The Tyson myth

There seems to be a strange belief amongst certain boxing fans about Mike Tyson. They take the perfectly reasonable view that he was a great fighter during his prime (under Rooney, before Don King and fame went to his head), and then somehow go from that to the absolutely ridiculous claim that he would not only beat other top 10 heavyweights, but would knock them out *in the first round*.

Let me explain why this is a preposterous claim. Firstly, I will use only fights under the Rooney era (since that's the consensus of when Mike was at his best). During that time, he fought 10 title fights - the calibre of these opponents would obviously be lower than that of the top 10 heavyweight ATGs. Here is a list of opponents who lasted more than 1 round against him in title bouts:

Frank Bruno
Tony Tubbs
Larry Holmes
Tyrell Biggs
Tony Tucker
Pinklon Thomas
Bonecrusher Smith
Trevor Berbick

Now ask yourself, who is more likely to last 1 round against prime Tyson - those 8 fighters, or the following:

Joe Louis
Joe Frazier
Lennox Lewis
Rocky Marciano
Jack Dempsey
Jack Johnson

Come on, this isn't even a debate. There is no way that the first list are as durable as the second, it's not even close. Out of the other top 10 ATGs, I hope no one is dumb enough to think Ali, Liston, or Foreman are more likely to be stopped in 1 round

In case that doesn't convince you, let's look at guys who went the distance with prime Tyson:

Bonecrusher Smith
Tony Tucker
Mitch Green
Quick Tillis

So, these guys can go the distance with prime Tyson, yet Frazier, Dempsey, Marciano, Johnson, Lewis etc not only can't match these 4 journeymen/contenders, but they get bombed out in 1 round? Please.

For the few blinkered Tyson fanatics who at this point still believe the "KO 1" nonsense, let's look at the fighters who went more than 1 round *before* he won the title (I've added their career records).

Don Halpin (9-23-0)
John Alderson (6-1-0)
Larry Sims (3-19-3)
Conroy Nelson (21-24-2)
Mike Jameson (15-16-0)
Jesse Ferguson (26-18-0)
Steve Zouski (31-18-0)
James Tillis (42-22-1)
Mitch Green (19-6-1)
Lorenzo Boyd (29-54-1)
Jose Ribalta (39-17-1)
Alonzo Ratliff (25-9-0)

Combined: 265-227-9

List of "KO 1 Tyson" supposed victims:

Joe Frazier 32-4-1 never stopped in 1 round, only 3 career stoppages
Rocky Marciano 49-0-0 never stopped in any fight
Lennox Lewis 42-2-1 never stopped in 1 round, 2 career stoppages
Jack Johnson 61-13-8 never stopped in 1 round, 7 career stoppages
Jack Dempsey 62-6-9 has 1 career stoppage loss (first round KO)

Are we really to believe that this list of bums and journeymen is more durable than the 5 heavyweight ATGs listed? If the stiffs can go more than 1 round with prime Tyson, I think the ATGs can manage it too. Yes, a 1st round stoppage is always a possibility (as it is in any heavyweight fight), but given that these 5 fighters had almost 250 bouts between them and only a single KO 1 loss, it's pretty unlikely and certainly not a foregone conclusion.

So, I don't want to ever see again someone on these forums claiming that Tyson would blow out ANY top 10 ATG heavyweight in 1 round. Plenty of contenders lasted far longer against prime Mike, several went the distance, and even a bunch of random bums and journeymen did better than that.

The idea that half the top 10 ATG heavyweights would probably lose to Tyson in 1 round is not just wrong, it is absolutely ridiculous - just plain nonsense that no self-respecting boxing fan should ever spout.

 

I've seen that claim from several posters in discussions about the top 10 ATGs.

 

Nope - I posted this after reading this post here on the classic forum:

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=156253&page=5

PowerPuncher: "Yea the fact hes achieved more than Dempsey/Frazier/Foreman is irrelevant as is the likelyhood he'd walk through Marciano/Johnson/Frazier/Dempsey within a round"

I remember several other times I've noticed that claim here, although obviously it's more common on the general forum.