Why was tyson ''a hype job'' ?

Wladimir needs to start causing controversy outside the ring.
That's obviously the main thing.

Mayweather's fights are almost as dull as Wlad's, but he's a PPV record-breaker. So it must be to do with his image outside the ring.

I'm not sure Lennox Lewis ever created real "buzz" to be compared with a Tyson or Ali.
He was never as big as draw as Frank Bruno was in England.
And I feel he needed Holyfield and Tyson especially to really make him in the USA.

 

I agree. :good

 

There is nothing to catch up with. You stated that when Douglas was down someone else had control over the length of time he was down. I replied that the same person had the same control over the length of time Tyson was down as well.

It isn't that hard to understand.

 

You are bang on here Unforgiven. Bruno's people marketed Frank exceptionally well, ott in fact sometimes. Does anyone remember that catchphrase of Frank's after a fight? "Wheres 'arry?" It caught on over here with kids running around shouting "wheres 'arry" at each other. Comical for a while. Lewis also mused on TV as to what all this Brunomania was all about.

 

You are only half right again. It was indeed the beatings dished out in the 80's that got the " public's " attention, as opposed to BOXING FANS. Unfortunately it was the beatings outside of the ring to car park attendants, his wife ( allegedly, according to her and her mother ) and others.

 

Yeah, Bruno was truly a "household name".
Switch on the TV in the 1980s, won't be long before you see Noel Edmonds, Lenny Henry or Frank Bruno.

 

That has to be the simplest question to answer of ALL time. It is because the guy is unhinged, and like any loony tunes people want to know what he is going to say or do next.

 

You got it backwards. What Tyson did inside the ring mattered to boxing fans. The general public latched on to that tabloid ****.

 

I think it was poor by about 1984. Holmes started to fade and handpick his opposition. Don King controlled just about all the other contenders, none of whom seemed to live up to their potential. The WBA and WBC crowns became merry go rounds of listless, out of shape DK fighters. Things got so bad, mediocre Trevor Berbick was able to gain a world championship. Then, Tyson stepped up. 215 lbs. of chisled speed and power. He proceded to clean up the heavyweight mess. Unfortuanately, he lost the discipline that Cus and Rooney had instilled in him. The beginning of the end was when he married Robin Givens and took on Don King as his promoter. He crashed cars and lost his focus and Spartan training regimen. He started blowing up in weight between fights. He stopped moving his head and his defense started lapsing. Everything caught up with him in Feb. 1990 against Douglas. Douglas fought a great fight, but that was not the 1986-1988 Tyson in that ring. Tyson was not just a hype job.

 

No it was the Tyson of 1990, an elderly veteran of 23 who had looked in devastating form the fight prior against Williams...

 

You should try reading what people write instead of what you THINK people write.

rski wrote that Tyson like Ali, was an icon to the " public " in the 80's. I said this was due to his out of ring activities. His in the ring exploits were only of interest to boxing fans.

 

Not to mention both Spinks and Bruno who were dispatched in a combined 6 rounds before that. Funnily enough without Rooney, or D'Amato's guidance, and with out of ring problems. I wonder why the Tyson freaks don't claim he " wasn't in shape " for those 3 fights?

 

I see what you are getting at Foxy but I can’t see how casual fans or the public were not affected by his performances in the ring, I am talking during his prime. His image was of a sportsman at the top of his game. He was already becoming huge due to his ring success before the press shenanigans. It’s like any successful sportsman, to the public they become icons, its not all due to negative press. I get the point that a non boxing fan just looks at the hype without taking into account the reality of how good the fighter is but I almost feel that is a different subject.

My point is that Tyson earned the attention he was getting due to his early success and transfixing the public by dominating his field. At that point the hype machine was obviously in full effect and the debate becomes about how much of it was reality, or just the general public putting him on a pedestal. The fact is he was being compared to all time greats at 20, you could say that’s ridiculous hype but he is the one that generated it and he had non boxing fans interested, which in turn was making the heavyweight division more popular. If I am half right again let me know though :thumbsup

 

Sure, he had the power to blow out a very weak chinned guy who was a sucker for left hooks, a guy who dropped his hand to his waist every time he threw a jab. That fight didn't test his defense, his reflexes or his stamina.

There was a lot in the press indicating Tyson had lost his work ethic and professionalism after the Spinks fight. It caught up with him against Douglas.

Early on, he had been like Mayweather - in the gym, training hard, focused. Once he lost that, he was not the same fighter.

 

Sorry. I mis-read your post. Yes, the general public latched on to his out of the ring, tabloid fodder activities.