How would Mike Tysons legacy look like if he drew the color line?

Exactly, he ripped a lot of fighters off, as did most managers/promoters through the years.

Even Tim Witherspoon, who was ripped off as much as anyone by Don King, says he loves the man.

Pinklon Thomas doesn't have a bad word to say about Don King in interviews.

“There is no way to speak about where I come from and where I’ve been without mentioning Don King,” says Thomas. “If it weren’t for Don King, I wouldn’t be a contender or a champion. Before the [Bruce Grandham] fight in Puerto Rico, King told me that if I won that fight, I was in line for a championship fight. He held his end. Sincerely speaking, I truly love him. He gave me the opportunity and I took advantage of it. Nobody else would give me the opportunity that he gave me.”

 

Damiani called him out after beating Biggs and Tyson responded that he'd "never lose the title to no peckerwood."

 

Firstly Tyson was pencilled in to fight Damiani in 89 according to Bill Caytons fightplan (which I did a thread on a few years ago).

However Tyson moved to King so that never materialised.

Secondly, Damiani was ****.

Thirdly, Tyson fought much better fighters than Damiani during the period Damiani called him out.

I believe it was around 88, well Tyson fought Tubbs, Spinks, Bruno, Williams, all of whom were better and/or higher ranked than Damiani.

When did Tyson make the comment about peckerwood? Source?

 

June 29, 1989 | From Times wire services
Unbeaten Italian heavyweight Francesco Damiani has been offered a $1.5-million purse to challenge world champion Mike Tyson, the fighter's manager, Umberto Branchini, said today. Branchini said the bid for a title fight with Tyson in the United States next fall came from Don King, the U.S. promoter who has been organizing Tyson's most recent title bouts. "We are going to negotiate the match, and possibly better terms for Francesco," Branchini said.

 

"We are going to negotiate the match, and possibly better terms for Francesco," Branchini said

My guess is they wanted more money, and didn't get it.

The fact that Team Tyson offered a fight to Damiani shows he wasn't drawing the colour line.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/1987/05/28/sports/boxing-notebook-tyson-set-to-begin-a-whrilwind-tour.html

Mentions that the Damiani fight was in the works.

 

Well, Dempsey signed to fight Wills. Doesn't matter.

The fact is, Tyson never fought anyone as big and skilled as Damiani until the Douglas fight, and we know how that went. It's highly suspicious that Mike unified the titles except for Damani's. The guy destroyed Biggs' career.

 

I think Pinklon Thomas and Tony Tucker would disagree with you. Both guys were as big as Damiani and Douglas. Tucker was better than both and Thomas was at least as good as Douglas and certainly better than Damiani. Williams, Holmes, and Bruno were as big as Damiani and Douglas and at least as good. Im not even sure Damiani was any better than Tyrell Biggs who he beat. Then again Im not even sure youre serious.

 

Well if you read my comment you would have seen that I said "Nobody wanted ANOTHER Jack Johnson" this indicates another black champion who acted like Jack Johnson. They didn't want that chance.

Read what I said before you respond next time.

 

I have many points in that quote but a chief one is that you the guy that posted those articles is taking them out of context. Just think about America at the time when Dempsey became champ and what it even meant to be the Heavyweight Champ. Did the public like Jack Johnson? No. Did they want to see another black champ like Jack Johnson? No. What do fighters do when they want to gain the favor of the American people? They give them assurances.

 

Yet Harry Wills was nothing like Johnson and was much more like the Louis that America embraced a mere decade later.

 

You're not getting the point here. You have to look at it through the perspective of pre WWI America. That's the problem with people now days who look at history in any subject for that matter. There are things that have been forgotten over the last hundred years.

Jack Johnson was reigning champ just 4 years prior to Dempsey. The public was unimpressed with Jess Willard due to his inactivity and they thought Dempsey would be a more active champ. He didn't meet standards. Dempsey wasn't liked by boxing fans until the Tunney bouts.

As for Harry Wills personality, when have racists ever considered the persons character? That's a contradiction! I dont know how much you know about Joe Louis but he operated by a set of rules set up by his trainer and manager in order to specifically not be another Jack Johnson. Evidence that America still held reservations of a Black Champion!

 

Your really s****ing the barrel there.

Damianis 'belt' was mediocre at that period, it didn't gain any recognition until years later.

Does anyone argue that Damiani was some sort of alternative champion to Tyson?

Tyson fought and beat better fighters than Damiani. Period.

Yes Damiani beat Briggs, he deserves a round of applause.

But don't forget who took Biggs soul and virginity before that.

Regarding Damiani being 'big' he was 6'3, Tyson fought and beat guys much bigger.

Douglas much bigger than Damiani with a longer reach.

Damiani is and was a none issue.

 

Rather thin!

 

drew the colour line? lol is this a joke??