Who has the better singular win, Chris Byrd or Mike Tyson?

No, he did not.

Byrd was a small undersized heavyweight with zero power who would always be forced to adapt to what his larger opposition was capable of dictating - not vice versa.

There was no mental evolution in which he suddenly said "I'm going to be a "middle of the ring" fighter. That is absurd. All small fighters giving up ample size and power are going to try and avoid being cornered, or laying on the ropes. He knew this from day 1 when he entered the division. He was simply unable to maintain or sustain that against fighters with the athleticism and quickness to keep after him.

We are not talking about what fighters in general can do. I already stated that Ike was substantively a more unfinished product than Byrd in '99. Byrd did not have ANY dramatic or substantive change in his approach from this time. NONE.

He simply had opponents that were more or less able and bringing different attributes.

 

You are free to believe what you want, but the opinion that Byrd adapted from the Ike fight is out there. It's something Byrd has commented on in interviews and writers have observed:

The only evolution in Chris Byrd's style has been his post-Ike Ibeabuchi avoidance of the ropes. Previously, Byrd had not avoided the ropes, because he felt comfortable there. Since Ike knocked him out, he has learned his lesson: it is safer in the middle of the ring. -ESPN


I have to disagree because there have been fighters that successfully pinned Byrd to the ropes but instead of clowning or fighting back he keeps his guard up and looks to counter. Learning from a knockout loss is possible. Byrd didn't even have his hands up when Ike knocked him out, and had just been grinning, its almost as bad the Lewis/Rahman knockout.

Golota actually looks like he was trying for the Ike combo a few times in the 4th especially, but Byrd wouldn't let his guard down.

[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL6WeGJqcxk[/url]

 

Fair enough

 

Likewise.

 

The opinion is wrong. Who's the anonymous quote from ESPN attributed to?

Byrd grew up in a boxing family. They were in boxing a decade before Chris. Chris just didn't FIRST discover what his attributes were (favorable and unfavorable), how to apply them, and what it took to be successful after Ibeabuchi in '99 ... or what would get him KO'd.

Chris was already a heavyweight by the middle of '94. He had been fighting heavyweights for nearly five years by the Ibeabuchi fight and for 6 years when he was KO'd by Wlad.

Byrd:
"Ah, I can't .. they're just too big. You know .. and I gotta use my .. all my skills to allude the type of punches they're throwing so .. and it works to my advantage fighting big guys that are menacing .. and you know ... I don't run from these guys I just try to get out of the way of their punches."

He knew what his situation was from the moment he entered the division. Nothing ever changed.

Byrd always knew and believed he couldn't expect to trade and be successful with large powerful heavyweights.

Byrd was a small undersized heavyweight with zero power who would always be forced to adapt to what his larger opposition was capable of dictating - not vice versa.

There was no mental evolution in which he suddenly said "I'm going to be a "middle of the ring" fighter or I'm going to be more serious or be more defensive. That is absurd. All small fighters giving up ample size and power are going to try and avoid being cornered, or laying on the ropes. He knew this from day 1 when he entered the division. He was simply unable to maintain or sustain that against fighters with the athleticism and quickness to keep after him.

The line "Byrd didn't even have his hands up" is a fiction. Chris got caught against an opponent athletic enough to be able to throw with him, keep him centered, and that is how he ended up trading against the ropes. Which he quickly ended up on the short end of the exchange. No different than in all of his fights. Just the opponent was more capable. Depending upon where you want to begin the sequence .. say from around that 1:00 mark .. Chris' hands are defensive position, his left by his chin, they are where he needs them to be to maintain vision as he doesn't want to be standing tall like a heavy bag with a puncher like Ike, he wants to be able to get left or right or lean left or right wherever the gap avails itself to evade and throw his own shots. They are chest to chest, in close, each trying to throw, he has his hands in front, up near Ike's shoulders, he throws a right, a low left, evades an Ike left simultaneous to his own right which he stuffs himself because he is late, lands a short left to Ike's jaw, and an unflinching Ike throws his own left/uppercut and clocks Chris. Ike lands the immediate follow right and Chris pitches forward dropping like a sack. Ike was dangerous with both hands and Chris was not playing, mugging, or without the same defense he has employed since '94. Just a different level opponent.

 

You wrote all this and ultimately it once again just reads as "Byrd didn't change, because I don't believe it." That's your opinion, I've gave you mine and explained it.

What we can debate is this:

The line "Byrd didn't even have his hands up" is a fiction

You describe what happens and still say this equates to fiction? Chest to chest, each trying to throw. Byrd hits Ike with a short left, and than tries to fire off a right hook from the hip and Ike catches him first. He was looking to exchange with his back against the ropes, right hand below his hip looping for a possible punch and left at his hip, (.51). As I said "he didn't have his hands up." Both were down as he was trying a lazy punch.

Byrd was clowning most of the fight against Ike, going to the ropes like that, grinning, and looking to exchange. Ike just happened to catch him that time.

Byrd never goes to the ropes like that again, and when Wlad, Vitali, Golota, Tua..etc. all get him there, he goes into a tight guard, only looks for counters, and refuses to exchange.

Byrd used to live with his back on the ropes, man. Watch his old fights. Byrd spent most of the early rounds fighting old slow Bert Cooper off them.
[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpi1n2DnZGg[/url]

Here he is fighting Jimmy Thunders off them freely. Trying the same crazy hooks and uppercuts while pinned to the ropes in the first round that would get him knocked out against Ike, and would be cut from his routine in later fights.
[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AGeY0rh-VE[/url]

That was how Byrd fought than, and he clearly adjusts and stops doing that after Ike. He did reboot his style and anybody that followed him will know this. It wasn't Ike, that was how Byrd fought in the late 90s.

 

Byrd had the better defense but Tyson got hit clean by some large punchers and took it well....Tyson had the better chin,Byrd got hit less and rolled very well

 

Tyson had a great defense at one time, but he decided to neglect this and rely on his chin more

 

Byrd has an impressive body of work. Not only did he hang in there with Vitali and exploit an injury for victory, he essentially made himself completely unattractive for the senior Klitschko as a go-forward option. Calling for Byrd in a decidedly less than emphatic voice, and at that, very briefly, does not make for the notion that Vitali wanted Byrd in a rematch. Having Wlad defeat Byrd at two separate junctures also does not mean Vitali concluded any outstanding business between them. That distinction seems lost on many, especially when contrasted again Vitali's loud and endless belly-aching, over years, for a Lewis rematch. Where Byrd was concerned, there was nary a whimper.

Byrd also did a fine job of undressing or flat-out out-fighting a good number of other contenders, and while he didn't outright clean out the division the way Tyson did 86-89, he made a very good, prolonged go of it.

I think Tyson had the better, more historically impressive body of work. Tyson cleared-out all comers who held belts and the one guy who held the linear title. He also waxed a still serviceable Larry Holmes, to erase any doubt for those with less than 20/20 understanding of who was what in January 1988. Adding to the mix, Tyson did it with locomotive, dream-capturing force and electricity, as opposed to any "meanwhile" incidentals as the sport gained traction in other quarters.

The op posted a fun video. Did I read it correctly, that Rid**** Bowe questioned Tyson's accomplishments? Perhaps I have missed something. Perhaps something very big at heavyweight occurred since November 1992 that I've completely missed. Rid**** is making me believe I've missed a grand chapter in the heavyweight division. I'll have to spend an afternoon and look closely. Perhaps I've missed the moment when he took history by the tail and erased all doubts.