Anyone would think they wheeled Mike Tyson out in a wheelchair for this one. He was past prime for sure but to make out the fight should not have happened is sheer lack of knowledge and quite a bit of revisionist history. Tyson only had to stand up back in the day and fans would stir into an a frenzy and believe he was some sort of mystical force. This fight was being clamored for. Deserved or not Tyson had worked his way back to being Ring ranked #3 heavyweight in the world with Lewis at #1 and Wlad #2. Anytime you beat the #3 ranked heavyweight in the world it's a decent outing no matter how far he has slipped. Lewis was only a 2-1 favorite and here in Australia when i looked he was 8-5. People had their doubts about Lewis getting past Tyson as he'd had the shock stoppage to Rahman quite recently and despite a flawless and brutal domination in the rematch people had not forgotten. Add that to the fact it was "Mike Tyson" who didn't have to do much to have people believing and you've got a blockbuster. It was at that time the highest grossing PPV in history and that doesn't happen if everyone thinks Tyson is a lamb to the slaughter. It's still the biggest heavyweight PPV in history even now. Tyson had plenty of supporters. Glenn McCrory had this to say - McCrory sparred almost 100 rounds with Tyson in his younger days and has fought Lewis. He says: "I don't think Lennox is what he was. It was a great finish he produced to knock out Hasim Rahman in his last fight but in the first round he was wobbled by two jabs. And Rahman is nothing compared with Tyson. "I just think Tyson has more to offer. He has started throwing punches in clutches and that is so hard to defend against. Lennox has the capability to knock anyone out and he's immensely strong but, when there's doubt, he goes into defensive mode and fights on the retreat. That is made for Tyson." McKenzie agrees: "Tyson will attack Lennox to the body. Nobody likes that and I believe Lewis has the style to make Tyson look devastating. Tyson knows this is his last big chance and he has the opportunity to show what we have missed in the years he was in jail. I believe Tyson will knock Lewis out and it could be quick. Lennox has never been good at close quarters and it is there he will be beaten." With the bulk of the hype going in Tyson's direction, it is hard to stand firm and say Lewis will be victorious. But Tyson has not fought a man of comparable ability since Evander Holyfield and it should not be forgotten that in their first meeting in 1996 Holyfield did not just beat Tyson, he beat him up. Holyfield prevailed by putting Tyson on the back foot. If Lewis can do similarly, in the crucial three minutes of the opening round, he will confirm the belief that Tyson is being judged on his distant past and he will stop Tyson. If not, Tyson will once more be the ruler of his world.
I find it even funnier how quick people are to mention Tyson was past his prime when Holyfield beat him ignoring that Holyfield was past his prime too and that Tyson was the favourite to win, you'd think Tyson was a huge underdog if you listened to the internet.
Yeah quite a few thought Tyson was better than he'd ever been going into the Holyfield fight hence the odds. Holyfield hadn't been setting the world on fire but Mike was back!! From memory Mike even started fave in the rematch.
Tyson wasn't just the favourite going in to that fight, he was going to brutally destroy Holyfield! Holyfield had struggled against a few names, Tyson had smashed Bruno and Sheldon. Even with the time in jail, Tyson was still.. Well, Tyson.
Exactly this is why I find it hilarious when people make excuses, I'm pretty sure there's many people on this forum who were old enough to watch that fight live back then and I highly doubt they were backing Holyfield!
Hindsight is a wonderful thing..... but at the time that fight had huge public demand and was being heavily pushed for.
Negative Tyson spend 4 years in jail and fought less than a dozen rounds since the Ruddock fights until he met Holyfield and he looked subpar in the comeback fights.............McNeally backed him up, Mathis made him look wild and sloppy. Anybody with any boxing knowledge knew that Holyfield was the first real test. Lewis fought the ghost of Tyson and both wanted to cash out, again, anybody with any boxing knowledge knew that Tyson was shot beyond shot and except a lucky punch he had nothing in the tank to beat Lewis.............................as a reminder, besides the bizarre press conference brawl Tyson was fa tas a pig when he went berserk in a Hotel in Cuba. leading up to the fight.......was fat as a pig smoking pot with photographic proof in Hawaii while "training",lol, for the fight. Lewis got paid, Tyson got paid, its called prize fighting after all.
Lewis exposed the post Holyfield Tyson for what he was, a poorly trained , three round fighter .. he was still very dangerous , fast and hard punching but his lack of stamina and focus showed as he unraveled ... this was nothing like the prime 1988 Tyson ...
You don't get paid for overtime in boxing. As Marciano is quoted as saying "Why waltz with a guy for 10 rounds if you can knock him out in one?"
I still recall the nicknamed. Danny Williams the legend killer. When Williams beat Tyson, they really though he was the next Ali in the making. But that dang Klitschko was in the way lol.
I remember how I felt at the time. I allowed Mike a 2-3 round window of possibility. Success still less likely but if it was going to happen, that’s as much time as I could allow. His weight was disconcerting - indicative of insufficient training. It’s funny, even so impaired, as Mike did perform in the first round or so, it wasn’t hard to imagine how his prime reflex, speed and stamina might’ve got the job done - but it was a reduced Lewis also. And I do have to give Lennox credit because he proactively turned around Mike’s first round charge and ended up landing some heavy shots himself before the round was out. . A strong statement, IMO. Thereafter, Lennox settled down into a low risk, don’t stick your neck out if you don’t have to, beat down. Tbh, it virtually only took one to see the first round to more or less know Mike wasn’t going to win. I’m not an MT fan in particular, nor a hater, but I really don’t like seeing ATGs go out like that - but I know it’s part and parcel of the game.
