When did you first become a fan of....

I didn't like him (I had a big problem with the **** conviction) until I watched a rerun of the fight with Lewis...which is when he truly showed himself as a great fighter imo. He was badly losing after the first round, horribly beaten. But he kept coming.

After that I went back and rewatched a ton of his fights. The fights with Ruddock added to my admiration, and I could see his place in the top 10 ATG pantheon.

 

I was a big fan from around early 1986 when I first became interested in boxing. It lasted until the late 90's when he basically became a circus act & now I think he's a complete dirtbag.

 

I respected Mike as a fighter, never truly was a fan, until after his career. He seems like a cool guy now, back then, couldn't get behind a lot of the things he was doing, or getting into.

 

I remember watching him in the Olympic trials in 1984 in which I think he lost twice to Henry Tillman. I kept my eye out for him after that. Perhaps on USA or ESPN I started to see him appear as a pro and followed him from there. I actually met him through a friend at her house in June 1987 before the Tucker fight took place later that summer. He certainly brought quite a level of excitement to the sport on his way up.

 

I watched him from the very beginning. I liked him til he got rid of his original team. After that he started spewing his racial #### and acting like an all around a hole

 

Never was a big fan til 87' with Tyrel Biggs, my dad loved Biggs as he "has the tools to be the next Ali". After Biggs got **** on, my dad as well as me became fans.

 

Would have loved to seen him in his prime or even as a past best but still dangerous contender but his career was practically over by the time I really got into boxing in the early to mid 2000s. Good thing there was a lot of available back catalogue of film, vids, books and mags of his career to catch up on.

 

Not much younger than him but was never a big fan. The hype was right out the gate but despite blitzing the 80s scene I always thought A. he'd get knocked out and B. he'd implode although I didn't predict 3 years in prison. Neither did Tyson apparently.

 

A lot of people mellow as they become older. If you only knew them from their later age onwards, you might never guess the good, the bad and the ugly history that might lurk behind them.

However, on the world stage, we saw Mike’s life play out, ever so slowly transitioning (2 steps forward, then one back) form a very angry, troubled young man to someone who appears to be now in a far more contented place. Still, I feel a bit of contained menace still lurks.

Tyson was a great fighter and lifted the sport in general, no mean feat. Not Mike’s fault, but as exciting as a skilled puncher like Mike could be, a stream of KOs by way of very short routes can be a bit tedious. Also got tired of several opponents that were semi beaten before the bell or who looked only to survive.

BUT, I will say, based on very real, previous destructions, the aura of intimidation was palpable. With Tyson, I would briefly imagine myself in the opposing corner, with Mike across from me, pacing like a tiger ready to pounce at opening bell and think…”Holy sh*t, I can’t feel my legs.”

 

Saw the Berbick fight in '86. Mike blew my mind. Most heavyweight title fights had become boring and tepid. Yawn fests.
Then that destruction happened and I immediately became a fan. I knew nothing about him before that.

 

First seen him against Tubbs when I was 6 years old, and then Spinks, plus he was on Nintendo

 

He was my boyhood idol

 

Probably round about the Marvis Frazier fight myself.
Those early years, no one could touch him. If he'd retained what he had in those Berbick /Holmes /Biggs fights, he'd have been champion for years imo.