Very good post.as a young bloke tyson seemed almost like a machine like a terminator probably because in the uk we only really saw highlights of his fights .I have watched most of his early fights and some were more hard fought than appeared to me at the time . The Bruno fight was a massive deal in the uk not so sure about the states? Tyson won and stopped Frank faster than anyone else but for the first time in mine and lots of others minds he seemed human he could be hurt by a HW admittedly a big puncher .who knows how that thought affected mike and the fighters he faced after Bruno.
It was a bad performance defensively He certainly didn't show as a good of head movement as in many previous fights. Leaving Rooney was the beginning of the end. But, he also had a myriad other distractions like Don King taking over and going through a tabloid filled marriage/divorce. The focus needed to stay at the top was already going away. He certainly looked beatable in this fight. The boxing mag writers questioned whether the distractions would catch up to him. Still, nobody thought Douglas would be the guy to do it. It is true that Tyson was overhyped. I recently read an old KO article where they thought Tucker wouldn' last past a few rounds. But, I think by the time of the Bruno fight, the writers were noticing a decline in his performance. There were also questions about his training around this time - he was blowing way up between fights in '88 and '89.
Watch the 12 rounds of the Tucker fight. One of his best performances but he sure did do a lot of those things you describe too, even at his peak. I think he was a little bit more sloppy on defence and perhaps his timing was a little rusty against Bruno in 1989. Apart from all the distractions and sacking his trainer, it was the first time he was coming off an 8-month layoff in his entire career. I think before that he'd never had more than 3-4 months off between a fight. It was definitley a dip in performance from the Spinks fight. But not necessarily signalling the beginning of a permanent decline. I can't say the Williams fight wasn't a vintage performance.
This. Great post. Only thing of the whole post i disagree with slightly was that tyson was overhyped. Everyone wasnt wrong about tyson coming through. He really was that good. Its just that the wheels fell off which was always going to happen. He wasnt a natural talent although he did have big talents. Cus moulded him from a young age it was reliant on hard work and dedication. As soon as that went he became beatable. With or without cus tyson was always gonna blow it. But looking back on it all mike can be proud of what he did achieve. He came from the gutters and by luck got an oppertunity and took it. Still to this day holds the title of the youngest heavyweight champion ever at 20. I d like to think that mike redeemed himself a bit in the end even in defeat. He took his licks like a man. Ended up having something like over 50 fights. Considering the problems he inherited he done allright in the end. Cus the same. I think back then he was thought of as a bit of a crazy. But some of the things he done with tyson were ahead of their time. Really showed that cus was one of the greatest trainers when all is said and done. Actually find it mindboggling when i see current day heavyweights training and no ones using some of the stuff done back then. Combination punching a thing of the past with what i see. And yet tyson was a tremendous combination puncher at his peak. And yet i ve never heard of anyone following the system they used back then. Maybe why charles martin etc,s winning world titles nowadays
slipping a bit / head hunting in the early rds / standing straight up more tehn he had in the past although by rd 4 tyson got into a groove and starting going to the body to break bruno down .....you could see him slipping for sure
I watched the Douglas-Tyson fight the other day, and was surprised by how much bigger Douglas was than Tyson.
Forgot to post this GIF from the Hearns-Kinchen fight (November 1988) where the camera catches Tyson at ringside and the commentator talks about how much Tyson will need to lose a lot of weight before his next fight, which turned out to be the Bruno fight (in February 1989). https://streamable.com/8g7q
Yes Tyson was on the slide, but Bruno had slid further and faster, and this masked the holes in Tyson’s game. Bruno was basically beaten before the opening bell.
This was quite clear when I revisited several of his peak fights. He shows a lot of skill at times, but also frequently loads up on punches and fails to set them up. Especially when watching Tyson-Tucker it isn't hard to get the feeling that if Tucker exhibited the strength of the 10 lbs bigger Douglas, he might also have gotten a similar result.
But, his head movement was still excellent against Tucker. He bobbed and weaved well. He barely if at all stood straight up, inviting a target. He hardly got hit flush except for that awesome Tucker uppercut in the first round.
Don't really agree with this. He showed some nice slips, but were also hit quite a bit. What happened was that he was too strong for Tucker as I see it. Tucker was gassing after 3 rds - his legs were going and there wasn't enough on his punches to hold Tyson off, so he went into survival mode instead (Tucker himself says a busted right hand was to blame). With more strength to hold Tyson off and a bit more on his punches, it might have been Tyson who started to fade. Like was the case against Holy after an evenly contested opening.
I agree. Tyson was better prepared for Tucker. It's really that easy. How much stronger was Douglas than Tucker? My guess is not much if at all. By the time Douglas got his shot Tyson's inside game was non-existent. Not only was Tyson better prepared for Tucker he also had a better corner and wasn't pulling out of fights to screw around like he did post Rooney.
Hahahahaha, the pathetic apologists are out in force yet again. How fukkin sad. So it turns out this " natural born killer " or " baddest man on the planet " was in reality the " saddest man on the planet " nothing more than a lump of meat manufactured by " Old Tomato " and Kevin Rooney. LMFAO. Have these weirdo Tyson fanboys ever considered getting a life?
in 1989 Tyson was cutting corners in the gym, cutting in line at the Sizzler all you can eat buffet bar, cutting Wesley Snipes's face at the disco techs, cutting in line at the strip club and cutting lines of crack rock and shat. He stops cutting and starts strutting he'd never have lost in his entire career. The real Mike Tyson retires undefeated at 60-0 with 54 KO's, smashing Louis's record of 32 defenses and Marciano's undefeated record. Then declares both Marciano AND Holmes couldn't carry his jock strap...COMBINED!!!
But what exactly are you saying? Do you agree that he was a materially better fighter when he had Cus and Rooney? Or are you saying that he always would have exhibited some of the flaws that he showed against Bruno?