The Dying of the Light:Tyson vs Lewis

Don’t watch it then. Do you think Ali fans like watching Holmes v Ali or Leonard fans ever repeat watch him get beaten up by Macho Camacho?

 

Mike needed the $ and Lennox needed to not have to hear Tyson fans say he was scared or ducked him. Cause they would've. It was necessary in that sense.
I would have like to see more than 30% Tyson. That's about what he was by that time.

 

Even then he showed us a flash of what might have been in the first round!

 

That was it ,a flash then reality kicked in .

 

By far the worst part about this sport is the best fights not happening when they should. No other sport has to deal with this crap.

 

I honestly think the only difference between what happened and what might have happened is how long it would have gone on.

Prime Mike vs. Pre-Steward Lewis: Either Lewis lands and keep landing the right hand early and knocks Mike out in 3, or Lewis just fights in that lame, one-handed fighter style he had before Steward and gets kayo'd in 5.

Prime Mike vs. Steward Lewis: Mike does very well the first two rounds, but Lewis starts putting his jab into gear late in the second and by the ninth Mike is staggering around the ring, drunk and looking like just another short fighter with short arms (ha! yes, I stole that lol). The uppercut/overhand right combination knocks him cold.

 

Excellent as always.

Made it worth watching actually.

 

The punch and clutch thing is probably a good indicator of what 1980 Larry Holmes would have incorporated into his defense against prime Mike. In fact, Larry employed it effectively (without landing or even throwing many punches) early on in the actual Holmes/Tyson fight.

Mike probably would have landed a knockdown against prime Larry, but the result probably would have looked not unlike how Mike looked in the last two rounds against Lewis. Only it probably would have made it into the 10 or 11th, and it possibly wouldn't have featured Mike going down, just another one of those patently terrifying-rain-of-vicious-right-hands finishes by the Easton Assassin.

 

My girlfriend surprised me by asking about this topic. When I told her it was about Mike she said "more like the dying of the lecher".

 

My ex got mad at me for even watching boxing...

 

Agree.
It happens though, because it's the only sport I can think of where one defeat can stain a career indelibly.
In other sports , a defeat this week is forgotten after a win next week and so on.
In boxing reputation is everything , its marketability and earning power. Defeats send a boxer to the back of the queue like no other sport , hence risky matchups are often avoided

 

But if you give a good account of yourself you can get a huge fan base. Look at holyfield after bowe or vitali after Lewis. More recently wladmir was praised for his effort against Joshua, etc.

I dont think an "L" is a death sentence, that's mayweather fanboys who started that. If your fights are entertaining and youre in shape and fighting good opponents your stock only goes up, win or lose.

As of late, i dont think there are honestly a large number of fighters who flat out "duck" or are chickens, I think greedy promoters are desperately trying to follow the mayweather/pacquiao golovkin/canelo formula. It backfired with joshua/wilder because they kept letting a fight "marinate" when there was no reason to. 2 undefeated prime hard hitting belt holders and you want to "generate interest"???

 

Agree with all you say.
I'm not saying it's right, it just happens.
Promoters etc have become obsessed with the unbeaten thing. Often fighters avoid one another ' for the time being ' then suddenly it's too late ...Joshua is an example. Bowe/ Lewis is a standout.