Tyson would annihilate Haye. He would rush him much as he did Spinks. Here's how Spinks and Haye compare: Spinks --> 6'3" -- 208 lbs -- 76" reach Haye ---> 6'3" -- 217 lbs -- 78" reach Now, of course, Haye is much faster and hits harder than does Spinks. But Spinks was an outstanding fighter who beat the legendary Larry Holmes twice. He was a very serious force who was both the unified light heavyweight champion and a legitimate heavyweight champion. He was undefeated when Tyson fought him. You know the rest. Tyson would have absolutely no fear, at all, of Haye. Which means he would jump right in his chest and look to bomb him out ASAP. Spinks was a vastly superior boxer than Haye is, and it didn't matter. If Tyson wanted to pressure you, there was pretty much nothing you could do about it unless you had a great chin, very good legs and preferably were a very large guy (like Tony Tucker, 6'5" with an 82" reach). Haye isn't big enough and definitely doesn't have the footwork to escape Tyson (not to mention Haye's chin). He would not last a single round and would probably be subject to a highlight-reel KO at Tyson's hands. The chances that Haye could beat Tyson are the same that Haye could beat Vitali Klitschko: Zero.
some might overrate him , as is the case with any fighter. but most knowledge boxing fans I've seen put him in the lower end of the top 10 and that's def not overrating him.
oh, come on man ... embarrassing? what's so embarrassing in being a short guy with no reach, coming forward, fighting your heart out, getting hurt multiple times and still going for the KO until you drop. That's brave, not embarrassing. Tyson lost once in his prime, but so did many other great fighters. So I'd say he's overrated by the general public, not the boxing fans. He's in the lower section of HW TOP 10 and that's about it.
I would agree and Mike is 1 of my favs I think many look at the persona of mike and thats where the "he would beat anyone & everyone" comes from If you break mikes skill down... he has issues... but the speed and power are second to none.... before the poor skills in areas could be exposed, he had already KO'd the other guy definitely an ATG
When a guy gets handed a beat down, and KO'd, when he's 40/1 ON to win suggests questions have to asked. And after that fight Tyson was finished in truth, even though he regained a belt from the hapless Bruno after his release from prison. Definitely overrated.
Pre-Douglas Tyson and post-Douglas Tyson may as well be two different fighters. The first was an ATG that would have troubled pretty much any HW in history, the latter would probably still give most HW's today problems, but would lose at the highest level.
Not doubting he's an all time great, at his best he was awesome, but by people who dont know an awful lot about boxing I agree he's hugely overrated. You hear people sometimes say stuff like "Man Tyson before he went to prison would have ruined Holyfield/Lewis within three rounds", get the **** outta here man. Someone told me once I knew nothing about boxing because I said Mayweather and Pacquiao would be higher up the all time P4P list than Tyson would be, they actually laughed in my face as if it was the most ridiculous comment anyone has ever made. Hardcore boxing fans sometimes under-rate a prime Tyson, but no one is more over-rated by the general public in my opinion.
:good Good Post. This is exactly what im saying, if people read the posts instead of just sayin ''no tyson is not overrated he is a monster''. I said Tyson is over rated by the GENERAL PUBLIC, not by real boxing fans. There is no doubt he is an ATG, but not one of the best of all time.
Tyson was not overated until he stopped training properly (firing rooney). He did get hit more oftern than people realize though.
You can say what you want about Tyson and D'Amato, 1989 or what ever. The fact is alot of the general public say Tyson is the greatest ever, by that alone hes massively over rated.
By casual fans yes, some think he was the best HW of all time in his prime. It gets me how people talk about what if Cus had lived? Mike Tyson still would of gone off the rails, cause he was still getting into trouble when Cus was alive, and when all said and done, he had a self destructive personality. Mike's career is a graphic example of why he wasn't the GOAT, he lacked the mental stability, in and out of the ring, which is what makes a great champ, not just how he fights, but how he lives outside the ring, that is a knock on the fighter if he does not take care of his life outside the ring. Hopkins is great cause he lives like a champ.
Most casual fans I have met over rate Tyson massively they usually have him as the greatest if not second greatest after Ali. They don't even know who Holyfield is when I bring him up.
