Mike Tyson under-appreciated

[Benny Leonard]

The one's that Tyson probably don't know too much about him in fighting, his style, achievements and dedication in the 80's. There are reasons why many do not do Tyson's style, too hard to do and takes a lot of dedication.

His achievements alone are great. He earned his title shots and earned and achieved them quickly within 2 years. Not many have done that. So for the ppl that talk down on him I usually just laugh and go on. I know and what I feel and that's in my heart. Real talk.

The funniest thing of all is that people are acting like Tyson was Godzilla but yet, Tyson was the one looking up to his opponents at just a 5'11, 215 pound fighter who was smaller than almost everyone he fought. He was a "small" HW in a big boy era. But yet we will give massive credit to smaller guys in lower weight divisions who move up 5 pounds as doing something incredible. But not to Tyson because he was a "HW." Being 5'11, 215 pounds going up against much taller and heavier opponents requires you to be in tip-top shape to win.

When he was well trained, to get the advantage back, he was aggressive and being aggressive early on put the bigger guys in check...and he wore them down with body-shots to take away their weight and height advantage. That requires you to be in excellent condition and also have a game-plan of attack.

[Verstyle]

He lost to buster douglas...

Tyson in his prime was a BEAST yes...but HE LOST TO BUSTER DOUGLAS...

any fighter that would stand up to Tyson beat him...not opinion..Fact

he was great for about 5 years..thats about it

I guess you've never seen the Bruno I fight, Ruddock I and II, Botha fights. Know some **** before spewing out bull****. FACT.

[Verstyle]

The funniest thing of all is that people are acting like Tyson was Godzilla but yet, Tyson was the one looking up to his opponents at just a 5'11, 215 pound fighter who was smaller than almost everyone he fought. He was a "small" HW in a big boy era. But yet we will give massive credit to smaller guys in lower weight divisions who move up 5 pounds as doing something incredible. But not to Tyson because he was a "HW." Being 5'11, 215 pounds going up against much taller and heavier opponents requires you to be in tip-top shape to win.

When he was well trained, to get the advantage back, he was aggressive and being aggressive early on put the bigger guys in check...and he wore them down with body-shots to take away their weight and height advantage. That requires you to be in excellent condition and also have a game-plan of attack.

Exactly. It's wasn't just a all out onslaught versus his opponents. Not a lot of ppl saw game plans when he fought at times. Tyson facing some guys about 10 to 15 pounds heavier then him would be crazy if Manny did that right now or Mayweather and dominated. Some just can't get passed it. **** happens.Haha

[them_apples]

IMO i find it quite amazing how Mike Tyson does not get his due respect from internet boxing forum members.. Mike Tyson was one of the greatest of prizefighters, everything about his life was what you would expect from a prizefighter, the way he won the title at 20yrs of age and unified it 12 months later, how he avoided not a single fighter in his drive to be the greatest fighter of his era, one of the greatest power-punchers in boxing history if not thee best with almost half of his career fights ending in the very first round, Mike Tyson is the fighter who generated incredible interest in the sport of boxing with Pay-Per-View TV companies charging the viewer £10+ to watch this sporting phenominon live` in action, us the fans never cried in disappointment if Tyson as he often did blew his opponent away in the opening round, Tyson only ever fought `the best opponents` unlike the so called champions since.. Yet his career was shortlived with his rape conviction followed by his incarceration which spelled the end of a legend.. Yet today its not difficult to find many many so called boxing fans on forums `sticking the knife into Mike Tyson`trashing & ridiculing his achievements, claiming some fighters would beat him 10 times out of 10 if they fought, yet back in the late 80s Legendary trainers like Futch, Tocco & Arcel all said Tyson would be a match for any fighter in history...Ho how the mighty have fallen...IMO Mike Tyson was and always will be one of the greatest fighters who ever lived, and i will never ever forget the night he KOd Larry Holmes and Holmes words in the ring that night when interviewed after the fight by Reg Gutteridge, he said,"i could never have beaten Mike Tyson"... wether he could or he could not is a different matter...in his heyday Mike Tyson was a prizefighter and champion right out of the top draw.

yea most people appreciate him. I try to find a good medium. BS members tend to be extremely biased towards one side so take it with a grain of salt.

[Dynamite Kid]

Tyson gets alot a stick for losing to Holyfield, but noone really takes this into consideration:

After a 3 year lay off in prison he had fought 8 rounds of boxing against, McNeeley, Buster Mathis Jr, Frank Bruno and Bruce Seldon.

Whoever uses the old nutshell of "anyone who stood up to Tyson beat him" hasnt seen all of Tysons fights.

