Why Tyson was the greatest ever in his "prime"

atsch

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Bums don't become the youngest boxers to win a title....ever.

 

Tyson in his very short prime would have been able to beat MOST of the HWs who are considered all time greats. But not all. I see him destroying the vastly overated Ali (who lost to mediocre fighters like Norton and Leon Spinks, despite the gifts the judges gave him) and Joe Frazier whose go-forward style (and small size) would have almost assured him a trip to the hospital after Tyson broke his head open.

But against a prime Lewis, or Foreman, guys who a) wouldn't have lost the fight before it even started by coming in intimidated and b) had the size, reach and strength to hurt Tyson from a long way out.....Tyson wouldn't have done well. And I suspect that even a prime Tyson would still have gotten clobbered by a prime Holyfield.

You have to remember that the "prime" Tyson never really fought a great HW. Spinks was excellent, but was a blown up Cruiser. Take Spinks off the list of prime Tyson opponents and whose left? Marvis Frazier, Jose Ribalta, Alonso Ratliff, Trevor Berbick, an aging Bonecrusher Smith (who barely trained for the fight, I saw him in a bar drinking bourbon a week before the fight), Pinklon Thomas, Tony Tucker. Not exactly names that would strike terror into the heart of a top HW. Oh....and Holmes, though Holmes had already been retired for two years, and fought Tyson with no tune ups. He just stepped back into the ring after having two long years off, and was WAY past his prime, even without consider the two years of no activity.

I wish we could have seen what Tyson would have done against great fighters in their primes, but it will forever be a matter of speculation, because the simple fact is that he didn't fight any. I think Bowe would have killed Tyson if they'd fought in, say, 1991. I think that Vitali of 3-4 years ago would have been to much for Tyson. Not that Vitali was a better fighter, he's not, but the size difference, combined with Vitali's undeniable skills, would lead me to believe that Tyson would not be able to land that home run punch, and without that Vitali would be a sure thing to win.

Anyway, as is so often the case in boxing, we'll just never know for sure what "would have happened"

 

Prime Mike Tyson had it all, and he could potentially have become the best HW of all times. Skills, speed, power, defense, chin, and the list goes on. HOWEVER, we can't be sure if he had the heart needed to beat other ATGs who would not have been intimidated by him and who would not have crumbled in a few rounds. What if a determined prime Ali or Frazier would have been there for a full 12 (or 15!) rounds giving him hell, do you think Tyson could have remained focused and determined enough to beat them (which he certainly had the ability to do)? I don't know it, and it can't be answered for sure. That's why we can't say that Tyson was the greatest ever. Ali remains the greatest in my book.

PS: I know very well that Mike was far from his best when he faced Buster Douglas. I also think that a prime Mike Tyson would have beat Douglas easily.

 

Sure, before Mike did it, most people thought it was pretty even. After Mike does it, anyone can do it.:nut

 

They do when Trevor Berbick is the champion:rofl:rofl:rofl

 

Prime Tyson would beat everybody in any Ära he is one of the greates Of all Times no Doubt

 

Tyson was great at blowing out guys out of the ring that stood in front of him like a statue. It's a special talent and can make you rich very quickly if marketed right, but it didn't help once he faced world class competition.

 

Prime Tyson couldn't even beat Buster Douglas.

The guy was a ****ing HOAX.:deal

 

dealyep

 

Ya but even Ali's floating like a butterfly act wouldn't save him from Tyson's pure speed. Tyson tracks Ali down in 2.
Greatest ever period.

 

But he couldn't track down the dreaded Buster Douglas.:rofl

 

awesome vid.

 

I can think of at least 5-10 heavweights in history that beat Tyson prime for prime. In terms of P4P all time Tyson would be lucky to be in my top 50.

 

Tyson was in his prime up until 88 and the Spinks fight. After that he sacked his long time trainer Kevin Rooney and the downward spiral started. He showed weakness in his defence in his very next fight against Bruno and by time he fought Douglas his defence and head movement was virtually none existant. People tend to remember him for his explosive KO's but his defensive ability to slip punches and get on the inside to land his bombs was just as important in what made him the fighter he was.

Having a decnt jab would never have been affective against Tyson, because of his lack of height as a heavyweight he trained all his life to slip jabs and straight punches from much taller men. Therefore I'd pick him to beat a Prime Ali, Holmes, Lewis and the Klit Bro's...Frazier might have had more sucess with his Hooks and movement but I think he was too small and lacked the power to hurt Tyson. I see someone like Foreman or Holyfield having the best chance against a prime Tyson but I guess if their life depended on it the majority of people would pick Tyson to win.

 

A motivated Tyson, fully focused as he was before he went on with Don King and that ***** ex wife of his he was unbeatable