" Iron " Mike Tyson ?

I agree. I favor Tyson over Foreman h2h and over all the 70s cast, with the exception of 71-74 Ali.

 

Look at it this way. There will never be another fighter who hit with more ferocity ... Just ask sugar ray Leonard.

 

I think longer reining champs like Louis or Ali should be over Tyson, but for a 3 year period, he was the best. After Douglas and post prison, he falls under the likes of Holyfiled and even Lewis imo. But he was a top 5 heavyweight for the most part in that period.

 

+1

 

I don't put a number on Tyson put it that way.

 

I can’t think of a more entertaining fantasy fight then Liston vs Tyson if it ever happened in reality near the whole of this forum would mourn for 10 days and nights.

 

According to Bert Sugar Tyson is ranked #100 out of the 100 greatest fighters of all time so being "Great" is debatable.

What's not debatable is Tyson was and is an eminent pop-culture Icon.

 

Mile Tyson had his problems but he definitely belongs on my top 10 list off all time Heavyweights.

 

he certainly handled a slightly fresher Holmes better than Holyfield did

 

Why are you so confident

 

From 1985 to 88" Tyson was a force of nature. A fine tuned unique skill set and physicality not seen in heavyweight history before or since.
Only a handful of heavyweights in history could deal with him, and only one of the last 20 yrs. ( Personally I don't believe Lewis beat Tyson prime vs prime, but he'd have the best chance)

But I
Always fall back on the words of the great Emmanuel Steward. He predicted during Tysons prime he wouldn't be able to maintain that high energy style, his peak would be short and as he aged, he would slow significantly. ( Not his exact words , but going off memory)
Of course Mr. Steward was right, and by 1989, Tyson was becoming a walk in puncher, a little better than Shavers or Lyle, but nothing like the slick boxer puncher he was a few years earlier.
After his loss to Douglas and his stint in prison we really began to see his deteration.
That's when we saw the flaws in his psych.
Which was always there, it was
hidden by his peak fighting skills, and lack of a great opponent that may have been able to expose them in his prime.
Any time he became frustrated he attempted to break one opponents arm, pushed another after the bell, attempted to strike another during a pre fight intro, elbows and low blows became the norm. Ultimately what may be the worse act in boxing history, ( At least in a major fight )
Biting off BOTH of Holyfield's ears, when in all honesty he should've been DQed After the 1st bite.
And those acts leads me at least to ask the question of what would he have done against an opponent who was just as skilled as he was, but a bigger, meaner bully in his prime?
The tuauts he'd get from Ali, the unforgiving death stare and power of a Foreman or Liston, knowing their repatations as real street hoods, The sheer confidence, will, and relentlessness of Frazier and Holyfield.
How would he handle them? Fighters that had the skill and physicality to handle him?
Judging by what we saw, probably not well.
So we have an almost perfect fighting machine in his prime, with below average intestional fortitude. A bully, or just a front runner, a highly skilled one.

 

Was Holmes better against Tyson than Holyfield? He was younger, yes but was he a better fighter?
Or was he a man that had been sitting around for two years, semi retired, offered Millions of dollars to jump in the ring against a prime Tyson without any tune ups or proper preparation, just making a money grab?

 

Common misconception is that Holmes was unprepared for the fight.

 

That first knockdown, the straight right, was awesome. Holmes hit the deck straightaway. Lol

 

I have him in the lower reaches of my top 10 all time great heavyweights.