Oh man that's easy. I might be able to name 15 better than him but how about this list in no particular order. Ali Holyfield Ezzard Charles Joe Walcott Rocky Marciano Joe Lewis Jack Dempsey Frazier Foreman Tunney Larry Holmes Jack Johnson Floyd Patterson Sonny Liston Any of the Klitchkos Lennox Lewis I mean when you look at Tyson's reign and who he beat, his resume is not very good. When he faced top opposition, he failed miserably. He lost against Buster Douglas in his prime and was beaten soundly by Lennox Lewis and Holyfield and it wasn't even close. Tyson was one of the hardest punchers all time but he's also one of the most overrated HW of all time as well.
YDKSAB Shot to **** Tyson who lost against Lewis and Holyfield doesn't even warrant bringing up :-( Don't talk about people like Tunney, Walcott & Johnson as if you know **** about the history of boxing, and then so easily dismiss the skill set of a prime Mike Tyson Shameful
I would go for Spinks but then there was other good wins which could be thought about in - Berbick Tucker Holmes Tubbs Bruno But I think it was Spinks
Spinks. Lineal Champ, undefeated, knocked out in 90 seconds by Tyson. Underrated win because of how easy Tyson made it look.
People thought he was going to be the next Joe Louis, breaking all the records albeit a far more bully type long reigning champ. thing is, if you are beatnig everyone and practically unify the title at 20 against men nearly always bigger, more experienced and more frightening physically than you, then its not hype to expect you to become a top three ATG. Thats the destination his career SATNAV was set for if he'd held it together, and you'd have been a fool to say he wasnt going to end up sitting next to Louis and co in the top five ATGs. After all, NO ONE has come even remotely close to acheiving thatearly Tyson streak, apart from Joe Louis himself and Ali. In hindsight its easy to see that he didnt have the mindset or background to acheive that, but you would never have thought it the way he cleaned up while practically a teenager. A TEENAGER cleaning out the HW division! Practically a kid wiping out the biggest toughest men on earth. Think about that. And yep I'd say Spinks was the defining fight, the way he crushed the man many still thought of as the champ.
It was spinks, As Mr. Magic so eloquently put it, Hindsight is 20/20. Spinks was undefeated and considered by many to be the true champ. That was supposed to be a good fight. Go back & see if you can dig up predictions by the "experts" prior to the fight. I think that was the Defining moment when folks were Like "WOW, Mike tyson is a bad MFer, Noone will beat him" To put it in perspective Let's say Wlad Klitschko was undefeated (And vitali wasn't his brother). Obviously the buzz right now would be the biggest and only fight that matters right now @ HW is Wlad vs. Vitali. Imagine if Wlad ko'd Vitali in 90 seconds. That was the impact of Tyson's destruction of Spinks. That's why folk to this day still talk about the fight as a testament to who great tyson was in his prime. Also HerolGEE is 100% right, you guys forget Tyson was only like 7 years past puberty while cleaning the division. Certainly Tyson deserves his spot in the Hall of Fame.
Spinks is Tyson's defining win. Sure, Spinks wasn't an all-time great heavy but he was a good one and a hall of fame light heavy. Undefeated and, despite Tyson's belts, the heavyweight champion. Tyson ran right through him. I don't think Spinks was the best fighter that Tyson ever beat though. I'd probably say that Tucker and Ruddock would have beaten Spinks and maybe even a Thomas or Bruno. But Spinks was the right combination of fighter and situation.
Tony Tucker. Undefeated IBF world champion. Prime. Experienced. Height and reach advantage. Same weight.
Holyfield was more shot when he faced Tyson than Tyson was when he faced Evander what the **** are you talking about?