Why did Mike Tyson fail to KO James Tillis in ‘86?

Mark, I'll give you another chance to read my post, and the post it responded to.

Please don't make me underline the relevant sentence.

Ditto.

 

This was a Rite of Passage fight for Tyson. His "Doug Jones" moment. An upcoming talented contender will come across an opponent who pushes him to the limit but he'll emerge a better fighter for it. e.g. Muhammad Ali with Jones,Joe Frazier-Oscar Bonavena and George Foreman-Gregorio Peralta.

 

Tyson looked far better v Tillis than George did v Peralta.

 

I understand the Douglas connection, but Lewis? Even new fight fans know Tyson was a shell of himself by the time
he fought Lewis (Hell, It can be reasonably argued he was slipping when he faced Douglas 12 yrs prior to his
fight with Lewis) While I do agree with your assessment fighters with good/great lateral movement always would give
Tyson hell, Lewis wasn't great, or very good at it. He was average at best.
It's the main reason he was ko'ed by Rahman his average lateral movement,got caught as he tried to move away.
My opinion Tyson would beat Lewis prime vs prime because of his defensive lapses, less than stellar chin, average
lateral movement.
By the way, I'm definitely NOT a "Tyson fan boy".

 

I agree, but Lewis was far better than Rahman.

 

Steroids.

 

I think prime or not, Tyson would struggle with a big guy with a heavy jab, clinching, and a heavy uppercut. Especially a seasoned guy like Lewis who had been in there with just about everyone in the division and neutralized guys who had some similarities to Tyson such as Tua.

Tyson beating Lewis is not impossible, I wasn't suggesting that. But no matter what point they meet in their careers, if Lewis uses that frustrating game plan Tyson is going to struggle heavily.

 

Never said he wasn't .

 

Agreed. But it wouldn't be because of his lateral movement. He would need to fight a jab, grab,push him
off type of fight. Wear Tyson down the 1st half of the fight. Start increasing his offensive output gradually.
As the fight goes on.

 

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KnNM1nlVYZ8/hqdefault.jpg

 

I can see you going for Holyfield, as more accomplished-although it is close. But Morrison had nothing like the run of Tyson ever, not even in the same ballpark.

 

Depends on which Lennox. The younger one had decent lateral movement for such a big guy. Nowhere near the level of prime Ali, but it was good enough to be a factor if he and Tyson fought when they were younger.

 

Mike threw heavy bombs fast. It's hard for me to imagine Lewis taking too many of those shots, though the more cautious Steward-Lewis might be able to avoid them better through clinching, being patient.

To me the early Lewis gets blown out in 4 by prime Mike, he just wasn't seasoned or good enough. But that's just me.

 

Tillis was a seasoned veteran with a good chin

It was a good competitive fight