http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1139899/2/index.htm What do you guys think of this?
Tyson was always a dangerous puncher. But a young Tyson was a fast, technical and weaving dangerous puncher.
I agree that his style was gimped once he lost his speed. But I think the lost his speed more a result of his method of training rather than age. When you look at film of Tyson training under Cus everything is fast. Once Cus died Tyson got slow in his training. He still went through the same movements but everything was slowed down. Train slow fight slow. The cerebral cortex which controls what is commonly referred to as muscle memory is a tricky finicky thing. It does what it is conditioned to do and there is no switch. If you are training it to move slow that is how you will move you just cant suddenly will it into overdrive. I always use Tyson as the prime example of what happens when an athlete makes the false assumption that you can simply turn on the switch.
Tyson's style just takes too much of a toll on the body. Those movements are just not natural for a human. Once he was unable to do them as he used to, he just became a short puncher.
He peaked mentally and financially too soon. Success and fame ruined his drive. He was being called the greatest heavyweight that ever lived by 19 years old.
The only movement natural for a human is walking. Punching somebody over and over is not natural...hitting a baseball isn't natural...throwing a football isn't natural. But the body has adaptability and can do just about anything within the realm of its mechanics.
I agree, it's partly why I'm an advocate of bringing top prospects along slowly. Let them really earn their way to the top and hopefully they'll be more appreciative when they get there.
Alot of great insight in here....I also think his loss to Buster Douglas and **** conviction greatly hurt his boxing career.