How weak was Tyson's opposition, really?

He has several underrated wins.

Ruddock,Thomas,Tucker,Berbick.

 

James Tillis,Mitch Green,James Smith,Pinklon Thomas,Tyrell Biggs,Michael Spinks was very good boxers, or Frank Bruno who gives Lewis a damn hard fight

 

what this guy said:good:good:good

 

razor ruddock a bum?????:---(

 

YAWN:hi:TIME TO DELETE YOU/TROLLS R BORING:hi:

 

wasnt great, an it wasnt bad, the way he ran through very good heavys was the great part

 

His opposition was pretty good. Most of those guys held the title in the 1980s. The era was not great for title holders, but they were good fighters.

 

Tyson fought very solid competition. As noted already, his wins over many opponents such as Holmes and Spinks are underrated.

 

Tysons era was actually quite a bit better than this current era, also better then the era Larry Holmes reigned in. Bonecrsuher, Tucker, Ruddock, Spinks, Old Holmes (who no one even came close to beating like that when he was even older).... all very good wins.

 

heh heh heh

 

An old out-of-shape retired Holmes was Tyson's best win. That's how bad it was in the mid 80s...

 

You can't be taken seriously when it comes to the sport of boxing.

Holmes was a pretty good scalp. He had been preparing for the Tyson fight since Tyson fought Tyrell Biggs. In fact after the Biggs fight Holmes gave an interview explaining that he has been working out and is back and ready for Mike Tyson. Tyson stopped him in brutal fashion. 4 years later he extends Holyfield the distance and beats an undefeated Ray Mercer more decisively than Holyfield and Lewis beat Ray. He didn't get better 4 years later, rather he simply faced fighters who he matched up better against. I think Holmes would have always beaten Mercer and Holyfield and he would have always struggled if not lost to Tyson. Solid win.

Spinks beating Larry Holmes in 1985 would be the equivalent of somebody dethroning Vitaly Klitschko today. Or dethroning Lennox Lewis back in 2003. Yes there were 2 close fights but they were close enough to suggest that Spinks belonged in the ring with the Champion. Spinks would later stop Gerry Cooney who was as effective as a 2010 Sam Peter minus the chin. Tyson destroyed him in a manner that most Heavyweights would have been unable to replicate.

Thomas was considered Holmes's heir apparent back in 84. He had a stellar jab and was pretty skilled. Drugs ruined him but he was formidable when he faced Tyson back in 87.

Tucker managed to stay relevant up until the early 90s. I think Tucker would have likely unified the belts if Tyson hadn't come along only to lose them to Holyfield in 1991 or Riddick Bowe in 1992.

Tubbs had natural talent and managed to outbox Riddick Bowe in 1991 despite falling short. I'd favor him over most of today's division save the K Brothers.

Ruddock was a dangerous fighter who was unfortunate to have been in such a deep 90s division. So dangerous that Holyfield and Bowe both chose to fight each other rather than face Ruddock. So Lewis had to face Ruddock. Incidentally the experts at the time picked Holyfield to beat Bowe and Ruddock to beat Lewis setting up the superfight; Holyfield vs Ruddock. Tyson beat him twice when he was a threat.

Tyrell Biggs was a decent scalp who seemingly had the tools to be champion. I think his talent far exceeded his ambition. In retrospect it's clear that he wasn't ready for a fighter of Tyson's caliber. Little known fact, several experts including Larry Merchant picked Biggs over Mike Tyson.

Bruno: When you consider who Bruno lost to it's pretty clear that it took a quality fighter to beat him. Bonecrusher was a helluva a puncher and his 1st round KO of Tim Witherspoon reinforced that emphatically. Other than those two he lost to Tyson 2X, Lewis and Witherspoon. Personally, I don't think there is any shame in that.

Look the point here is that Tyson beat some quality fighters in his day and did so in such a one sided and destructive fashion that his wins get undermined. The unfortunate part about Tyson is he set the bar so high for himself and was therefore subject to more scrutiny than any other Heavyweight Champion after him, including Riddick Bowe who was also well received the moment he became champ.

 

Well the way he got KTFO'd by bums. I'd say he wasnt good enough to be called a bum.:deal

 

Wlad won't be remembered at all in 20 years. Not even by the trolls infesting boxing forums pretending to be apart of his fanbase.

He'll only be feintly remembered as that guy who got KO'd by Deontay Wilder in 1 round.

 

The Holmes that beat Mercer was 4 years older (42 years old) and was in against an opponent who he matched up better against. Same with Holyfield. Holmes never matched up well with Tyson and that's why the result was as one sided as that.

By the way:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m861f99Nkvk[/ame]
He wasn't drinking beer, smoking dope, etc. He simply lost to a fighter who many other heavyweight champions past, present or future would have lost to that night.

Most likely, after all they did it with Holmes.

The best win Vitaly never had was against an old out-of-shape semi-retired Lewis. That's how bad this era is.