With better guidance and direction could Mike Tyson have beat Marciano's 49-0 HW record?

All he needed was the caliber of heavyweights that Marciano faced and he could have gone to 100-0.

 

I don't think he would have gotten past 1992 Bowe or Holyfield.

 

Tyson would have always lost focus after winning the belt. He’s not alone in that distinction. Most lose focus on the wealth they earned women and responsibilities as a champ. Boxing takes a back seat and very few stayed focused enough after

 

I’m really not sure that mike was built for the kind of longevity that reaching 49-0 would require. From February of 1990, fighting at a rate of three times per year it would have taken him until around year end 1993 to reach 49-0. In the interim he’d have to go through Holyfield, Bowe, Lewis and old Foreman.

 

Great point.

 

Sure, you could have matched him against 49 tomato cans.!

Outside of that, longevity was never going to be his strong suit, and neither was consistency.

 

Marciano survived 49 fights because his first 35 fights were against complete New England circuit ham and eggers and a couple protected white hypes.

35 fights into his career, Tyson had fought Ferguson, Tillis, Berbick, Frazier, Bonecrusher, Tucker, Biggs, Holmes, Tubbs, Spinks and Pinky.

One of these things is not like the other.

 

I’m well aware of all this thanks. But regardless of how Marciano made 49-0 I can’t see Tyson doing the same going through the early part of the 90s. No matter how focused he was or who was training him.

 

Good post Goo. Hard lot to get through. I'm not confident he would have got past Holyfield even if he stayed on track. It's debatable.

 

Agree. All of them but Old Foreman were mandatory challengers at that time, so i don't see Tyson fighting george since he had 0 obligation to fight him.

 

The competition in the 90s was getting stiffer so even at his focused best (which he would be unlikely to maintain) its doubtful he would win 12 more in a row.

 

Bowe and Lewis didn’t emerge as mandatories until near the end of 1992. If Tyson had managed to eliminate Holy and Ruddock sometime in 90-91 then there might have been a window where George was boosted to the #1 or #2 spot by the alpha bodies. Also, a fight like that would have generated an irresistible pay day

 

it certainly would have been a lot harder than some think