Was Frank Bruno the first ever to trouble Mike Tyson??I believe so!

[Gandalf]

It was a split second kind of hurt, Tyson won the fight more than easily. He wasn't particularly hurt, just a day at the office.

Tyson prior to the 90's was never seriously hurt, despite what ICB would try to say.

[BIG H]

Whilst I believe Tyson's defense is (like himself) the stuff of legend (and I mean that sarcastically) he did not get rocked very often, I mainly explain that by looking at his opponents and understanding that the overwhelming majority of them feared retaliation rather than wished to inflict damage.

I believe Tyson was phenomenal but he has become like a folk tale hero and people freely exaggerate about how great he was and honestly he had a very weak era until later in his career and he was fed loads of tomato cans early on.

Why do you think they feared reataliation? Don't you think that it wast because he was an awesome fighting machine? Why has no other heavyweight since (and possibly before) ever been so feared by their opponents. Were they all just deluded and conned into believing his was great, becuase he was an ugly scary mofo. Me thinks not! They feared him becuase of how good he was - Simple

[ICB]

It was a split second kind of hurt, Tyson won the fight more than easily. He wasn't particularly hurt, just a day at the office.

Tyson prior to the 90's was never seriously hurt, despite what ICB would try to say.

I never ever made out he was seriously hurt, read my comment again. I stated James Tillis gave him problems style wise, i never said he hurt him. But stylistically he did cause him problems.

I also stated he was stunned against Tucker, Bonecrusher, which he was. But he wasn't seriously hurt, and i never said that in the first place. He was probably the most hurt against Bonecrusher, he looked in a little trouble IMO. But then again he probably got bored, because Bonecrusher kept feeling him up for most of the fight.

[El Kabong]

Tyson was gifted an era much the way people complain that Marciano and Louis were.

Tyson was great but when people trend towards thinking that ONLY Ali beats him during his prime and that is plain wrong.

[BIG H]

Tyson was gifted an era much the way people complain that Marciano and Louis were.

Tyson was great but when people trend towards thinking that ONLY Ali beats him during his prime and that is plain wrong.

His era was no weaker than any other era in history except early seventies and early-mid nineties imo

[El Kabong]

Tillis, Tucker, Thomas, old Larry Holmes, Spinks, Smith and Bruno were his competition during his prime...hardly the greatest collection of fighters.

[BIG H]

Tillis, Tucker, Thomas, old Larry Holmes, Spinks, Smith and Bruno were his competition during his prime...hardly the greatest collection of fighters.

True, but now do the same exercise for the opposition of: Dempsey,Liston,Louis, Marciano, Holmes Vitali & Wlad to name a few

[ICB]

Tyson was gifted an era much the way people complain that Marciano and Louis were.

Tyson was great but when people trend towards thinking that ONLY Ali beats him during his prime and that is plain wrong.

His era was no weaker than any other era in history except early seventies and early-mid nineties imo

What about the 60's you had.

Muhammad Ali
Floyd Patterson
Ingemar Johansson
Sonny Liston
Jimmy Ellis
Jerry Quarry
George Chuvalo

ETC.

[BIG H]

Tyson was gifted an era much the way people complain that Marciano and Louis were.

Tyson was great but when people trend towards thinking that ONLY Ali beats him during his prime and that is plain wrong.

His era was no weaker than any other era in history except early seventies and early-mid nineties imo

What about the 60's you had.

Muhammad Ali
Floyd Patterson
Ingemar Johansson
Sonny Liston
Jimmy Ellis
Jerry Quarry
George Chuvalo

ETC.

I don't think anybody other than Clay and Liston from that list would've been much more impressive than Tucker, Biggs, Bruno, Smith etc etc

[El Kabong]

True, but now do the same exercise for the opposition of: Dempsey,Liston,Louis, Marciano, Holmes Vitali & Wlad to name a few

Not sure why you want all those guys but ok I'll humor you

Dempsey: Jess Willard, Georges Carpentier, Tommy Gibbons, Jack Sharkey, and Gene Tunney

Liston: Floyd Patterson, Zora Folley, Cleveland Williams....this is probably the weakest era listed

Louis: Joe Walcott, Schmelling, Jack Sharkey, Jim Braddock, The Baer Brothers, Billy Conn, Ezzard Charles, Rocky Marciano...he fought guys like Marciano, Walcott, and Charles when he was well past his best but still managed some wins

Marciano: Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles, Joe Louis, Archie Moore, Rex Layne, Roland LaStarza....pretty much all old and shot, but Rocky never lost

Holmes: Earnie Shavers, Renaldo Snipes, Tim Witherspoon, Trevor Berbick, Bonecrusher Smith, Michael Spinks.....honestly I rate this era pretty fucking weak because what true champion in his prime fights a boxer that has 10 total fights?!!?!

