We all know the Casuals overrate Mike Tyson, But us hardcores,we really look down on him. But it had me thinking,besides his achievements in the sport: - Youngest Heavyweight Champion - First Undisputed Champion to hold WBC/WBA/IBF and Ring Magazine Do you think his opposition is ofter overcriticized? This is mostly pre-prison ,post-prison just personally for me,felt like he went on a circus tour to fight a bunch of nobodies. But let's look at his resume , I'm going over his biggest wins. * Larry Holmes - First and only man to knock out Larry Holmes,and Larry was not that bad, if you saw him fight Evander, he gave him a lot of problems, I've not seen him fight Mercer,but I heard some people argued he won, yes Larry was 38,but he proved to be a contender even after Mike fought him. * Michael Spinks - Now Mike fought Spinks. A LOT of people will talk about the fact that Spinks was a Light Heavyweight, but his only loss was to Mike, AND let's look at what he fought at Heavyweight; Larry Holmes, ended his 48-0 win streak and beat him twice. He fought Gerry Cooney, which wasn't that bad to be honest. I think people underplay this win. * Henry Tillman - Olympic gold Medalist (Granted he lost to bums so I get it if this doesn't count) * Tyrell Biggs - Olympic gold * Alex Stewart -Don't know if he is any good,just saw what he did to foremans face (FQFLK4GXsAY3b21.jpg (851×1180) (twimg.com)) * Razor Ruddock - This might be Tyson's best wins, this guy was knocking out a lot of people. but to me he looked like Henry cooper,a one armed fighter. But yeah, I feel like maybe Mike's resume isn't exactly the worst,even if it isn't the best
Tyson's record against Ranked opposition is 22-4. Not. Too. Shabby. Far better than a lot of ATG's that some rank above him.
Swag beat me to it re: Holmes unanimous decision (claimed he had a detached retina too). Without going through everything now, Tyson had a quite good peak run. In # of victories, frequency fighting, & the record & quality of his opposition! People can & do pick apart all HW resumes. But if you compare, Tyson rates HIGH in his peak performances. For example Ali's opposition is rightly celebrated. However that was mainly during the 1970s (& he had many soft touches then too). During their respective peaks, taking in all extenuating circumstances & seeing all who they fough + how many then... While Ali was the greater fighter overall, Tyson likely had a more impressive peak run. Size, skills, records of opponents.
Tyson went 45-1 before turning 30. He beat Ruddock x 2, Tucker, Thomas, Spinks, Berbick, Bruno x 2, Smith, past prime Holmes, Biggs, Tubbs, Tilis and Williams. As has been said, it's not the greatest resume in history, but it is extremely good. I rank him #10 all time at HW.
Tyson before his prison term and before Buster Douglas as well beat all comers, the Spinks win has very much been devalued over the years. I remember the build up to that fight and 30-40% of boxing journalists of the time really thought Spinks had a genuine shot. The other contenders Tyson beat many were much better than we give them credit for now Thomas, Williams, would have done well in most era's, Bruno proved to be a factor in the division before and after Tysons fight reign and Tucker was an outstanding fighter albeit one that never really hit his own potential. That Holmes result at the time was discounted as people thought Larry was washed up, but after what Holmes did in the years after it looks an amazing historical result, Holmes in his books contends he took the fight with a months notice but also gives Tyson a huge amount of credit. My own opinion is what made Tyson so special in his early years was both his speed and defense not just his power, once he began to lose that speed and defense he lost his special mystique and became so much more beatable. I also see him very much like Liston in that once he was beaten the intimidation factor in his opponents minds and his own vanished. I dont place him in the top ten but if you look at his very short real prime 86-88 he would of given anyone in history a huge challenge.
Solid resume. Cleaned out the HW division in the 80s, beat several solid fighters and 2 ATGs. And claims that Holmes was unprepared simply aren't true. It's not the resume alone that determines how great a fighter is. There is eye test, abilities, results etc. Find me fighters who walked in the ring threw a couple unbelievable shots KO'd opponents COLD and walked out. Then we can talk
A little bit off topic, but I believe a small ish hw perhaps a bulked up Canelo could possibly be successful if he could have the stamina and drive to fight out of the peek a boo stance. Heck there was a light weight with that style, check the billy Irwin fight! This content is protected This content is protected
