IF TYSON HAD RETIRED AFTER THE FIRST BRUNO FT HOW WOULD HE BE VIEWED COMPARED TO MARCIANO?

The way Tyson was hyped and the way he was performing i think many would view him as pretty much unbeatable. He'd be considered well above Marciano becuase of hype, how he did things and a career cut short leading to all kinds of imagination and zero boundaries for many.

I'd bet many would see him as the greatest Heavyweight ever. He'd not have the dizzying heights of Ali for example but he'd have no lows either.

The Bruno fight wouldn't have hurt him, he won every round and most would cast the fight aside as an off night if need be. The important point being that he was considered so highly winning every round and stopping someone reasonably early could potentially be seen as a disappointing outing.

A lot of mags had him beating every ATG bar 2 or 3 well before the Bruno bout. It would be free reign to the imagination.

 

Fairly favourably I would say.

And of course he would surely have surpassed Joe Louis's title reign!

 

Not quite answering your question, but if Buster Douglas never existed in the boxing world, I think Tyson may have finished his career with less defeats and a cleaner record. I remember him coming back well after the Douglas loss, but he just didn't seem or look like the pre-Buster Tyson. A lot of fighters go through emotional turmoil after their first loss (I'm sure you know what I mean Fergy) and it can, and sometimes does affect you long term.

 

He rightfully would have been ranked above Marciano. As it is, he still should be ranked above Marciano.

 

He would probably have been the GOAT. People would hypothetically match him against past, present and future greats and favour him due to his undefeated record and hype surround him. That's what I think.

 

After the Douglas fight he lost the aura of invincibility. Opponents before the
Douglas fight were terrified and just tried to survive. After the Douglas fight
opponents realize Tyson was just as vulnerable as any HW and they went out
with the intention ( most ) of trying to win.

 

I'm somewhat in agreement with what this thread is getting at.
There's just one red flag. His entire career would've been four years long.

If he retired against his own volition, like through a career ending injury, it would've made sense.
But if he just retired after four years and said "I don't feel it in training." I don't know, what do you guys think people would say?
Even with a short four year career, he would've had a solid 7 defense reign.

Overall I think he sees a good legacy boost but I think his critics would overplay that "four year career" card.

 

Exactly. There would have been astronomical pressure from the media, other boxers, talk on the street, etc.
Despite how unjust it would be, people just wouldn't let that slide. Especially not in the insane media environment of the 90's.

People aren't satisfied with boxers until they see them tested, or participate in a mega fight.
Or else their career is just an Act I. No conflict.

If GGG retired today, his legacy and popularity would suffer.
We need to see him fight Canelo. And if he blows him out, we will need to see him fight Ward/Kovalev/Stevenson.
We need to see real adversity before calling him an elite great.

Marciano had that adversity when Charles split his nose, and when Walcott took him to deep waters.
Rocky hadn't faced the level of adversity as many of his ATGs peers had, but Tyson would've fallen way shorter in this respect had he retired after the first Bruno fight.

 

Belief was missing imo...Looked great throwing still, but deep down he was finished. All mental !