How much of Mike tyson s potential did we see?

Tyson couldn't improve imo, he fulfilled his full potential . Of course not going to prison would have seen him in the mix against the rising stars, we were robbed of seeing what he would do against these top fighters. I just can't see him going through the likes of Bowe, Holyfield, Lewis etc.... let's not forget he went life and death with Ruddock.

 

I think that he would have continued to improve for a few more years, if he had retained his early focus upon the sport.

One improvement that we often see in fast explosive punchers like Tyson is that they straighten up their punches, and make them more compact.

I think that this would have improved his game significantly, and I see no reason why it could not have been done.

 

I think you should watch their second fight, Ruddock gave Tyson all he could handle and was on the brink of defeating him at the end of the fight. Tyson was very lucky not to be disqualified that night, he was throwing those low blows out of desperation.

You could say that for all fighters, Tyson wasn't an exception I'm afraid. He went about as far as he was going to go imo and that's far enough.

 

What you saw with Tyson is what he was. His fans will tell you if he stayed with Kevin Rooney he would of never lost. Then you realize Kevin Rooney was with him when fought Tillis and Tyson still struggled. Some might say well Tyson was still inexperienced. Well Tyson fans will tell you he was past his prime against Douglas as well.

Tyson was always a hype job. People wanted to see knock outs and excitement. Larry Holmes the previous (champion) was boring, wasn't much of a puncher and I am pretty sure people were sick of tired of him playing the race card. Tyson came a long and brought excitement. Even if the was just knocking out bums it was more excitement than Holmes could produce.

Tyson was the boxing equivalent to Ronda Rousey. Of course he was far more skilled than her. But I mean how the media act like they couldn't lose and their opponents let that get in their heads. They were beat before the bell started. But Tyson would of still faced people who didn't buy into the hype and they would always beat him if they had even a little skill. Tyson and Lewis are the only 2 heavyweights "champions" I can think of who never got up from a knock down and win a fight.

Tyson was a bully and the moment you hit bullies they fold up. He was good at beating on females and fighting people who feared that hype. But he was always afraid to fight guys like Bowe, Foreman or any other guy who wasn't afraid of him. He could never beat those guys no matter what he did.

 

He was an all-time great that is the frustrating thing.

He actually did more on paper in his very brief prime, than many all-time greats did in their entire careers.

He pretty much chocked when a consensus top five all time ranking was within his grasp!

 

Given his mental health, physical limitations in an era of ever larger heavies and a complex style built around speed, balance and attack, I would say that he played out his potential. If you change the one variable of mental health, you probably get a couple more years of prime... but that style doesn't have a long shelf life at the top.

And despite all this, he accomplished an awful lot in a short period.

 

The thing is that he doesn’t have to hold it together that much longer.

A few years would have been a big game changer!

 

First of all Tyson didn't go life and death with Ruddock (I think Ruddock never said he won or he was better)
Tyson won the second fight comfortable.He knocked Ruddock down two times broke his jaw and landed
much more punches. Just saying Tyson landed 206 punches and Ruddock could land only 124 punches.
Who can say it was a close fight proves his incompetence. Power punhces were 183-105 for Tyson. Tyson deserved the win clearly.

 

I don't know Tyson's full potential.
But we know the facts:
-He's the youngest heavyweight world champion ever andthis record looks
unbeatable.This means nodody could break this record from 1986 this says all about Tyson's talent.
-He was undisputed champion and he won more "undisputed fights" than Lewis or Holyfield .
-Tyson is the only fighter who could destroy Holmes and Spinks.
Plus he had a very exciting and popular style.

 

It was a poor and pathetic joke...

 

You are an idiot of the first order, anybody with half of a brain cell can see Ruddock wasn't the only one who took a beating in that fight. A fighter can win every round yet the fight can be life and death. Tyson himself said the Ruddock bouts knocked all the fight out of him.

 

I think his resume and accomplishments are underrated as they stand.