Yea another Tyson thread..

[JT Rock]

I miss Iron Mike, just was reading the Cotto-Jennings article and there was a youtube link to a Tyson training video..

I know its been covered a 10000000000 times, but he had all the tools to be the best fighter of all time, its a shame that he got in bed with the wrong people, literally and figuretively...

I always laugh at the people that said Tyson had no heart and never got up off the canvas to win a fight... people dont realize that anytime he went down it was because he took a sustained beating and absorbed an inordinate amount of punishment that would have crumbled a lot of fighters much earlier in the fight..

He caught a beatdown by Douglas and still kept coming forward and digging buster until he got waffled and still got up at 10

Crushed by Holyfield

Lewis put a lot of leather on him until he wore him down and caught him

A prime Mike Tyson would of probably lost to Tony Tucker, had Tony Tucker not broken his right hand after the 4th round. Yet he still hung in there for 12 rounds and won 4 rounds. Mike Tyson also almost lost to James Tillis but the knockdown saved him, he also lost his concentration and looked sloppy stopping Jose Ribalta, a guy who stood toe to toe with him for 10 rounds. And this was all in Mike Tyson's prime, people focus too much on his fights against Trevor Berbick, Michael Spinks, and forget his glaring flaws even in his so called "Unbeatable Prime".

I hear you dude, but alot of great fighters struggled with some opposition along the way.. it happens to just about everyfighter

[Fenster]

A lot of the younger posters don't realise just how HUGE a global superstar Tyson was back then.

And what impact he had on boxing.

I bet without Tyson MANY of us wouldn't have become the crazy boxing lovers we did

[Dark Lord Al]

Tyson was good to watch , but as far as im concerned he fought weak oposition , and still lost Douglas.
His mental flaws were as relivant as a guys lack of power , or speed , fact is he had his shot , and didnt go on to be the very best of all time.
As for the biting of Holyfield , the prick should have been put back in prison and the key thrown away.
Tyson was good but no were near the best HW of all time , let alone best fighter in any division.

[ross]

The reason Mike never came back from adversity is because by the time he was getting beaten he wasnt training like he did or being trained like he did, Mike had such draw he called the shots and could do as he pleased, he had no one with morals or fortitude around him to wise him up, he had Don King keeping him happy.

No fighter has ever ruined a division Like Mike did, he wiped a generation out.

[KananKrus]

Mike Tyson is the Paul Charles Morphy of boxing!

Tyson could have been unbeatable by his sheer physical attributes alone. The combination of his speed, power, and decent chin, is hard to beat, as it is hard to come by. However, he was a very psychologically challenged individual, due to background or deprivations on a personal level. When his brawn failed, his lack of the cerebral stamina prevented him from extricating himself out of dangerous situations.

In the ring, when tactics and fight strategies are summoned to serve him out of binds, is where these scenarios of inadequacies are severely tested, and likewise, it is here where he will miserably fail. Sadly, he lacked the mental maturity to persevere and overcome, as anyone would of decent fortitude.

His worst nightmare happens, bringing out the worst in him. The untamed beast in him!

After the death of Cus D’ Amato, his handler, and the father-figure Mike never had, I believe he never had anyone for guidance. He never had even at least, a decent corner in boxing matches to rely upon. He was solely “moneybags” to the leeches and parasitic low-lives, dragging him down daily.

Imagine the same burden on his shoulders atop the ring. He already is on a handicap even before his matches begin!

Misunderstood, yet, will forever be unforgotten.

He is the "Pride and Sorrow of Boxing", as Paul Morphy is to chess!

Mike Tyson is the Paul Charles Morphy of boxing!

[Kev]

Mike Tyson is the Paul Charles Morphy of boxing!

Tyson could have been unbeatable by his sheer physical attributes alone. The combination of his speed, power, and decent chin, is hard to beat, as it is hard to come by. However, he was a very psychologically challenged individual, due to background or deprivations on a personal level. When his brawn failed, his lack of the cerebral stamina prevented him from extricating himself out of dangerous situations.

In the ring, when tactics and fight strategies are summoned to serve him out of binds, is where these scenarios of inadequacies are severely tested, and likewise, it is here where he will miserably fail. Sadly, he lacked the mental maturity to persevere and overcome, as anyone would of decent fortitude.

His worst nightmare happens, bringing out the worst in him. The untamed beast in him!

After the death of Cus D’ Amato, his handler, and the father-figure Mike never had, I believe he never had anyone for guidance. He never had even at least, a decent corner in boxing matches to rely upon. He was solely “moneybags” to the leeches and parasitic low-lives, dragging him down daily.

Imagine the same burden on his shoulders atop the ring. He already is on a handicap even before his matches begin!

Misunderstood, yet, will forever be unforgotten.

He is the "Pride and Sorrow of Boxing", as Paul Morphy is to chess!

Mike Tyson is the Paul Charles Morphy of boxing!

Except Tyson wasn't 5 ft 1, weighing about 80 lbs and he didn't like to dance around woman's shoes

I understand the analagy but you've chosen to compare arguably the most scary, intimidating looking dude in history with a poncy, little child man who was so gay he'd struggle to get into my Baggins Clan.

[Trainer Monkey]

Like him or not,Tyson was the best fighter of his era. He was one dimensional, if he couldnt blow your doors down,he didnt know what else to do.

