mike's.

At his best, while Champion...Mike Tyson ranks with the All Time Greats...I've got him #6 on my Top Ten List.



1. Muhammad Ali
2. Joe Louis
3. Larry Holmes
4. Jack Johnson
5. Jack Dempsey
6. Mike Tyson
7. Lennox Lewis
8. Rocky Marciano
9. George Foreman
10. Joe Frazier


Least, that's how I see things.

good post, I think he will be remembered as one of the heavyweight greats who made a huge impact on boxing period.

[Left2body]

Wow, a really good post. I'll give you some K for that. However I think he did more for the sport in terms of image and bringing back crowds and making PPV what it is today than actually being a great champ. Great talent, great fighter, but not a great champ in terms of the ranks of the other top names you mentioned. Also believe me I'm a HUGE Tyson fan.