"Mike Tyson uses planes of movement other fighters don't use."

Good post. Tyson's movement and ability to create / capitalize on openings is underrated. Once he lost that and became a basic slugger he started to look ordinary.

 

I watched some of his earlier fights over the weekend (with this thread in mind) and I was surprised at how often he did turn southpaw in some earlier fights.

He was still quite crude in some respects earlier in his career. He had no jab at all and was quite frequently off-balance and out of position he was to throw punches.
It's remarkable how polished he got with the style as he got nearer to title contention, and in such a short space of time too. His jab became one of his best punches.

 

Tyson was a very short heavyweight in a division of taller more mobile fighters. He had to utilize angles and unconventional stance and punching positions to setup his offense while still defending himself.

Tyson was very good at keeping his momentum moving towards his opponent so he could continue to punch and even though he was throwing punches from a southpaw, squared or conventional stance, he was almost always in good balance.

Guys that throw those kind of winging wide punches usually find themselves flailing around the ring. Its hard to think of another fighter who was able to do what Tyson did during his prime.

 

I gather it means that Tyson was simply an articulate puncher whose body movements were so fluid that he can throw punches from angles most fighters simply couldn't replicate. He just about mastered every punch in the book and while not all of them were as textbook as Joe Louis; there was not a single fighter in any weight class who could have used the pee-a-book style more effectively than Tyson.

His movement was so awkward that it was difficult to hit him clean or evade him for long periods of time unless you tied him up and fought negative. He can seamlessly switch between stances and his superior footwork and foot speed coupled with terrific head movement, he always put himself in a position to throw a punch.

He was still not the finished product evidenced by the occasional wide punches and wild swings but he was certainly on his way.

 

Many people forget how special Mike Tyson was in his prime. It is true that we never saw another fighter moving like Tyson did (and we probably never will). When I see today's heavy and how the current champions are being rated it makes me want to cry.
Both Klischko turn 'easy' fights into sloppy ass fights when Mike was making his opponents flying (almost literally).
When is the last time we saw a fighter closing the distance in an instant and then coming at full power in both hands at close range ? When did we witness a fighter that could move his upper body like Mike, allowing him to avoid punches and stage his trademark left hooks at the same fashion Dempsey used to ?
Mike's footwork was nothing special but you have to acknowledge the full arsenal of punches that he got and, most importantly, the power that was flowing into his small body pre 1988.

If Mike's prime was today, he would make 50M$ + and 2M PPViewers in each of his fights.