Quote Originally Posted by bradlee180 View Post
Let's clear up the Cus D'Amato thing too where people say Tyson would've gone further if only Cus didn't die...

19 year old Mike Tyson had been a professional for only 8 months when Cus D'Amato died in Nov 1985.
At the time of Cus' death, Tyson was still fightin' no-hopers and never-wases with not a single ranked fighter on his entire 11 fight resume.

Tyson won a version of the title in Nov 1986, but many point to the 1988 Spinks fight as Tyson's peak when he won the LINEAL title.
1988 is a long ways from Cus' death in 1985 in fighter years and development.


The first time I ever saw Mike Tyson was on tv the month AFTER Cus died, Dec 1985, the Sam Scaff fight, and Tyson looked amazing.
Yeah, when Tyson the contender was just getting known, the old man had already passed by then. Tyson looked better AFTER Cus was gone, and against better competition too.
And then Rooney getting fired and Jim Jacobs dying are the other excuses. And of course the marriage to Robin Givens is also blamed and Don King and jail, yada yada yada....Champions get the limelight treatment some of them are negatively affected by that others aren't, it's just part of being a champion. People dying is just a part of being a human, all humans regardless of what they do go through adversity.

I think part of what gets the Tyson fans upset is that guys like Holyfield & Lewis had more lasting careers due to their style and when they turned pro (AFTER Tyson's major successes). Tyson like many heavyweights didn't have his Joe Frazier and George Foreman...he had guys who were good but not great Frank Bruno, Donovan Rudduck, those guys he had closer and better fights with rather than Holyfield and Lewis, but that's my opinion. Tyson did demolish the old guard though in Holmes, Berbick, and Spinks....he tore through those guys.