ATG: Who Ranks Higher, Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Mike Tyson???

Barrera beat far better fighters, a prime Morales should outcount any fighter Tyson ever fought

 

tyson for me, being the youngest undisputed heavyweight king plus his style is somewhat superiror head to head, pound for pound....

 

Mike Tyson was a force of nature during the mid to late 80s. Destroying good fighters in a matter of rounds and of course being crowned the youngest ever Heavyweight champion by blitzing well respected Trevor Berbick in double quick time. It's fair to say that during Mike Tyson's first reign as Heavyweight king, he couldn't have really been anymore dominant over the division than he was. Some of the fastest hands ever seen at that weight, with perhaps only Patterson and Louis possessing comparable combination's at their peaks. If you want to get people enthused with the sport, you put in tapes of prime Mike Tyson knocking fools out all over the shop, no question.

With that said, in Marco Antonio Barrera you have a fighter who not only beat better fighters, but was able to extend his greatness over a longer period of time. The difference isn't only in how Marco was able to defeat two undefeated P4P rated fighters in Erik Morales and Naseem Hamed, but how after he endured his first professional career defeat, he came back reinvigorated and better than ever. Mike Tyson, although he did recapture a strap after the Douglas defeat, was never on the same plane as he had been before and as a result was pretty much done by '96.

Marco Antonio Barrera was a champion in three different weight categories, he was competing at the highest level for the best part of 13-15 years, and with quality wins over such opponents as Erik Morales, Naseem Hamed, Kennedy Mckinney, Jesse Benevides, Johnny Tapia, Jesus Salud, and Daniel Jimindez, he gets the nod in this head to head.

 

This could go either way. I put up a similar thread on the classic. Opinions were pretty split on who is ranked higher. Im on the fence with this one you could make a case for either guy.