Mike Tyson's legacy

Tyson’s legacy in general was that in his short prime he captivated the world enough that many still believe he was the best ever at his best, even though this isn’t true. But that prime had an indestructible aura to it, in a way his legacy is protected by it as people just say Douglas was the end of that prime, so what happened after is meaningless, again not really true. But that pristine prime brought him that and he lived off those four or so years of destruction for decades, to this day. We talking 30 years ago and people still talk about that prime. Say what you like about Tyson but he made a bigger impact than anyone post Ali, even if he wasn’t altogether better.

As a fan the scenario I would like best is if he never came back after prison. OK he lost to Douglas by then but he was coming back pretty well, it showed that Tyson was keen to get his title back and he also had those tough fights with Ruddock which showed his resilience. So I feel that time after his loss answers a few more questions that if he retired after Spinks. Spinks would be perfect but frustrating, sometimes its nice to know more even if its not all good news. Anytime after that is irrelevant, I hate post prison Tyson.

 

If anything his post prison showings ended up being a real downer to his legacy.

 

yep it was self destructive, once it didn't go his way against Holyfield he didn't give a ****, he was a con man at this point, his fighting mentality was gone. when trying to defend Tyson his post prison career makes it very difficult, the haters have all the material under the sun.

 

Spot on with this one man! Anything after Douglas is meaningless to his legacy as a BOXER. His fame grew larger post prison but thats it.

 

Tyson burnt very bright but couldn't burn for long his style of fighting was all about speed and agression as he got older prison or not he would have slowed.His lifestyle accelerated this process but it would have happened anyway.mike couldn't change his style very much due to his lack of height and reach he was still a very dangerous fighter but became easier to hit this made fights more punishing (Ruddock) which became a vicious circle.

 

People who were around in Tysons time will never get over the fact that his career was botched, but for a long time, he seemed unstoppable.

I don't agree that his downfall was inevitable. I think with a tightly run training camp, he could've adjusted his style to his age. But after a certain point, his career was all over the place.

I feel bad that Cus couldn't stick around the way Dundee and Blackburn did. Tyson could've benefited from that kind of long term relationship.


I feel his legacy will be very similar to Dempseys. You look at his record, and think "okay, it's pretty impressive." But it's nothing compared to living in the moment during his prime, and every person having that shared feeling that the man was invincible. You will have a lot of detractors who point to his flaws, and you will have a lot of promoters who will discuss his prime. It will be a polarized legacy in 80 years, similarly to Dempseys today.

 

It's crazy to imagine it now but for a period in the 80's, I'd say Tyson was more popular in the U.S. than Michael Jordan. His fights were a happening. What's amazing is initially, he achieved that popularity purely based on what he did in the ring. He was an athlete! Later he became a circus act known for his out of the ring behavior. When I first became aware of him, it was because he was being celebrated as the most exciting boxer in years. For a time, he lived up to that claim. I've said it repeatedly but for me, no sporting event compared to the excitement of a Tyson fight.

I used to get up before school to watch ESPN to see coverage of his upcoming fights. There was regular coverage every day leading up to a bout. I type this on June 30th. Not a year goes by that June 27th comes that I don't remember that's the date of Tyson Spinks. Like has already been said, Tyson burned so brightly for a short period of time. People in the future will watch his highlights & continue to be amazed I think. Nobody has better highlights. It's not the same as being there though. He'll be respected as great fighter but it won't be the same as experiencing the time. Tyson was not just the largest boxing personality of the last 30 years but one of the largest sports personalities. What other boxer over that period of time had that type of attention? I don't know if you'll see that again. Too much out there competing for our attention. With the Internet & all the channels we have access to, pop culture is more segmented. Everyone has their favorites. Tyson shared the spotlight with just a handful of sports figures in the 80's.

 

I didnt even start watching boxing since 2013. And this is like a good 25-28 years since Tyson's prime from 1985-88 but still watching him back then got me hooked on to the sport like anything. You can still see boxing fans missing him and the heavy weight division needs another Mike Tyson.

 

Lol since 2013

 

I was highly impressed by Tyson as he rose in the rankings to ultimately beat Spinks for the title. However you don't classify a fighter, any fighter, until they prove themselves in tough fights. Everyone looks good fighting scared rabbits and mowing them down one after another. A experienced fan or historian waits to see how a fighters career unfolds. Waits to see what happens when they are cut, hurt, losing badly. Unfortunately Tyson did not pass this test. He is not rated as high as he could have been because of it.

 

This right here says it all. People thought he was part machine, that's how dominating he was in there. We were all wondering if Louis and Ali could even survive against him! And his opposition weren't slouches either.

And despite all that he accomplished, which was better than most ATG's, his potential went unfulfilled...

 

I'd like to add that Tyson was the champion far before he faced Spinks.

Youngest World Heavyweight Champion of all time.

Refer to Demigawd's posts on the subject: http://www.boxingforum24.com/showthread.php?t=278182

 

Actually he was not,spinks took it from the lineal champ holmes,he had to beat the man who did beat holmes and was not beaten in the ring

 

So did Aids.