Definitely referring to his angles. Such a dynamic force at his best. Footwork: functional. Upper body, head movement: definitely 'different' to most (at any weight) and the pinnacle of the D'Amato style. That's what I take from the quote anyway.
Yes he had fast feet, i dont think many will argue against that. I just dont this his footwork was much beyond fast feet.
here is too examples of tyson with awesome footwork mevoments [yt]xDxjDNucXUE[/yt] [yt]RfGBsU-psrY[/yt] sorry for grammar i am on my backburry
'Planes of movement other fighters don't use', I agree because: 1. Most fighters only master 2 punches, mastering more punches and using them at the right range gives more. Tyson mastered jab, left hook, straight right, overhand right, uppercut and also could switch southpaw mastering the same mirroring punches 2. He could switch southpaw 3. A master of range 4. Used footwork to set up range or set up punches and angles 5. Used head movement to set up punches 6. Had the best balance and core stength in HW history
when Tyson came along the heavyweights were all either tall lazy ali clones or fat ken norton clones. there was not a lot of variaty. gerry cooney wasnt either so he excited for a time. He got found out. Bruno was a kind of a Liston clone but he got found out. Tyson came along all speed and agresion and it was like a revelation. He had a great run and changed the format.
It's a reference to his head-movement. Not just the way he moved his head, but how quickly he could dip like a windshield wiper so quickly. And not just move his head, but do so while getting his getting his feet into position. The way his feet, not just his hands explode. He shifts his feet in a flash at an angle (At all angles, and different planes), to get in position to strike like a cobra, while of course moving his head. Simplistically put, it's the D'Matto philosophy mastered and coupled with explosion If you can't pull of those moves, you can't use those planes of movement. Tyson can. Look at the Berbick fight. Tyson circles left fast, and is jabbing and using his straight right hand to extreme success. They say Dempsey can box. But for someone with Tyson's measurements boxing. It's remarkable. But then look at the fights where he's fighting bigger guys, shifting to his right, and exploding with hooks to the body and head (I believe Tyson states his left hook to the body right hook to the head was his favorite combination). Look at the footage of a raw Tyson against Henry Tillman. Atypical of most fighters, particular short aggressive fighters, he shifts left at an angle and tries throwing a straight right. Tyson's fighting package encompasses dimensions and planes of movement most fighters don't use. At least not altogether the way Tyson does, which is unique. Or the quote could just be pretentious drivel...
If you compare Tyson to the best offensive fighters today, you will see the difference between a great offensive fighter, and a merely good one.
He was good. He had great balance, positioning when being elusive, and speed of foot to chase down an opponent all while still in the proper set position for his "elusive/aggression" fighting style. That is; at his best (in the 80's specifically when he was well trained). But you always saw glimpses of it when properly trained to some degree. When he was lazy, like Douglas, he was a sitting duck. Just looked flat. And of course much later when he was old and past his best weight. his legs were no longer there. But that's normal for aging/worn/torn fighters. If there is one problem we could look at it's that he could sometimes square up to much when fighting on the inside. His positioning could be better at certain moments. He wasn't perfect, but we are also talking about 200+ pound HWs. HWs that tend to suck at footwork and movement. Although, I could easily place Tyson over a huge pool of non-200 pounders that didn't have the footwork, let alone speed he had. Tyson reminded me of an NFL RB. Don't get me wrong, he wasn't Barry Sanders but was still your quality back like Ricky Williams with his legs. They both also liked the herb later in their careers. :smoke
He used a lot of head movement. He had to becaus he was a small guy fighting bigger taller heavyweights. It worked well for him, but it's not a perfect style - no style is. It wouldn't work as well against certain fighters, and it doesn't really do anything for you on the back foot which Tyson wasn't accustomed to.
Tyson looks like **** in comparison to what he was in the 80's in those Mathis/Golata clips. Squared up, wild misses, almost no head movement, hardly any jabs or straight punches. The Holyfield wins are sooooo overrated, the fights he won after prison were purely won on talent not hard work or dedication.
