¿Why does the public underestimate Mike Tyson's resume so much?

Ok

1. Youngest heavyweight champion ever.
2. Was the most ferocious-yet-efficient fighter during his reign, h2h only a handful of fighters in heavyweight history could have beaten him. D'amato molded him into a sort of Joe Frazier-on-steroids level of mastery.
3. Beat every contender during his reign: I mean, who was missing from his title defenses? He even stopped grandpa Holmes, yet admiringly admitted both the prime Larry and Ali would have beaten him. That's something a Champion says.
4. Unbeatable 1987 to 1989, he had no competition imo.

Whatever his career was after 1989, he proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that he had a great heart (see the fights against Douglas, Lewis, arguably Ruddock)...for those who weren't there during that time, Championship Heart was one of the only things that was in question during his time as champ.

If people underestimate the above, I underestimate their common sense. He was a great fighter, indubitably top 10 ATG in the heavyweight division.

Talk me out of that.

 

Great stuff J.
As usual.
Another point about Tyson that's routinely ignored is What no less than the brilliant boxing mind of Emmanuel Steward once said.
Not verbatim but Steward basically said Tyson because of his frenetic pace would not have a long prime.
He said that well before Tyson began to show slippage, I'm thinking around 1985-86.
And by 1989, before he went to prison, Steward was spot on. Tyson was showing signs of decline that early.
Some see the Lewis vs Tyson fight as some great victory for Lewis.
I see it, and it should be seen in the same light as Louis vs Marciano, Ali vs Berbick, and etc, of a fighter that overstayed his welcome by damn near a decade.

 

When is this lie going to die? Patterson is the youngest Heavyweight champion ever - & no, it’s not nit picking. It’s a big distinction.

Tyson would place among the more dangerous Heavies in Who Beats Who, but personally I rank solely on accomplishments, & he’s hard-pressed to make the top 10 by that criteria.

 

I’ll play:

1. Youngest belt holder ever. He didn’t become lineal, nor unified, til he beat Spinks. By that point was he not older than Floyd when he won the lineal title?

But he was young, I’ll give you that.

2. I see your Frazier-on-steroids and raise you one Buster Douglas. I guess Big Bus, who did not btw land a lucky punch, but completely dominated almost the entirety of their fight, is one of those handful?

3. Did not beat Buster. Nor Evander during his later reign. Could have fought Evander early but got himself thrown in prison, so his own doing there.

As for his original reign, it lasted two defenses of the lineal, unified title. TWO. Then Tokyo Bus came along and became MythBuster Douglas. The mental gymnastics it takes to work around that fight would win a Twister world title (lineal and unified).

4. How does a guy go from unbeatable in late 1989 to getting beat from pillar to post by Buster in February of 1990? How does one fall off a cliff in two months?

Hey, he had a good run for a couple of years but he couldn’t sustain it. All those lessons Cus instilled in him lasted long enough to get him the titles, and in impressive fashion, but they didn’t prepare him for how to stay on top of the mountain, just to climb it. The true greats get to the top and stay there a while.

TL/DR: Buster Douglas.

 

Or they come back from defeat & re-climb the mountain. Tyson never did.

 

Maybe prison had a bit to do with that?

 

Buster beat him before prison.

It was almost 2 years between his loss to Douglas and the start of his trial. That’s an opportunity to climb back atop the mountain. Others have done it in less time.

Him going to prison was due to his own actions.

Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.

 

You mean the prison he was sent to for an extreme crime he committed? Call me crazy but I’m going to hold that against him.

 

Awesome. But don't knock it against him that he "couldn't climb the mountain again" when he was one fight away from doing it.

That's why I posted about hi going to prison.

Come on, you're smarter than that!

 

Funny how all the haters get together in some circle jerk and regurgitate the same old fable ad nauseam.

You guys spend more time on Tyson threads than any other thread combined.

Curious what Tyson did to you personally?

 

Indubitably, they've been discombobulated!

 

What compels you to Tyson threads to defend his honor? You’ve posted more times in the last hour on this thread than most people have since it started. Discounting my replies to you, more than me.

Your ‘one fight away’ presumes he would win back the titles. I don’t see that as a given at all.

Like the guy (or whatever you want to call him) in the movie said: There is no try; you either do or you do not.

Mike did not.

You want to act like he did … because he went to prison?

 

You or Unforgiven Junior said Tyson didn't climb back to the mountain top. I said he was one fight from getting there. And no he doesn't automatically beat Holyfield but I think he should've been favored and lean towards him winning in 1991.

Better?

EDIT: How about this...admit you don't like the guy and that sways your judgement of him as a fighter. Can you just admit it?

Just do it and we'll see your way through the door.

 

He was favored when he finally did fight Evander. He was favored over Buster in the biggest upset in boxing and likely sports history.