Excluding Holmes and Ruddock, who was the best boxer that Mike Tyson defeated?

Little known fact but Tyson topped the p4p lists in 87, 88 and 89 ahead of some very esteemed fighters from lower divisions.

 

Indeed. Though one magazine, KO I think, had Nunn #1 and Chavez #2 at one point (around spring ‘89)

 

Nah. It's well known that Tyson was the last heavyweight to top the pound for pound lists

 

I think you're wrong. Number ones remain at number one they lose.Tyson would have been number one until he lost to Douglas in 90.

 

I think you'll agree Spinks only won that second fight on paper, and even the first was really close (though even I, Holmes' biggest fan scored it one point in favor of Spinks).

 

Tucker Totally underwhelmed as a Pro. Nobody knew who Tucker was even by the time he was selected to meet Billy Douglas’s son for the title stripped from Michael Spinks. And nobody really cared either. The idea was win or lose everyone was going to get fed to Tyson anyway. Boxing had decided upon Tyson as the guy who was going to clean up. The TV and governing bodies were all bending backwards to make it happen. This was an exciting time. But looking back… I wish things had played out differently. More even handedly for the Tyson challengers. Tucker didn’t get a chance to establish himself as the IBF champion. He was already contracted to meet Tyson. Same with Smith. Both knew their next fight was with Mike Tyson. The kid kept busy while a lot of the division had been mothballed or rendered disillusioned from previous alphabetical politics.

 

I disagree completely .. People wrote off the Berbick loss to Thomas being too distracted doing too many things . a singer, a musician, a film. maker an athlete .. He was caught on a night unfocused by a highly motivated Berbick .. Before that he beat Witherspoon more convincingly than Holmes did and defended by KO over Weaver .. even in the loss he didn't take punishment .. as far as off drugs , on drugs , that's the story of the guys while career and who knows .. Tyson, even in his prime partied like a wild man too .. it was the era .. in addition, Tyson didn;'t just beat him he beat him up, knocking out a very tough guy with a terrific chin .. Thomas was ruined by that loss ..

 

Tyson ruined Thomas, but pinklon was already long removed from a decent win. The Weaver fight was a long ways away from the Tyson fight. Thomas had not look anywhere near as good since. The Berbick loss was quite gruelling for Thomas. He was a tough guy but in relation to where his career was when he fought Tyson, pinklin was no longer the man who beat Witherspoon more convincingly than Larry Holmes had.

 

KO

 

Thomas was the first opponent who made Tyson look flawed during the early rounds of their fight. Had Pinklon not been cocaine dependent at the time, he may have taken Mike a lot deeper.

 

KO. Plus, The Ring had year end voting polls as Hagler was #1 and won in the P4P category in 1986.

Tyson won in 87, 88 and 89 and was still #6 in 1990 and 1991.

 

Pound for pound, Spinks. In absolute terms, Tucker.

Shout to Thomas, but I think he was already used up by the drugs.