[CGM]

Like him or not,Tyson was the best fighter of his era. He was one dimensional, if he couldnt blow your doors down,he didnt know what else to do.

I would not have put it that way. He had skill to go along with speed and power. He outboxed some pretty good boxers. The only reason he didn't do it more often is because hardly anyone lasted long enough.

[The "Ring" Master]

mike was a big teddy when it came to the real world, he was very insecure because of his size and his strenghth, he was a big guy in his teens and would fight big men in their 30's and 40's, alot of his inside ring agression was because he felt that his age and size needed to be proved against big professional guys, and it didnt matter really but thats what paranoer does to you, it makes you weiry about certain things in life or profession. mike was i lost child who was hepled and guided by the best there was (cus de'mato) who saw this insecurity and channelled it in such a way that he turned mike into one of the greatest boxers that ever was . alot of people say that mike was a slugger looking for the big punch...what a load of shit, mike was a fantastic boxer with a great knowlege of how to fight and fight well, he had the spead of a middleweight and hands of steel, his training video's prove that and his early fights also. what you have to understand is that once mike got the rep of being the badest man on the planet fighters got scared of him and this showed when they where at either end of the ring ready to rumble, you saw fear like fear should be seen, and that carried into the fight apart from getting hit with bombs fighters got too scared to counter and gave it up like a bad habit, it was only when mike became a shadow of his former self people started to fight back. no fighter that beat mike in recent years could beat him in his prime no one, i dont care what people say lewis would have never beat him, there is alot of stuff that says mike duct him when lewis was at the top or at least a rank contender but non of it is true, their paths where in different direction at that time, lewis was still climbing when mike was in jail. he should have retierd undisputed champ but life dealt mike a harder blow than he could ever thrown himself. what i same that was, my heart goes out to mike because he still wants that glory and he will never get it back, maybe 10 years ago if he made emense with certain people he could have become world champ again but he didnt and he was trained by idiots and represented by clown who wanted to cash in on MIKE TYSON, it didnt matter to them who he fought and how he fought as long as the money was there for them, big upset people!!!

[brucelee]

I miss the excitement Tyson brought to the Heavyweight division.


Whew! I'm still watching some of his fights even up to now.

[Andre]

Amazing how someone who had a thing slipping mentally within , still had some fighters beaten (mentally themselves) before they even got in the ring.

Tyson played every thug/evil monster card he had to great success, then belived it himself. Strange cause there was a little kid searching for love he never had behind the driving seat the whole time.

The fighters who fought well against him had some real gumption and skill.
Douglas had belife and faith on top.

Personally I would have died in the corner on my seat when he came out snarling at me when he was in his prime.That was the main weapon and the main attraction. Fear.

[CGM]

Amazing how someone who had a thing slipping mentally within , still had some fighters beaten (mentally themselves) before they even got in the ring.

Tyson played every thug/evil monster card he had to great success, then belived it himself. Strange cause there was a little kid searching for love he never had behind the driving seat the whole time.

The fighters who fought well against him had some real gumption and skill.
Douglas had belife and faith on top.

Personally I would have died in the corner on my seat when he came out snarling at me when he was in his prime.That was the main weapon and the main attraction. Fear.

Yeah mon. Probably it would have been better for his opponents if they didn't watch the videos beforehand. I'll always remember a quote from Michael Spinks after their fight. "I was never all that crazy about fighting the guy" or something very much like that.

[Trainer Monkey]

Dont get me wrong,Tyson was great,but he was great for his era. The the serious super heavyweights came along,and he got exposed quickly. And even thats not really faulting him,Joe Louis would at best size wise be a cruiserweight in this era because of his size and natural build.

[Creasy]

Personally I would have died in the corner on my seat when he came out snarling at me when he was in his prime.That was the main weapon and the main attraction. Fear.

My wife and I saw him at a convenience store in Hawaii years ago. He was walking around with a dazed look on his face and a towel hanging out of his mouth. I was afraid of him snapping so we just left and didn't even look his way. Fear!

[BIG H]

A lot of the younger posters don't realise just how HUGE a global superstar Tyson was back then.

And what impact he had on boxing.

They also don't realize or undertsnad that there was a very good reason for this.

he wasn't

a.) A good speaker, articulate or learned
b.) A partcularily nice person
c.) Good looking
d.) Hygenic

It was simply because he was an amazing fighter.

I didn't see any signs that Tucker could beat Tyson I think it's a bit of a stretch to think that he would ever have won that fight on the basis that he had one good punch and a couple of decent rounds. He was soundly beaten and only won 3 rounds imo.

Tillis was a good fight, but also an excellent win based on the fact that it was only a year after Tyson turned pro and was a massive step up in class for Tyson.

As I always say if Tyson had've retired after the Spinks fight (a.k.a in his prime) kind of like Marciano did Not a single person that calls themslves a Boxing fan, expert, pundit, writer or whatever else, would have Tyson outside the top 5 Heavies of all time and a huge amount would have him top 2. IMO people's views are tainted by what Tyson became and that's understandable, becuase it's very hard not to think that those flaws and weaknesses weren't always there, but imo after Spinks Tyson was there for the taking, before Spinks he was superhuman and it's at that point that I judge him.

Prime Tyson destroys Lennox Lewis early imo

Nobody will ever change my opinion on any of these points so I will bow out of this discussion