I'd say it started when he fought Alfonzo RAtliff & ended shortly after he beat Carl Williams. Age wise, he was only 23 when Douglas beat him, but he didn't prepare. Only cardio he did was ****ing japanese brasses...
Im gonna say his prime began in 1986. Mike Jameson was a big guy, journeyman who Took Tyson to the 5th round, Mike beat him uo though. Tyson messed up Ferguson next, looked ok against Zouski, two decision wins against tough guys, more KOs then Berbick where he looked phenomenal. Fought a lot of big skilled Tough guys in 87. Mike wasnt focused for the Douglass fight and wasnt using the bobbing and weaving and jab etc, but Was still technically in his prime. Im gonna say his prime ended when he went to Prison. Tillman and stewart were destructions, Then two wars with Ruddock where Mike again didnt use all the head movement and speed in the 80s, still some bodywork On the downslope of his prime. After prison officially past his prime. Still had a little head movement/ defense, but Mostly a punch and one of the hardest chins in history, the One and only Iron Mike. So prime started 86/87, ended after Ruddock fights/returning from his stretch in prison.
I think it started with Biggs and ended with Bruno. Not long, but in that time he was incredible. Almost like Leonard from Duran 2 to Bruce Finch in 1982.
Tyson nuthuggers will tell you he was past his prime at 23 or 24, I feel sorry for fans like that. The truth is Mike never had a real prime, he could have had one but bad decisions and insecurity ended that dream.
generally viewed as 86-89. when I see the quick moving tyson who has hand speed combos and head movement that i just a blur, comapred to the 90s tyson who walks in andd throws a single big shotand wrestles alot, its an obvious difference
No. He absolutely had a prime, and could have beaten any heavy from any era at one point during his career. Undefeated, undisputed, unified, and lineal champ at 22. Thats a level talent most people never achieve especially in boxing. Bad decisions coupled with Don King and all the scumbags and a prison stint later, the man still came back to win a title.
as close to his prime as he could get. His style was unique. He had a style where he needed to be young and energetic and motivated. It was not a style which got much better with experience where he could relax and fight at a slow pace. With the bigger guys and the long jabs and right hands it wouldn't have worked. His advantage was fast moving in and working the bigger lazier guys which was the norm of 1980's heavyweights. Mike came in shape and his style was all energy and slipping punching to get inside and then working the body to get to the head. It was a young man's style and he did great with it. Closest to a prime and the best he was he was 21-23. After that he lost a little motivation. Mike is a very intelligent and sensitive person, so outside influences probably distracted him from his training, and in the sport of boxing with his style any change in motivation affects his style and fight. He did not move his head as much, he gets hit more coming in and the pace is then slowed down so he has to think to get in rather to react and his opponent has the time to jab and double jab and then get off a right hand, then Mike is not in position to work the body to reach the head. But in that time he was fighting in 1987-1989 he was almost unbeatable to most fighters. Any version of Evander Holyfield would not have wanted to fight the 1988 Tyson.
Whenever he looked amazing against outmatched opposition, ended when he lost. In all serious, Mike was always going to be a firework; Flare brightly, falter, then fizzle. He was a star, but his tenure as a monster was short; 1988, he could have stood with anybody. 1991, he's not in my top 10 h2h.
Physical Prime 1986-1991. Peak 1988. Downfall when he got rid of the original Team Tyson after Spinks in '88. And he didn't even reach his full potential. Kinda like Anakin Skywalker and his transformation to Darth Vader.
Well you have to take into consideration when Tyson was well trained and disciplined and that ended at the Spinks fight when he parted ways with the team who brought him to the top. He quickly showed lack of discipline and his corner was pretty awful soon after that fight. Tyson was still a young man but he his skills and discipline as a fighter unraveled very quickly after the Spinks fight and thats why he lost so quickly. I think Tyson was really just starting to enter his prime around the time he unified the titles. He was just starting to face the elite champions and former champs of the division and they were well schooled solid fighters. Spinks, Tubbs, Tucker, Thomas, Berbick, Williams, those were good solid fighters. I dont know why people find it hard to believe Tyson declined because he changed his discipline as a fighter, you can apply that logic to just about everything in life your succesful at and you would have the same type of scenario. A brillant guy would fail a test if he didnt study or prepare himself properly no matter how smart he was so the same applies to Tyson or any athelete. Tyson wasn't superman, he was a gifted fighter, but he had to train and prepare himself correctly to maintain that type of success and dominance and it was a style that was pretty unique to his size and attributes, with a strong emphasis on defense, which is what he got away from the most. He was never the same fighter, because he never went back to what made him so dominant.
True. The other big ignored factor is every fighter has a prime and optimal point in their career's. Usually between years 3-6 or 4-7. How do they do when their game is 10% less? What has to be done to stay on top is to try and alter parts of the game to compensate for the subtractions. And some fighters just do not do this well and some do. But it certainly is possible to work and continue to evolve, but it is a skill or discipline that not all fighters or all champions have.
