Thank you. Yeah the shadows of Klitschko opponents from a decade ago being among the best wins of the “great” champions of the current era says it all… and I actually like Usyk, Fury, and even Wilder….
Mike is one of my all time favourite fighters. He was a force of nature but his resume is weak and as is always the case with you rose-tinted google wearing boxing nostalgists and paleontologists you have a million excuses and free passes for the losses and poor performances of the dinosaur gods you worship and you ignore or gloss over their flaws and negative things whilst you crucify the ''inferior'' fighters of today for all of theirs. Mike was brutally KO'd by Buster Douglas at 23 y/o, KO'd by Holyfield at 30, got DQ'd in the rematch not long after because he couldn't deal with the mental pressure or Holyfield's dirty tactics and I'm sure I don't need to remind you of Mike's dirty tactics and history of unsportsmanlike behaviour. Got knocked out by Lewis when he was 2 years younger than Usyk is now And again by Danny Williams when he was the same age as Usyk is now (like 2 months older) And then again the following year by McBride Belly at his best is a terrible style match up for him. Sure maybe Mike catches him at some point and takes him out but the size and reach disparity is huge and when you couple that with Belly's boxing ability, skills, slickness, movement, elusiveness he would be boxing Mike's ears off and I can see him getting extremely frustrated in that one and losing his cool and getting DQ'd again. We've literally never seen a HW with Belly's combination of size, weight, reach, skills, slickness, agility, defence, ring IQ, and footwork. Usyk is a way better fighter than him but size matters and the size, length/reach disparity between them is obscene and that alone makes it very difficult for Usyk, let alone with the addition of Belly's combination of boxing ability, skills, ring IQ, slickness, hand speed and agility for his size, and movement and against an almost 38 y/o Usyk who is clearly slower, with slower reaction times and reflexes, and not as agile, sharp or as fluid as he used to be even just a few years ago. You know, the kind of things you guys hand out obligatory free passes for losing to the dinosaurs you worship even when there's no real noticeable decline in those departments of theirs like there is with Usyk But if a 38 y/o Usyk loses to a giant who holds obscene physical advantages over him the likes of which none or very very few of the dinosaurs you worship were ever giving away to their opponents you will all act like he's in the midst of his prime and is immune to the ageing process even though you consider him inferior to all the greats of yesteryear you worship. The fact that Usyk didn't even turn pro until he was almost 27, 4 years older than what Mike was when he got KO'd by Douglas and just over 3 years younger than when he got KO'd by Holyfield, and managed to become undisputed at CW and HW in just 22 fights and undisputed at HW in an era of super sized HW giants, who unlike many of the giants of previous are not slug slow uncoordinated Frankenstein's monsters, at the age of 37 and doing it the hard way in his opponent's backyards and on the road against a murderer's row of punchers, literally a bunch of the hardest punchers in the sport and I mean P4P too for some of them, is a testament to his greatness and there were no embarrassing losses along the way or robbery gifts.
They thought Ali was scared to death per the antics at the weigh in. So much so, some were suggesting that they call off the fight. We know Ali also copped a fine for his behaviour. Ali did carry a healthy amount of fear of Liston, as he admitted, but it didn’t impair him and, as you said, he used it to his advantage and that is exactly what adrenaline is for. He came to win and not merely survive. I’ve always speculated that he used the weigh in, in part, to take the edge of any excess nerves and to of course to intimidate Liston himself. Ali’s BP was found to be very normal not too long after the show he put on.
One of if not the most loved fighters in history, resume has fantastic accomplishments whilst underwhelming but that's part of his enigma. Very interesting person. I did some reading on the peek a boo a while ago, I'm not sure a lot of people appreciate just how bad that style is for any sort of longevity. You put a poll up right now and most would vote Iron Mike to clean out divisions ever since that era.
I am The amount of energy expended, with the bobbing and weaving, moving up and down It takes an awful lot of fitness to fight in that style, especially how mike implemented it Holyfield is a machine and even he said nobody could out work mike in the amateurs.
I read about how murderous it is on the knees and lower back and that keeping it up for a few rounds of intensity on a heavy bag is ridiculous so it's no wonder Mike was built like a bull constantly. People said it's so rare to see it practised because of how rough it is on the body, along with the trainers who could actually teach it properly dying out, so it's a lost art and not a desirable style.
I have read the same and always wondered myself He had the right frame as you say, stocky as a bull. I train judo and I'm a big guy and it is hard to go up and down your knees, absolutely draining Mike perfected that style. I'm not saying he's the greatest fighter in history, but it was beautiful watching him box
I know you have to rate a fighter absolute in the division he is fighting, without concessions - - but it would still be remiss not to note that Tyson did amazing things at HW at a height and reach of just 5’10” and 71” respectively - - particularly during an era when HWs were transitioning into Super HWs. On paper, Mike’s aforementioned stats didn’t promise much but Mike’s performances quickly made you forget about his major disadvantages in those regards. I view Joe Frazier, who was also relatively smaller during his own era, somewhat similarly. Joe and Mike had to work their asses off that much more than the bigger guys but in doing so, they yielded stunning and emphatic results.
Difficult to say. Tyson is a one of a kind fighter. Built like a compact tank, with power, speed and agility. Nobody today has faced someone like Tyson. He is like the opposite of Tyson Fury. Who, in his own right, is a one of a kind.
How can Mike fight generally weak competition get brutally KO'd in the midst of his prime at 23 y/o by Buster Douglas and receive a free pass for it from so many who act like it didn't even happen, doesn't affect his legacy or his standing in in hypothetical H2H match ups, and all the excuses for said embarrassing loss are deemed legitimate by them? But if an Usyk, who is few weeks away from his 38th birthday and who has been past his prime for years and is fighting at a weight which is obviously not his optimum fighting weight at all, were to lose a giant former three-belt unified champion elite who not only holds obscene physical advantage over him, 50lbs or so in weight, 7'' in reach, and what like 5'' in height, and who is also fast, agile, athletic, slick, extremely fit, and has excellent boxing skills and a high ring IQ every single one of these same people will absolutely crucify him for it, hold it against him, and cite it as proof he isn't a legit great or could he ever beat any of the greats from previous generations they worship who are unbeatable gods in their minds despite the fact they lost, lost many times, suffered embarrassing losses, were ''washed up'' long before they reached Usyk's age and afforded the obligatory excuses for all their losses, and lost to fighters Usyk would toy with? Are we dealing with a legit mental disorder here? I think we may well be And again, I'm a huge Mike fan and he was my favourite fighter for many years and he still is one of my all time favs today
Well, this is likely true and hard to argue against. Mike’s HL reel, even when viewed decades after the fact by fans who might not have even been born during Tyson’s era will always have that WOW factor and draw fans in. They would probably like Tyson’s pure, animalistic intentions also. Mike may well be the first and perhaps still the only guy who “wanted” to eat his opponents offspring - and he did nibble on Holyfield’s ear, after all. What’s not to love? Lol! Mike’s lesser performances and losses otherwise will be more often ignored or given an inequitable, “rationalised”pass so as to not spoil the preferred image. In perfect complement, Mike’s more mellowed post career personality is hard not to like. Usyk is the proverbial “good guy”and, at least as far as public perception goes, the axiom that suggests that such guys finish last might be upheld. Bad boys in boxing do garner support for the very fact of them being bad from time to time - Fury garners support from a certain contingent of fans for the very same reason. I’ll give Fury his due though - when he is switched on, positive and not so mean spirited, he can be very funny = good for the game.
