Id say 9.5. He was very close to being the total elite complete package. How many 5'11 guys can jab and box with guys who were 6'5 6'6 solid fighters? Tyson could cutoff the ring, close range with his jab and head movement and setup punches both inside and outside. Those are the fundamentals that the thread starter is referring to, and Tyson at his peak was great at it. Kevin Rooney was a very skilled fighter himself who fought Davey Moore and Alexis Arguello, and he knew the importance of making Tyson well rounded considering the state of the division which consisted of a lot of tall guys who used footwork and mobility as people were still emulating the Ali-Holmes style of fighting during this time.
QFT. This, while under Kevin Rooney he was well rounded and could potentially fight more than one style of fight when he left him he ceased to be that and coupled with the lack of motivation it lead to him being beaten.
for his style they were 10.. Popping a stiff fast jab and double jab and then moving his head to slip inside to work the body to get to the head? That was tough to do. He was quick. It was so quick and needed so much energy, it is a style which cannot keep up for many years. Once he loses a little discipline or lacks in training he loses his edge against the big guys he had to fight. But his skills were 10 in 1985-1989.
Thank you. This isn't gymnastics or synchronized diving with standards of form and degrees of difficulty. It's about effective aggression... and aggression comes in many forms, shapes and manners. In the end, if it works, it is effective. And that is how good a given fighter's skills are.
10/10 against cab drivers and tomato cans. 5/10 against real top heavyweights ( and one blown up cruiser weight).