Larry Merchant said Mike Tyson was on a carnival tour of hand picked opponents

Post Tyson Holyfield in 1997, yes, Mike was on a hand picked tour. Think about it. Instead of fighting a David Tua or Corrie Sanders etc., he was given guys he could dispatch relatively easy.

I am a big Tyson fan. He is a top 10 heavy based on what he did from 1986-92, but post prison comeback, he was given guys he could beat relatively easily. The only reason his team agreed on Holyfield was because Holyfield was considered washed post Bowe 3 stoppage loss.

From 95-2002, the guys whom Mike missed were Mercer, Tua, Sanders, Ibeabuchi (from 98-99), Sanders, Rahman, Byrd etc.

 

Shocking to hear a boxing commentator basically talking jibberish…

 

And yet Merchant was saying that during a fight in which Lennox Lewis defended his title against Botha. Thats pretty sad. Basically Merchant was shilling for HBO because Tyson was a Showtime fighter. So Lewis, the champion, was defending against a guy who Tyson had knocked out on his supposed tour of handpicked opponents. And lets not forget that Tyson took that fight as a tuneup after having been suspended for a year and a half. Strange criticism given the house fighter and champion was feasting on Tysons handpicked sloppy seconds.

 

That must have been when he fought McNeely and Seldon.

 

McNeeley was gonna wrap Mike in a cocoon of horror

 

He didn't have a belt. For a non champion Botha, Orlin Norris, Francis, Savarese, Golota, Brian Nielsen is a pretty fine standard of competition. Now hes missing who hes missing from his resume but thats a seperate thing.

 

Mike Tyson had just fought Lou Savarese (and the referee John Coyle, and promoter Frank Warren in a pre-fight altercation) ... in Glasgow, Scotland.

 

Tyson and his team succeeded in making a ton of money from Botha to Lewis. The only real misstep was missing the Lewis rematch.

It sort of feels like the Lewis match was secured after he beat Golota. He regressed after that, when he could’ve sharpened up a little bit more. The rematch between Lewis and Rahman might have delayed it some.

 

Well, it worked. Tyson was rated as a number 2 contender to Lewis by The Ring in 2001 and number 1 by Boxing Monthly.

 

Remember, that Botha fight was made instead of the Ruiz fight who ducked Lewis. On top of that Lewis defended his title against 2 number 1 contenders that year - Grant and Tua.

 

“Hand picked” that’s a good manager for you, Robinson envied Floyd Pattersons team to quote roughly… “I wish I could fight nobody and get paid that much.” Tyson made a name in the 80s and a TON of money in the 90s.

 

However, I must admit that Lewis during this period fought Holyfield, Grant, Tua and Rahman who were much stronger than Norris, Francis, Savarese and Golota. Lewis fought at a higher level, with better opponents and won more. Tyson’s fights with Francis are a bargain, his fights with Savarese, Norris, Gołota and Botha have been scandalous. Merchant mial racje. Tyson's career so far has been a circus that has taken him to another big-money blame.

 

Let’s be clear: Lennox Lewis didn’t duck anyone. He fought every top heavyweight of his era — Holyfield, Tyson, Mercer, Bruno, Tua, Klitschko, Rahman, Briggs, Morrison, Grant, Akinwande — the list goes on. He avenged his only two losses decisively and retired as the heavyweight champion of the world.

To paint Lewis as some kind of opponent-ducking opportunist is not just wrong — it’s lazy revisionism. He took on every credible threat across multiple generations of heavyweights and beat them on the biggest stages, often as the “away fighter” in terms of crowd or promoter leverage.

The truth is simple: Lennox Lewis was the last great heavyweight to clean out his era. Anyone suggesting otherwise should reread his record — it’s self-explanatory.

 

He was fighting name opponents but SAFE opponents between the Holyfield rematch and the Lewis fight. Norris, Golota, Savarese, Botha, Nielsen, all good fighters but safe opponents for a fighter of Tyson's caliber. Basically, keep Tyson somewhat busy and winning before he challenged Lewis for the big payday.