Wlad: Chris Byrd, Sam Peter, Ruslan Chagaev, Lamon Brewster, Jameel McCline, Tony Thompson

Vitali: Lennox Lewis, Corrie Sanders, Sam Peter, Cris Arreola...though he lost to Lennox he more than held his own in that fight

....still doesn't make me see Tyson's era in the best light. Tyson's era had all the guys from the Holmes era (only older) and none of the guys from the Holyfield/Bowe/Lewis era yet. So you have guys who are decent power punchers and guys who were decent boxers but no one was overwhelmingly powerful or a super slick boxer and the guys who could punch couldn't box and the guys who could box couldn't punch.

[BIG H]

True, but now do the same exercise for the opposition of: Dempsey,Liston,Louis, Marciano, Holmes Vitali & Wlad to name a few

Not sure why you want all those guys but ok I'll humor you

Dempsey: Jess Willard, Georges Carpentier, Tommy Gibbons, Jack Sharkey, and Gene Tunney

Liston: Floyd Patterson, Zora Folley, Cleveland Williams....this is probably the weakest era listed

Louis: Joe Walcott, Schmelling, Jack Sharkey, Jim Braddock, The Baer Brothers, Billy Conn, Ezzard Charles, Rocky Marciano...he fought guys like Marciano, Walcott, and Charles when he was well past his best but still managed some wins

Marciano: Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles, Joe Louis, Archie Moore, Rex Layne, Roland LaStarza....pretty much all old and shot, but Rocky never lost

Holmes: Earnie Shavers, Renaldo Snipes, Tim Witherspoon, Trevor Berbick, Bonecrusher Smith, Michael Spinks.....honestly I rate this era pretty fucking weak because what true champion in his prime fights a boxer that has 10 total fights?!!?!

Wlad: Chris Byrd, Sam Peter, Ruslan Chagaev, Lamon Brewster, Jameel McCline, Tony Thompson

Vitali: Lennox Lewis, Corrie Sanders, Sam Peter, Cris Arreola...though he lost to Lennox he more than held his own in that fight

....still doesn't make me see Tyson's era in the best light. Tyson's era had all the guys from the Holmes era (only older) and none of the guys from the Holyfield/Bowe/Lewis era yet. So you have guys who are decent power punchers and guys who were decent boxers but no one was overwhelmingly powerful or a super slick boxer and the guys who could punch couldn't box and the guys who could box couldn't punch.

Well the reason I picked those guys is becuase they were all the guys that dominated a weak era

I see all of those eras being as weak (or as strong depending how you look at it) as each other, especially when you look at all the factors, such as Dempsey fighing Charpenier who was know more a heavyweight than Lefty Lee is...and you can't even attempt to say that Marciano beat a valid version of Walcott, Moore or Charles. La Starza is probably his best win and in his own words his toughest fight.

I'm not for one minute saying Tyson's era was strong, I'm just saying the heavyweight divison has seldom been strong and through history has usually had 1 supreme fighter and a bunch of also rans - except fro when Frazier, Norton Ali and Foreman were all prime together and the era of Bowe, Holyfield, Lewis

[Spicoli]

I dont think there is any doubt that Tyson reigned in a somewhat weak era but he did what you should do in that case,sweep it up and clean house.Guy should be given a medal for giving it some sense and order.Tucker,Tillis and Smith not bad fighters...but they didnt exactly get blown apart by the baddest man on the planet.Cant think of a soul he ducked,say what you will about two Holyfield delays,one of which he couldn't help.The other I guess he hurt a rib.um.I do think we are quick in hindsight to throw a superman mystic on him and when doing "best vs best" I wonder how Tysons dodgy mental makeup would have held up facing a Marciano,Ali,Foreman, etc in comparison to the ones faced when blazing a path in prime.

[El Kabong]

I think the only fighters he "avoided" (I will use respect and not say he ducked anyone) were Lennox Lewis (whom he eventually fought) and George Foreman who earned the right to fight Tyson after destroying Gerry Cooney.

I do wonder why he never fought the following: Riddick Bowe, Shannon Briggs, Michael Moorer, Hasim Rahman, David Tua and Tommy Morrison. I guess he didn't take on Moorer because of Teddy Atlas, but I think all of those at some point in the 90's would have been classic bouts and IMO Tyson had a shot to beat all of them.

Tyson is a great fighter but I think lots of the champions from different eras could have beaten him or given him hell. I rate Tyson as exactly what he is Floyd Patterson with Sonny Liston muscle and he was a little lacking in confidence which in his prime you never would have imagined. I just don't like all the hype that some rabid Tyson fans have.