Lets end the Mike Tyson debate

[greynotsoold]

Lennox fought an old shell of a fighter so that is not a fair comparison. Vitali is slow and almost glumsy and
Tyson would have little trouble getting in and getting his punches off.

I agree that Tyson vs Lewis is no fair comparison, because Tyson by that point was a ghost of his original form.

But Tyson did have occasional trouble getting off on big tall guys when they tied him up on the inside right away. Even bums like Mike Jameson had success in stifling Tyson's offense by tying him up and leaning on him.

The thing about Tyson, he wasn't a real strong inside fighter, not ever. And that is odd, considering his stature, reach, etc...But, then again, it isn't really uncommon.
Tyson did his damage coming in; he'd slip a punch, duck, what ever, and counter, then he'd fall in and let himself get tied up. He certainly was a formidable body puncher, but it was the same sort of thing. He wasn't the type of fighter to get close and really work in the trenches.
Marciano was the same way, early in his career, fighting at a distance and closing ground behind the right hand, then getting tied up inside. Charley Goldman taught him to fight inside, shortened his stance to enable him to punch in close and so on. I don't think that the people around Tyson, not at any point in his career, were as boxing smart as Charley Goldman. So Tyson remained the guy that had to pot-shot you on the way in or lose the opportunity.