Why was Mike Tyson so popular?

[east end bob]

He was a no nonsense, get in the ring and get the job done fighter. He did it with great efficiency until Cus went. He was also very respectful until then. I was impressed by his deep knowledge of the sports history and analysis. The leeches around him after Cus ressurected his old demons and brought him down. Never forget the awesome spectacle of a Tyson fight. Very few fighters have even come close to that. It was sad to see such a great fighter go down so quickly.

KOs, Sir! He was young, seemed to live for boxing, didn't talk about much of anything except boxing. Did I mention KOs.
We knew he came from a single parent household, had gotten into some trouble, but seemed to being doing great with boxing as his main focus.
Had a close relationship with Cus, trained hard, spoke with hi pitched voice that didn't seem to fit in with what he did on the ring.
He kept KOing bigger, more experienced fighters with ease. He seemed to gain confidence with every KO. His life turned into a KO highlight reel.
That's why I liked him. I'm interested in what everyone else has to say.

[Max Power]

He was a no nonsense, get in the ring and get the job done fighter. He did it with great efficiency until Cus went. He was also very respectful until then. I was impressed by his deep knowledge of the sports history and analysis. The leeches around him after Cus ressurected his old demons and brought him down. Never forget the awesome spectacle of a Tyson fight. Very few fighters have even come close to that. It was sad to see such a great fighter go down so quickly.

KOs, Sir! He was young, seemed to live for boxing, didn't talk about much of anything except boxing. Did I mention KOs.
We knew he came from a single parent household, had gotten into some trouble, but seemed to being doing great with boxing as his main focus.
Had a close relationship with Cus, trained hard, spoke with hi pitched voice that didn't seem to fit in with what he did on the ring.
He kept KOing bigger, more experienced fighters with ease. He seemed to gain confidence with every KO. His life turned into a KO highlight reel.
That's why I liked him. I'm interested in what everyone else has to say.

Tyson was also, is also far more intelligent than given credit for too. He is actually quite emotional I believe as well. He is human after all

People forget that.

Very few fighters could have withstood Tyson at his best. That is a fact!

[X]

I think it was a perfect storm of events and happenstances.

Firstly, boxing was ready for a saviour. The 1980s heavyweight titles had been split and they were being passed around to various fat and uninteresting boxers ..... All of whom were never allowed to become interesting or make any money as they all worked for Don King. Fights were boring, lengthy and pretty low skill to be honest

Along comes this young force of nature (ridiculously Young) who was just blowing people away like in a new video game. Tyson was the first fighter whose management produced a highlights reel and sent it to all the press and that was a master stroke.

With a Hollywood type back story, and regal links to the past in Cus D'Amato, Tyson has all the credentials. His media image paid homage to the greats of the past, and it was if he had been created for the sole purpose of knocking people out .... Which, in a sense, he had.

He rescued heavyweight boxing, let's not forget that, and ushered in the PPV era. Later on, his train wreck of a life and mental problems playing out on the public stage was just media gold. The prison terms and press reporting later playing nicely into the establishments's fear of the 'feral black man' (controversial, I know!)

However, and most importantly, Tyson was an electrifying a performer as had ever stepped into a boxing ring.