"So his prime lasted til he was 23? Then because he lost it was decided he was past his prime?"
The loss to Buster Douglas was an abyss for Mike Tyson that he was never able to crawl out of. He lost his shield of invincibilty.
After the Douglas affair, every heavyweight in the boxing world had their sights on Mike for the money. The "scare", the "loss inevitabilty", and the fear for life and limb is no longer! They knew that there is a chink in Mike's armor, he was brought down, he will again be with the right game plan. While prior to, everyone was scared "sheetless", bar none!
Going over the top if you will, but to live in that era a fan as I was, is to understand this phenomena without trepidation, without hesitation.
In reality even before the Douglas fight, when Tyson unwittingly shed all the boxing people in his contingent, and hob-knobbed with SOB's,
was the beginning of his fall in boxing. Even before his loss to Buster Douglas in Tokyo!
Yes, in answer to the above... Mike lost his prime at 23. If at all was his age in that fight.
Bookmarks