Mike Tyson's preparation for Lewis

What puzzled me was they brought Tyson in at either his heaviest or second heaviest weight on purpose, they said it would give him the extra strength.

Personally I think that was a very foolish thing to do, it left him sluggish from the get go. He should have tried to get down to around 220lb IMO.

 

Well, unlike some I think he came to win.
No fighter of that caliber shows up just to get paid. He came to win, but obviously (in my mind) with the strategy of ending things fast. He was maybe a 3 round fighter at that point and could not sustain things in a long fight.
Once that failed, it was game over.

I don't know much about his training for the fight. He looked in shape, but I'm not sure about his mental state at that point. His old 'pal' Croc came into the dressing room before the fight to wish him luck, and Mike said "I'm so tired Croc, I'm so tired."
His ex-wife Monica Turner also served divorce papers on him on the day of the fight...so where he was at mentally is hard to say.

 

Yeah, when I saw his weight I thought that it was not going to do him any good.

 

He trained 8 weeks in Maui for the fight. He sparred mostly with super heavyweights in preparation and reportedly was looking good. According to his then Trainer Ronnie Shields, coming in heavy for the fight was by design. They thought a heavier Tyson could match Lewis physically. That plan of course back fired big time. In hindsight he should have come in leaner at about 220 or so.
I doubt it would have made much if a difference in the outcome of the fight.

 

I don't think Tyson believed he could beat Lewis. it was a much needed payday,pure and simple. He looked like he'd trained reasonably hard but he was carrying too much weight

 

Read his book. He was busy dealing with his divorce, dealing with the boxing commission and Lawsuits. He had his training camp in Hawaii where he admits he was mostly partying and smoking up most of the time. He was horribly under prepared for the battering he took, he was breathing heavy by the second round and was gassed out by the fourth. It was remarkable he still still lasted almost nine rounds given that he was a sitting duck and a stationary target against someone of Lewis power

 

Tyson had lost all his skills and the only thing left was the one shot power. There was no way in hell he was going to win against a Lewis fighting at his best at that stage. Funnily enough in his book, he mentions that if he got into his best ever shape mentally and physically, he would kick Lewis ass.

 

Ok Tyson wasn't at his best but why talk bull****, what he says in his book and what happens in real life are two different things. I do believe Lewis could have got him out of there quicker if he wanted to.

Tyson could have had Rooney in his corner and at that stage of his career the result would have been the same.

 

Lewis threw his best punches at him. He only got him out there when he was able to.

Rooney couldn't have helped Tyson at any stage of his career if Tyson did not have the discipline or desire to be the best

 

How do you know he threw his best punches at him??

He could have had all the desire in the world but in 2002 he was finished.

 

Just watch the match, he was throwing his right hand, Jab, uppercuts, he got Tyson with 168 punches and at the end Lewis even said the guy can take a heck of a punch.

Tyson just stopped training professionally for fights, was just fighting to get himself out of debts, just watch all his fights from 1999 onwards where he is only going for that one shot to the head, no body shots, no speed, minimal to non existent head movement.

If a guy stops training and preparing for his fights like he used to from 1985-88 and is only going through the motions, relying on his natural talent to get him through and just taking shortcuts that tells you everything.

 

The signs were there that he didn’t really believe he could win the fight. That press conference was a meltdown, almost a cry for help. He wanted it cancelled or at the least postponed. He just didn’t care at this point, he bit a fighter’s ear off so that pretty much tells you he knew he was a circus act. He appeared to want the money but he definitely didn’t want this fight. His relief when it was all over was palpable. He knew the beating was coming and he took it.

It’s a case of watching a previous great with nothing left, simple as that in my mind, Ali v Holmes. His weight was just a cover story imo, he just wasn’t in the greatest shape, or wasn’t able to be. His body was not what it was in his 20s. I don’t really take what he says in his book as gospel as at times it sounds like excuses but it wouldn’t be a shock to find he was doing dope during his preparation, his addictions had taken hold and fighting was no longer the air he breathed.

I hated this fight because it was pointless, and I really dislike the way Lennox try’s to tell less knowledgeable fans he beat a prime Tyson, I don’t rule out Lennox winning prime for prime but it’s a cheap shot. Mike should have packed it in way before this point as it just further damaged his legacy, well actually I guess damage control was out the window by the Holy fights.

Fans get a lot of flack for saying Tyson wasn’t the same fighter later etc, but the fact is he really wasn’t. In my opinion it is really a case of separating pre and post prison Tyson’s, I pretty much discount everything post prison which can be unpopular, but the difference in his form between these points is impossible to ignore. I still give Holyfield a great chance in 91, but that 96 fight was Tyson the 4 round fighter, at the least he would have made a war with it and finished the fight.

Holy did out tough Tyson and that was telling, I just don’t think it would have been so easy to out tough prime Tyson, against Ruddock he took some major firepower and still came back. Rambling now so better stop, must be in a Tyson debate mood!

 

Fair points but maybe just maybe Tyson was always destined to be a shooting star. Nobody knows how long he could have carried on at such a high level if he hadn't had been sent to prison, I personally believe prison saved him from further defeats from fighters he would have probably fought.

 

Lewis tortured and basically carried Tyson for 7-1/2 rounds before lowering the boom...I think he could have ended it at least 2-3 rounds earlier.