Quote Originally Posted by Lyle View Post
Quote Originally Posted by Master View Post
Tyson was unpredictable, he needed to stay busy but just not dedicated or motivated which is why he fought sporadically. He would get out of condition but had he stayed busy, he would have been a force, even then.
Pressure fighters like Tyson age out of the game quicker than most. Look at Floyd Patterson, look at Jose Torres...those guys peaked and bang they were done.

Mike Tyson was NEVER going to be better than he was when he was young, he was NEVER going to beat Holyfield, he was NEVER going to beat Lewis and yes even with proper training he would have still struggled with guys like Ruddock(whom he did struggle with a bit in the rematch).

Manny Steward wanted Lennox to cement his legacy by punishing Tyson, they weren't afraid of him. Manny just wanted Lennox to end the fight with a bang instead of dragging it out.

Had Tyson never left Rooney, things may have been different but I doubt he would have held on much longer than he did. Holyfield was just after Douglas and I just think Evander's attitude, chin, ability to fight on the inside and fight dirtier than Tyson without getting caught would have always had the upperhand in that match up....just my opinion though. Some people like to think Tyson was invincible but that peekaboo style has it's flaws, all another fighter needed to do was be brave enough to stick to the game plan Holyfield and Lewis were brave enough and smart enough to do it at pretty much any point in their careers.
Pressure fighters do burn out quickly because of the punishment they take, but here's the thing, Tyson barely got hit when he was with the Catskill gang. The head and upper body movement was supreme. And he basically cleaned out the HW division within 2-3 years. Here's the kicker, after he left Rooney and fought Bruno next, he got hit more than he did than in his 1st 35 fights! The head and upper body movement was gone, he just became a 1 dimensional head hunter that stood up straight and just relied on power and chin.

I may have said Tyson was a little bit overrated, but I still fancy a 21 year old Tyson under Rooney to give a tough fight to any HW champ in history.

There has never been another MIke Tyson since, a combination of speed and power. The HW legends in the past either had speed or power, but not a combination of the 2. It's a sad thing that Tyson had mental and outside problems and never reached his full potential. But for that 3 year period when he was with Rooney, he did looked invincible, only a bonecrusher smith punch at the end of 12 had him a bit wobble.