Point is mute. Tyson fans always want to make out that the Holyfield win does not stick because Mike was apparently past his best, guess what? so was Evander Holyfield, infact more so imo. When someone tries to do down Holyfield's win by saying Mike was past it you know they are looking for excuses, Holyfield was 34 at the time and been in many many many wars. Tyson had only been in a tough fight with Douglas and he lost that fight. Please dont mention the Ruddock fight because Ruddock did not ask questions of Mike he just took a beating for as long as he could and hung in there, Mike was a great on top fighter but he fell apart when he was losing.

No one can name me two fights other than the Douglas/Holyfield fights where Mike was not on top and being asked serious questions of by his opponent. It only happened twice and he lost both times, coincidence? no. There isn't a fight like that in Tyson's career were he is not in the ascendancy and has to suck it up, if you disagree you are lying or just trying to exaggerate to make your point.

Facts are these, Mike Tyson lost to Holyfield legitimately with no excuses when they were both not in their prime, less so Holyfield imo.

[sonnyboyx2]

Point is mute. Tyson fans always want to make out that the Holyfield win does not stick because Mike was apparently past his best, guess what? so was Evander Holyfield, infact more so imo. When someone tries to do down Holyfield's win by saying Mike was past it you know they are looking for excuses, Holyfield was 34 at the time and been in many many many wars. Tyson had only been in a tough fight with Douglas and he lost that fight. Please dont mention the Ruddock fight because Ruddock did not ask questions of Mike he just took a beating for as long as he could and hung in their, Mike was a great on top fighter but he fell apart when he was losing.

No one can name me two fights other than the Douglas/Holyfield fights where Mike was not on top and being asked serious questions of by his opponent. It only happened twice and he lost both times, coincidence? no. There isn't a fight like that in Tyson's career were he is not in the ascendancy and has to suck it up, if you disagree you are lying or just trying to exaggerate to make your point.

Facts are these, Mike Tyson lost to Holyfield legitimately with no excuses when they were both not in their prime, less so Holyfield imo.

good points... i actually think Tysons greatest ever performance was Holyfield (1)..after that fight it was over for Tyson, he "Downed Tools" he never trained or thought of himself as a serious contender, his defeats by Williams, Lewis & McBride he was turning up for the money...

IMO i dont think Tyson could have ever beaten Holyfield.. i also think Williams, Lewis & McBride would all be blown away within 2rds by pre 96 Tyson

[BritishBoxing92]

Mike tyson in my eyes is my 1st all time favouraite....ive read about him, watched his documentaries and films and researched alot into him....he truly was a worthy and well deserved champ and he was definately a M.O.A.T which means Meanest Of All Time......respect to his enemies such as Lewis and Holyfield etc they were great champs too....

[Dynamite Kid]

good points... i actually think Tysons greatest ever performance was Holyfield (1)..after that fight it was over for Tyson, he "Downed Tools" he never trained or thought of himself as a serious contender, his defeats by Williams, Lewis & McBride he was turning up for the money...

IMO i dont think Tyson could have ever beaten Holyfield.. i also think Williams, Lewis & McBride would all be blown away within 2rds by pre 96 Tyson

Yeah this is how i see it.....

Tyson was done after the Holyfield fight. He looked like a shot fighter against Lewis and the thing that stood out to me more than anything about his fight with Lewis was, he had lost something that made him so successful over the years and what people tend to overlook, he had lost that remarkable foot speed that allowed him to shuffle foward and close the distance quickly so he could get his shots off before taking a counter when he stepped into range, if you watch the Lewis fight he could not get his feet into position to let any shots go because Lewis controlled the distance, he did not have the footspeed anymore and ended up getting picked apart because he was stook in no mans lands land (long range)

Amongst other obvious things which had declined to, his footspeed always seemed vital to his style imo.

[sonnyboyx2]

Yeah this is how i see it.....

Tyson was done after the Holyfield fight. He looked like a shot fighter against Lewis and the thing that stood out to me more than anything about his fight with Lewis was, he had lost something that made him so successful over the years and what people tend to overlook, he had lost that remarkable foot speed that allowed him to shuffle foward and close the distance quickly so he could get his shots off before taking a counter when he stepped into range, if you watch the Lewis fight he could not get his feet into position to let any shots go because Lewis controlled the distance, he did not have the footspeed anymore and ended up getting picked apart because he was stook in no mans lands land (long range)

Amongst other obvious things which had declined to, his footspeed always seemed vital to his style imo.

yes you are right.. like all fighters, once they lose their legs they become beatable, Muhammad Ali & Roy Jones are examples... When Floyd Mayweather loses his legs he will be badly beaten, all fighters lose their legs during their 30s

[StarshipTrooper]

I guess you've never seen the Bruno I fight, Ruddock I and II, Botha fights. Know some **** before spewing out bull****. FACT.

The Pinklon Thomas fight is another good one to watch: The commentaters had Thomas ahead on the cards at the time of the stoppage.

Poet