Was anyone expecting Mike Tyson expecting Tyson to win against Lennox Lewis

I do not recall too many folks saying Tyson was shot BEFORE the fight

 

Mine was only a small sample from an article. There were others too. I've never heard of a lot of those guys in yours.

 

And that's true. From memory he was Ring rated something like #3 behind Lewis and a Klit.

 

Tyson looked horrible against Brian Neilsen his fight before Lennox Lewis. He looked unmotivated and out of shape in that fight. People knew he was not going to have a prayer with Lennox.

 

I think only Tyson's casual fans thought he could beat Lennox. Because even Lewis' haters didn't think so. A friend of mine hated Lennox to ridiculous level and a couple of months prior to Lennox rematch with Rahman he asked me whom I'll be rooting for in the rematch. I said I will be rooting for Lewis, and he said: "Are you crazy? Do you want him to beat up Mike after that?" So, with him being a Lewis' hater, even he didn't believe Tyson could beat him. Only casual guys that didn't follow boxing thought Tyson was going to beat Lennox. Like those who still think he can come back at 53 y.o. and beat Fury and AJ. Yeah, the guy who was stopped by Danny Williams and Kevin McBride 15-16 years ago would beat Fury and AJ, right....

 

He looked horrible and unmotivated against Frans Botha a few years earlier. That was who he was at that point.
He beat guys on natural ability. Mike Tyson was done with boxing after Givens skull fuked him and definitely after Douglas.

 

Yeah that Botha fight was a hard dose of reality. Botha was tough but not on Tyson's level. I do believe had Mike taken this sport seriously and with Tommy Brooks at the helm...mmmmmmaybe he performs better?! But even Brooks picked Lennox to KO Mike by the 3rd.

 

Then Lewis shot him.

 

A good few thought Tyson could do it, as Lewis was getting on in years himself and had almost blown his chance for a Tyson fight anyway, due to his loss to Rahman.

Lewis/Rahman II got the Tyson fight back on track, but it didn't entirely erase Lewis' prior KO loss, in the minds of many. Meanwhile, Tyson had (and still has) a lot of 'believers'.

 

Several people in my local and at my house party. I enjoyed taking their money

 

With hindsight you're very right.......In reality at the tine a not inconsiderable amount of respected observers were picking Tyson...Wally Matthews and Mike Katz gave him a chance.......it was only a year since Rahman beat Lewis to the jab,backed him up than knocked him out with one shot...only 18 months after Lewis looked tenative against Tua.....Tyson had a good 2000/2001...for the first time since 1991 he was starting to flow with the combinations and head movement...i think he carried Nielson to get in rounds.....ultimately the inactivity of Tyson hurt him...the Mercer fight was cancelled...so infamously was the original Lewis date..Tyson for sure i this time lost some of the steam he had built up in 2000 ....the Don King lawsuit payout of $14...cooled his fires a lot imho...but the sacking of Tommy Brooks ended any hope Mike had....Brooks had got Tysons skills back...he wouldve tried to get in better shape.....ultimately mike went in unprepared,rusty and lacking will and beleif....but beforehand knowledgable observers gave him a chance

 

Brooks said Tyson was most talented figther he ever trained, but he said that Tyson just loved to cut corners. In post fight interview after he beat Botha, Tyson was saying Brooks trained him hard that he's so tired to see his face.