He damn sure was in his prime vs Douglas. He just didnt train or really care anymore. Your right though he slipped bad. He would just walk in behind no jab. He started leading with hooks which was really weird. His combos became nothin like they were. People who say his headmovement slipped I kinda disagree with though. I think his head movement post 1990 is underated. Overall it was how he chose his punches that made him slip bad. His footwork went downhill more than his head movement IMO.If you watch him after 1990 his head movement is still elite. Its just hes not moving his feet like he did he was planted in one spot so he was gtiin tagged Physically he was in his prime up until the mid 1990's. He just didnt have the right corner like the point of your thread states
Tyson's prime was obviously from that Berbick fight and the WBC Title win till 1988 when he faced Michael Spinks in the Trump Plaza. I can't recall if he beat Tubbs b4 or after that but I am sure he took too many crafty fighters in that period - Berbick, Thomas, Smith, Tucker, Holmes, Biggs and Spinks... After that, he was pretty lucky to shake Carl Williams with a punch in the opening round and having Bruno against the ropes and waisted in the fifth stanza... Tyson was already becoming less agressive and his defense was showing signs that you could hit him, his stamina was showing signs that he could fade and then came that stupid second travel to Japan to face Douglas Jan 1990...
Emanuel touched on basically this same subject: http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=30263&more=1 CIANI: Going back to something you said earlier, Kevin Rooney and Mike Tyson did have one of those unique trainer-fighter chemistries that really seemed to work together. A lot of fans and observers maintain that had Tyson never parted ways with Rooney, that he would have stayed more focused and that he may have been able to go on to succeed and accomplish more. Do you think there is any truth to that view, that if Tyson had stayed with Rooney his career would have turned out better? STEWARD: I think they had a great chemistry. Everything worked good, but there is a certain time with all of us in boxing. As Mike started fighting and was going up, he was 19, 20, but as he got to a certain age22, 23, 24, I dont know if even Kevin Rooney could have controlled and done that much with Mike. Mike had come into his own as a man. They had him more as a kid. Even with Cus, I dont know if Cus would have been able to maintain and control him. He was at a different stage in his life. But at the time it worked. Regardless, when Mike started fighting those big guysand I always keep going back to the size factor. He still was a little guy. He could neutralize his size handicap with speed. His speed was so effective that the big guys were often clumsy uncoordinated who were bigger than him, until he fought those big guys who had skills and were not afraid of him. But the big guys who were not super skillful, he would neutralize the size disadvantage with tremendous speed, footwork, head movement, and punching from short angles with all different types of punches. But the bigger guys Ive always felt would have given him a problem. I think Lennox Lewis would have always been a problem for him. Kevin I thought was the best chemistry that he ever had, but I dont know if that would have held up at a certain stage because Mike had grown and changed as things went along, but it worked perfect and all you can do is work with what you got. It happens often in boxing when personalities have unbelievable great chemistry. You can go and on and on and on with fighters that have that chemistry with one trainer who doesnt have it with any other guy. For them, and their system, and the way physically Mike Tyson was built, it was a great combination and it worked good when they were together.
Tyson didn't fall to pieces, he just didn't have a proper gameplan or even a gameplan at all for that matter. He prepared harder for Bruno and Seldon but never got his timing and balance back post prison. Plus he had bucket men in his corner who didn't know **** about boxing. Tyson beats Holyfield pre-prison.
Carl Williams was an underrated win considering where he was rated and how quickly Tyson obliterated him. This was post-Rooney, right before Douglas. Nobody can deny that Tyson's skills began declining after Rooney when he was basically training himself. But the guy who got his clock cleaned by Douglas and came back a savage, battering Ruddock in back-to-back bouts was fully capable of regaining his title. His confidence/swag level and rage was on full tilt.
Focused on Getting Title Back: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-QYvrVKVZ4&feature=youtube_gdata_player"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-QYvrVKVZ4&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/ame]
Yup, love to get all the Tyson stuff at various points of his career. Luckily there's not much shortage of material when it comes to Mike. Be it fights, training, interviews, documentaries.... he's enduring quite well with the generational transitions having been at his peak more than two decades ago. People will still be talking about him decades from now, he'll always be an appealing fighter to many new fans. He'll always look amazing on film, his H2H ability will always have him in the conversation, no matter where he ranks on any ATG list. He transcended the sport in ways few before him did and even fewer after him will.
Douglas performed like an ATG that night. If THAT Douglas was around today, he would be brilliant. His potential was uncovered for just one night. Holy was on the slip but was fighting at a higher level than Tyson at the time. He KNEW what to do.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QTVHCFOtcM&feature=youtube_gdata_player"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QTVHCFOtcM&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/ame]
His stance changed the most. He would walk out alot of times standing straight up. He didnt dip an bend like he use to. relied on upperbody too much