I cannot see Tyson's style win at the Olympics, but had he won there who knows if he would have been as great a professional. He peaked as a professional rather early. Had he been successful at the Olympics he might have peaked really really early and not been as great as he was for those years 1986-1989 when he was almost unbeatable.
Its feasible with a higher profile post Olympics he gets a title shot earlier. Possible he loses before or at this point too, due to a sense of entitlement. I suspect Cus would have held him back though had he seen this come out of young Mike. I think it depends if he stays with D'Mato or goes with a big name big dollar promoter after the games
I do not see the same Mike Tyson as a professional had he won the Olympics. It might have demotivated him a little to win a gold. Mike's career as a professional was so great, he didn't need a gold. A gold medal is good, but a great professional career is much better.
the scoring in the olympics then was not the bull**** it is now. tyson lost to henry tillman in the US boxoffs after knocking tillman down. tillman went on to win the gold. i don't think there would be any difference in his career. he was a star coming up the ranks anyway.
Mike wasn't good enough as a amateur, i used to try & kid myself into thinking he beat Tillman twice in the Olympic trials... but when you really watch those properly, Tillman deserved the decision both times, using amateur scoring. So the bottom line is, Tillman was a better heavyweight amateur, & thus was rightfully on the US '84 Olympic team, & won the Gold medal he deserved. [yt]udia3npfFwg[/yt] [yt]uh8OoHdf4x0[/yt]
Rather an interesting thought to contemplate. Compare Tyson's career track to SRL's, or Howard Davis, Jr.'s. Tyson might actually have gotten to the title while still in his teens. That string of early quick knockouts in 1985 might have been replaced with more credible opposition which could extend him, and the promotional pull of a Gold Medal winner could then have accelerated his schedule. Tillis was his 20th bout. SRL was extended to ten in his 12th fight. With a Gold Medal behind him, Tyson would have gotten generous television network exposure from the outset, and better opposition would have been required as a result during his rookie year of 1985. In five consecutive bouts from June to November 1978, SRL touched gloves for the final round, valuable experiences which extended his stamina. Tillis, Green and Ribalta were good for Mike, but still doesn't quite measure up to the seven times Ray entered the tenth round prior to Benitez. 18 fights in, Ray had his first scheduled 12 rounder, then later, NABF Title fights with Ranzany and Price. In Ray's second career bout, his opponent was hellish 10-1-0 future NABF and USBA LWW Champion Willie "Fireball" Rodriguez, who did knock Ray silly early in the match. Seven fights in, Howard was decked twice by Stormin' Norm Goins. Both Ray and Howard had just two opponents with losing records. Mike had five. Fireball, then coming off his first ten round win, was the least experienced opponent Ray ever had. Tyson had five novices with four bouts or less in 1985. Like Ray and Howard, Mike would have had far fewer soft touches. Look at Frazier. He sustained a standing eight count in his second outing against Mike Bruce, got hard hitting Mel Turnbow in fight five, and 30-5-1 veteran Dick Wipperman in his sixth bout. Fights 12, 13 and 14 were Bonavena I, Machen, and Doug Jones. Fight number 20 brought him to Mathis and the championship. Again, fight number 20 for Tyson was Tillis. Foreman did take longer to get to Frazier, but faced reputable competition pretty quickly. Wepner was his fourth bout. Eight fights in, Roberto Davila took George the eight round limit. 12 fights in, Levi Forte took him ten. 16 fights in came Peralta I. Chuvalo was fight 22, Kirkman 24. Fight 28 for Big George was Peralta II, scheduled over the championship distance for Leotis Martin's vacated NABF HW Title. Fight 28 for Tyson was Berbick's WBC version of the championship. George made his professional debut at MSG, which became his home away from home, with eight pre-title fights taking place in the Mecca of boxing. He was competing in major venues, like the Spectrum, Inglewood Forum, and Sam Houston Coliseum. Peralta I was the semifinal to Frazier-Ellis I. It seems like many of Mike's early bouts took place in quiet and sometimes sparsely filled ballrooms. Where Foreman and his management went wrong was in taking it easy after Peralta II, instead of seeking more challenging and resistant opposition, which cost him dearly in Kinshasa. As a result of more demanding early competition which could extend him, Tyson may have had better resilience when he faced Douglas in Tokyo. He wouldn't have been so likely to rely on one big shot to extricate himself from difficult situations. Coming out of the Olympics with a Gold Medal would have resulted in him being required to confront that more difficult opposition from the outset.
I don't see any Olympic result affecting his pro career in the slightest. Based on that string of comic-book variety KO's in the first year and a half of his pro campaign, the fanfare surrounding Tyson was building momentum like a freight train as early as mid-late '85, before any of the '84 olympians had made any real noise in the pro ranks. In other words, he didn't need the Olympic exposure to further his career. His brand of excitement wasn't dependent on a fancy amateur pedigree as backing.
he wasnt being paid mega money until he beat Berbick. He would of got a mega money signing on bonus. Who knows what that would of done to him
