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

im not sure where this claim comes from as he fought 8 past, current and future world champions, plus an olympic gold medalist, in his first 9 world title fights within a space of a little over 2 years

 

Yes eazy.

 

What blew his chances on paper, is probably the fact that he stepped up after fewer fights than Marciano.

 

No...he would not have

 

That is an excellent and very overlooked point.

 

To his credit but also to his overall longevity detriment - by the time Mike was 25, he was seeing the wear and tear of the style on his body, let alone the effects of lifestyle, mental health and all sorts of other issues surrounding him.

The original question is like imagining if Frank Bruno had an iron chin, quick feet, stronger mindset and faster hands - it completely changes who the person was fundamentally. Mike was great - Mike's past, mental make up, style of fighting and physical stature, coupled with money, fame and most importantly access to all the things that dampen the intensity of a champion that's achieved their dream - he was bound to unravel at some point and I, for one, have really enjoyed his maturing and becoming a seemingly more rounded, emotionally-aware person. He is no saint but I really, really enjoy hearing Mike speak about boxing (a real afficianado) and about himself and how he sees life.

 

Don Cockell rapes Tyson, absolutely RAPES him. But then they get into a boxing ring and Tyson KO's him round 1.

 

I was always amazed that Rocky made it to 49-0 with his style. I would have thought a boxer, like Muhammad Ali, would have had a better shot at accomplishing that feat.

It would have been very tough for Tyson to have done that. As McGrain mentioned, Mike had a young man's style of fighting. It's very hard to keep that up for very many years.

 

Holyfield stopping Tyson in 8 rounds? Please...

I think Mike could've done it. He'd be favored over Holyfield, Old Foreman, Bowe and Lewis and wouldn't have lost focus like he did post Rooney being fired. He could've lost focus but with those names in the mix I'm damn sure Mike aint losing focus.

He'd have to go through hell and high water but maybe some of the fighters mentioned above would've been less difficult than the 80's lot he beat. They were younger and less experienced and could be pushed into facing Tyson before being ready.

Who is to say when he'd face the above fighters. Certainly not one immediately after the other.

If anyone COULD do it I'd bet Mike Tyson would be favored over most ATG heavies.

 

To me, besides Bowe-Lewis, a Tyson-Foreman match would have been the biggest draw of that era.

 

Evander would have been pretty huge

 

While Tyson-Holyfield would've been the best fight out there, Tyson-Foreman would've trumped it by a lot. That was the biggest fight with the most money to be made because of the curiosity factor of George Foreman.

 

Had the original goal been to make Tyson 50-0 then yeah, I’m sure D’Amato could have fed him more bums and tomato cans to get his record around 35-0 before a title shot and the carefully guide Mike through another fifteen top twenty types. Wouldn’t have been pretty.

However, thankfully the goal was Youngest Heavyweight Champion ever.

 

Excellent points. Good to see you finding a bit of time. He most definitely didn't have the mental and emotional stability to get the best out of his physical abilities. He was quite loose really and it was a constant worry that he might unhinge. I'm not overly sure even Cus living longer could have kept him on track once he tasted all that fame and money and higher end honey pots started to impose their will.