Did you live the days of prime Mike Tyson ?? What was it like ?

True. But by the time of the Tyson-Spinks fight, Tyson was regarded as the consensus champ with the general public, hence why he entered the right after Spinks. Maybe the days of the 'Cheese Champion' (ala Floyd in the early 60s and George in the 90s) made the lineal crown a bit less prestigious.

 

Very good.s ince we have come to the conclusion that linear or alphabetical status does not matter for a boxer's legacy, I am still curious which of Tyson's fights do you consider the most valuable and which of Lewis'. Those that can be considered the best, worthy of ATG, those that are unique and it's hard to find a boxer outside ATG who would repeat it.

 

He may not have been the best heavyweight of all time but I've never seen one who so absolutely destroyed all-comers. World champions were afraid of him.

 

My dad was a bit younger than Ali and loved Pelé. They were his sporting heroes. We don't really do basketball in the UK so that's that. Iron Mike was a superhero and then when he got his video game, that's that.

I used to say to dad, Mike hits harder, has just a good a chin and is really quick - he will be greater than Ali. Dad used to always remind me that you need to see a man in the midst of fire over his career to know how great he is. I was convinced he was wrong and that dad would be proven wrong - dad was right, as always when he was giving me the benefits of his experience.

Tyson was, bar none, the most exciting fighter to watch/hear about of my childhood. Stylistic longevity, personal demons and decision-making are some of the reasons why he's not top of the HW tree - perhaps, the greatest destroyer of C and B class fighters the division ever saw.

 

I never doubted this nor said otherwise. What I said was the lineal championship is often overhyped given there is no governing at all and the title holder can duck & dodge quality contenders and be inactive whilst still being "the champion". Floyd Patterson is a great example of what I'm talking about: Liston was dominating the division as Floyd was either inactive or fighting the likes of Tom McNeeley. Yet some posters here will minimalize Liston's pre-Patterson career because he was not "the champion," just as they do Tyson by virtually ignoring everything he did pre-Spinks and condensing his accomplishments as a fighter by his "two defenses" as champion.

 

You can only have 2 defences as the champion and still be a great fighter. Ezzard Charles was never the champion at 175, but is considered the greatest light heavyweight ever. I'm aware some people are using the lineage to trying to minimalize accomplishments, but I'm only stating facts here. Mike was the best heavyweight on the planet since 1987. He became the champ in 88. And again, yes, the lineal championship can be overhyped sometimes, but still, there's no better way to determine who the real champion is and it's definitely better than looking at the alphabet belts.

 

I agree with 99% here, but as so often is the case the timeline for Liston is muddled here.The best from "at least" '58? He was inactive in '57 and almost all of '56. So very doubtful that he was the best before '58. At least from '59 is reasonable, though.

 

I remember the quick hype he'd get in the magazines as he racked up those early KO's, but the coming out party against Ferguson really put him on the map. He became magazine cover material with that win and people started picking up on him in a mainstream way after that.

 

Yes I think Liston was the best HW in the world in 1958. As you say, he didn't fight in 1957, so who knows? Hence the "at least". Granted, nothing he did pre 58 indicated he was the best.

 

first time I tuned in to one of his fights was ABC Wide World Of Sports on the undercard of Weaver - Williams.

Not majorly impressed. He didnt fare as well against bigger men but others like Marvis Frazier and M. Spinks, he ate them for lunch

Another fond memory was the Berbick fight. Even having Angelo Dundee, didnt help.

 

Fair enough.