Is Prime Tysons Defense Overrated??

Tyson's defense was extremely good for the way he charged in with what appeared to be no regards for his own safety and no respect for his opponents. It WAS a special defense.

 

I agree that Tyson's blend of offensive and defensive qualities was special in his prime.

Yes he got hit at times but so did pretty much every heavyweight great, even those who accomplished far more than Mike in their career and who had far superior height and reach to Tyson.

I still think that the Tyson of '88 has a better shot than most heavyweights in history of beating the Ali of '66, even if he would be the underdog in that fight. He starts as a clear favourite against any version of Lewis and Holyfield too IMO.

Not overrated at all in H2H match-ups.

 

A lot of his defence was down to his height and head movement.It worked most of the time because the bigger guys were not used to a powerful guy that size swarming them.The better ones like Tucker did as you stated and timed upercuts as he came in.Mike`s defence was not really that good,he just had a way of confusing his opponent with the head movement and great timing to with his own shots.Once the head movement slowed he was in trouble.

 

I wouldn't say he had great defense but he had great head movement, a great chin and he threw power punches in bunches...three key components for a great defense.

 

I wouldn't say he had great defense but he did have great head movement, a great chin and he was extremely aggressive offensively...three key components to a great defense.

 

How many uppercuts did he land in the fight?

Same with Ali and Jones jr.

It's still a part of defense. It just take more natural ability; trained ability especially.

 

Good point!

 

Well trained fighters are taught to duck.

 

100%.

 

in his YOUNG PRIME, he applied phenomenal bob&weave technique w/ a peek-a-boo guard w/ great discipline, because of Cus D'Amato. This fed directly into his offense - he countered/slipped alot and transitioned into offense seamlessly. The problem was that he shouldnt have been that fast for that size, lol. Thats what made him ungodly - VERY FAST footwork, punching, and reactions, on parallel with a welterweight.

left-handed, he was a converted southpaw. Prob why his jumping left hook was ridiculously over-powered, and his fast footwork would carry him in fast as a lead punch.
He also rolled out of defense and used it as a massive counterpunch many times.

His 8th fight, vs a D-lvl opponent - even his right is devastating!
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1IJU7uIhvI[/ame]



His 9th fight, vs a C-lvl opponent, step up - times and catches Long with his jumping left hook, insta KD.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQsp4TM36jY[/ame]


His 22nd fight, his bob&weave isnt as tight or fast anymore. But he does stay in the pocket and shows off his ability to avoid punches in the pocket, rolls and counters with a big left hook that closes out the fight...
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xnn72B8Jlc[/ame]

 

His quick, defensive head movement was very good for a man who charged forward with such a powerful offensive style. Obviously, he's not going to be as good defensively as fighters who choose to box moving away from their opponents like a Mayweather.

 

No

 

For his particular style, no, not overrated at all.

 

:good