In no way I'm comparing Kirkland to Tyson based on resume or achivements but his style is very similar. Lets not forget when Tyson fought Bonecrusher Smith, Bonecrusher fought almost the same way as Carlos Molina but was not as active. Tyson, got critized for his performance in that fight. Kirkland wanted to make the fight but had a guy fighting a "dirty" survival mode and getting away with it. Kirkland would have most likely have finished Molina off had the fight continued. Some fighting styles makes for ugly fights and this was one of them.
They are not similar, at all. Tyson had a good Jab, was a fluid combination puncher, could cut off the ring, hit like a truck with both hands, had ungodly power, and had outstanding, world-class head movement when he was at his best. Kirkland has no footwork, no head movement, no Jab, and most importantly, no Chin. None. Kirkland is Glass Jawed Garbage, end of discussion.
Kirkland's style far lacks the skill that Tyson possessed, lacks the speed, and he lacks Tyson's chin. Molina was also not fighting in survival mode, he was outthrowing and outlanding Kirkland by a large margin in most of the rounds, and spoiling with his clinching to frustrate and nullify Kirkland's offense. And I don't think that Kirkland would have finished Molina, Molina didn't look badly hurt and would have had a full minute to recover, besides all his clinching "skill" that he employed against Kirkland well to that point.
Similar in agressiveness but Mandingo has no bob'n weave Interestingly, they are both southpaws. Southpaws tend to be ultra aggressive, there are scientific studies on this phenomenon. Kirkland, Tyson, Valero. . .
Thanks for clearly that up. hussleman also thinks that Henry Bruseles is just as good as Miguel Cotto because they have similiar styles.