Was Mike Tyson right to bite Holyfield?

It's bigger than that though. You are mature enough to respectfully disagree and you even like posts that offer different opinions you don't fully support.

Sangria insults people who don't follow his narrative that Tyson did nothing wrong and/or that he's this perpetual victim and the greatest h2h fighter ever. He does not hesitate to belittle anyone who blames Tyson or has criticisms for him or his fighting style in h2h discussions or legacy. There's no "agree to disagree". I wouldn't be shocked if he sprained his arm whacking off to highlights of Tyson. It's all he does here. I don't remember seeing him in any thread that didn't involve the guy.

He's also a coward. He won't respond to anyone who can challenge him intellectually with actual evidence but he'll snipe from the sidelines and support anyone whose down for his cause.

 

Look at all the haters liking your post. Ok, so you just recently signed up with an alt, are already posting in Classic and type this misinformed gem, "That and the fact that just about every Fighter who hit him back stopped him". That's definitely one from the Teddy Atlas handbook on how to hate Mike Tyson. Either you're misinformed or a hater. Which one is it?

Tons of fighters weren't intimidated by Tyson and lost in the ring. Holyfield and Lewis could never replicate what Tyson did in the 80's. The version that fought Holyfield was already on the downslide. Many would agree that had Tyson and Holyfield met before his prison stint that Tyson would take it.

Cool if you disagree but at least show some knowledge on the subject instead of the same old hater banter that includes Tyson folding faster than a lawn chair in a Texas tornado if he doesn't knock someone out within 5 rounds!

 

Again, I don't go to certain fighter's threads to post nonsense. It's a free country so do what you like. But if your post includes hateful and/or misinformation that's parroted from someone else who has an agenda, prepare to get called out on it. I can read between the lines as well.

Too many people at this site who've never been in a fight before.

 

You still fail to grasp that Holyfield was on the down slide as well and had been in more wars than Tyson and was even older.

You Holyfield haters just can't give the man the credit for kicking your hero's backside.

 

Oh dear god, the only thing you have fought is your erections whenever you see a thread on Tyson.

 

Oh dear. Perhaps you are too close to the subject to be objective. Just because I see flaws in a Fighter doesn't mean I hate him. I find your point of view odd.

 

I have a suspicious view of Atlas' vitriolic venom against Iron Mike...too much of it really does sound like sour grapes.

I also think that he's become the type of celebrity in demand for interviews mainly because he's "the man who hates Tyson", a dubious tag imo.

Though I have big problems with some aspects of Mike's fighting style and out-of-the-ring-misdeeds (I have problems getting past the **** thing, whether he did it or not he was convicted), his courage against Lewis really impressed me. I don't like that Atlas said he wasn't in any way an ATG, and that performance for one is good proof that he was. He could have folded earlier against Lennox, or done what he did against Holy and gave up. He didn't, and I think he got hurt far worse in that fight than any other.

 

This is another often over stated criticism of Tyson's; when hit back he lost. Its pretty much untrue though. In both the Razor Ruddock fights it was evident Tyson was hit a lot, hurt a good few times but was able to take it and go on to win those fights, he even took Razor’s famous smash punch multiple times. You have to wonder how many other fighters would have taken those same punches, I guess because its Tyson it doesn’t count?

The Ruddock fights are often over looked but they offer an insight into Tyson's fighting mentality in contrast to when he came out of prison. He was arguable near being KOd by Ruddock and one point, you might say that’s nuts but watch round 8 (I think) of the rematch, another couple of punches and Tyson would have been in serious trouble, he looked out to me but quickly regained himself. But he could deal with the punishment and stay determined, something he couldn’t do post prison. His fault and it effects his standing as an all time great, but the fact is he didn’t have the same mentality and reaction to getting hit.

Anyway those fights dispel the myth that he couldn’t deal with being hit back, he clearly could. Whether he would beat Holyfield is another matter but don’t misrepresent the man by saying any fighter that hit him back beat him, this was clearly not the case. He toughed out those wins and deserves the credit for that.

 

Yes he deserves credit for hanging in their after being hurt but it could be argued that he fouled his way out of defeat in the rematch. Tyson hit Ruddock with low blows something rotten and was doing it out of desperation.

 

No one's saying Tyson couldn't fight. Bruno hit him as did Tucker but on many other occaisions such as Douglas and Holyfield twice, his game fell apart when he got past Plan A.

 

Yeah Tyson did land some low blows that’s for sure. I think it’s a stretch to say he could have lost if he didn’t hit low though, Ruddock didn’t seem bothered to the extent it changed the fight for one thing, I don’t think it effected his attacks much, Tyson was just able to survive them. I don’t think they were all desperation either, a couple were accidental, some spiteful and a few survival tactics in the heat of the moment but I don’t see it changing the outcome. I’d have to watch the fight again to get a better sense but I don’t remember feeling Tyson fouled his way to victory, he did foul though.

 

Fair enough but it sounded like you were going down the “Tyson would lose if hit back” route.

 

Sometimes he did rski.

 

I'm talking about those that believe Tyson will fold if he faces any form of resistance. you originally said anyone who hit him back stopped him, so we either have our wires crossed or you are on the wind up.

 

I said " Most guys who hit him back stopped him ", on reflection, perhaps not entirely accurate but by no means a rarity in Mike's career.