I don't think Mike is really either. He was what we were looking at. It wasn't his fault that he came to prominence when the rest of the division was weak. Who can you say he ducked? Who can you say he was afraid of? The Holyfield fight was a done deal if it hadn't been for Mike getting into that car accident and then going to prison. He wasn't past his physical prime when he fought Douglas, but he was past his mental prime. He stopped doing the things he needed to do to be ready for fights. He surrounded himself with the wrong people. He trusted the wrong people. Had he been able to maintain focus then he would have fought the Holyfields, Lewises and Bowes of the division. Or at least, it wouldn't have been because of any lacking on his part that those fights didn't materialize.

I'm a huge Tyson fan, but I'm not in that camp that would claim Mike could beat anyone. I doubt Mike could have beaten Ali because guys who played keepaway gave him trouble. Mike did the best against guys who didn't move around a lot and Ali would have had him jogging to keep up. I do think he would have killed Joe Frazier, though.