Mike Tyson - Defensive Skills of The Undisputed King

Were Tyson`s defensive skills underrated?

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Yes they were . And you know what else ? I think his stamina is underrateds. I mean it’s not as bad as people make it out to be. He could fight 12 rounds. And he never punched himself out. When he lost it wasn’t because he was tired. He was just beaten

 

Tyson was a spectacular performer. He looked unbeatable usually when he was facing 'Willie Falldown' and 'Kenny Getup'

 

Tyson's competition was better than a lot of heayweight champions....and not everyone he fought came to lie down

 

Hey, did someone rig that height chart at the start of the vid? I thought he was only 5’9”?

 

He could go the 12 but his power took a big dip after 6...at least according to his trainers

 

Jim Lampley said that he measured Tyson himself and he's 5 '11

 

Yeah his defensive skills were underrated, he showed them fighting decent competition despite what some say. He was fighting guys like Quick Tillis, Green, Ferguson fairly early in his career which is more than you can say for heavyweights these days. You can clearly see his athletic skills and ability to avoid punches.

I think those sharp defensive skills had a shelf life though and they were starting to expire before they needed to with the loss of Rooney and his reliance of power around the Bruno fight. Before then you could count on you hand the number of hard punches he took, again, against some decent competition.

Douglas obviously exposed Tyson's declining defensive skills further and in the Ruddock fights he was taking heavy shots as well, but luckily for him he had a decent chin. After his prison sentence those skills he had in his early 20s were pretty much gone, it was a young mans style. So as not to sound like a complete fan boy I'll admit Tyson wasn't able to adapt his style later in his career, he kept trying to do what he used to but he no longer had the physicality for it. His prime career was always destined to be fairly short imo, about 75% of it was him trying to regain what he once had...

 

I think his defensive skills were highly appreciated by anyone who knew a bit about boxing.

People can say he faced bums but Tyson was the only man ever to beat John Alderson in a pro fight

[url]http://boxrec.com/en/boxer/2981[/url]

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I agree with this post 100%. He did have a style that was hard to maintain through his career. What was a plus with his smaller stature and high energy defense and combinations became a detriment as he aged and become distracted by outside influences. He simply could not maintain that style and become a shorter but still hard punching easy to hit heavyweight who started to rely on one shot instead of combinations. I would kind of agree with what Teddy Atlas said once, "Tyson was not great, to be great you have to have longevity, Tyson was sensational for a short time". But I tell you, he did create excitement, and I always eagerly looked forward to his fights.

 

I'd still say he was a great fighter though, just not as great as some of the other greats. I wouldn't say it always comes down to longevity, if you make that kind of impact and have a dominant run like that it puts you in with the all timers I think, where in that list he belongs is another debate...

 

Yes - I think at his best he gives anyone a tough time.

 

This isn't even funny, Tyson Hater. Who was Alderson compared to Willie Falldown or Kenny Getup?

 

I don't know how tall he was. I'd say 5'10 or 5'11 maybe. But surely he should be standing flat against that height board. He's actually standing well in front of it, putting himself in the foreground of the camera, and at an angle.