More intimidating fighters: Liston, Foreman, or Tyson?

Understood...the "ignorant" part was for Hamburger. He called Tyson a bunch of things including ignorant and I decided to take that up with him.

Thanks Fox

 

All Brown needed was 50 to 100 feet between him and Liston. He would freightrain Sonny into submission.

 

Tyson was intelligent? He couldn't pass the GED test. He was pretty stupid, a coward who raped and beat on women so who was afraid of him? Bums?

As I said every fighter in Foreman's prime besides Lyle seem to fear him.

 

Also apparently you haven't watched Foreman's fights before Frazier Azzer. Foreman would throw punches and guys would run. Even tough guys like Chuvalo ran from Foreman.

Stewart was a slow starter. Tyson caught him early. Stewart ran from Foreman the first got caught 2 times in the second and Foreman left him off the hook.

Savarese was washed up by the time he got to Tyson. So you are going to give Tyson credit for beating a washed up Savarase?

Holyfield ran from Foreman more than he did to Tyson not to mention Holyfield was in his prime against Foreman and washed up against Tyson.

Apparently you did need to be told. Tyson never beat a world class fighter in his prime in his career. So again who was afraid of him? Bums and women?

Who was afraid of Liston? You didn't answer that question becuase like most people here you aren't bright enough to answer that question. Floyd Patterson and other 170 pound fighters were afraid of Liston. No modern sized heavyweight was afraid of him. In fact with the exception of Cleveland Wiliams, Ali and Chuck Wepner I don't think he fought any other modern sized heavyweights.

Lol Tyson was scaring people after Douglas? Again who? Holyfield who beat him? Lewis who beat him? Lol even Peter McNeely a bum was standing toe to toe with Tyson. Where was the fear.

 

Morrison was a guy who would go toe to toe with anybody but chose to run from a fat old Foreman. Foreman was calling out Riddick Bowe but Bowe declined to fight him. The same Bowe who called out Tyson who avoided fighting Bowe and a old Foreman. That is how people feared him.

Jimmy Young didn't fear Foreman? I guess that is why he ran and held the whole fight huh?

Shannon Briggs a 6'4 230 pound fighter who also called out Tyson ran from a old 48 year old Foreman but was willing to stand toe to toe with Vitali years later and Lennox Lewis. Briggs even admitted he felt like he was going to the death chair before the Foreman fight. That is fearing another man.

Bert Cooper went toe to toe with Ray Mercer and prime Holyfield and even hurt Holyfield quit on his stool because he was afraid to continue against Foreman because he said Foreman's power was buzzing his brain.

But the fact that Tyson avoided fighting a old fat slow George Foreman shows how intimidating Foreman was. You have no answer for that. You will say Tyson didn't avoid him because of fanboyism. You want believe Tyson was something he wasn't.

As I said the white media loves when black guys act like savages or speak ebonics or make a fool of themselves. That is Tyson's who claim to fame. He never beat anybody worth mentioning who was in their primes. Guys like James Tillis out boxed him and didn't look afraid to me. Buster Douglas was afraid? How about Pinklon Thomas who fought Tyson with a hurt Shoulder?

The only fighter who looked afraid of Tyson was probably Marvis Frazier and Micheal Spinks. 2 natural light heavyweights. So lets give Tyson credit for that. Also lets give Liston credit for intimidating 170 pound Floyd Patterson.

 

What is the best intimidation job that we have ever seen done on a genuinely world class fighter?

I think that Louis Levinsky would be a fair call.

Levinsky was begging for mercy, and this was a guy who had been ranked in the top 5!

 

Liston - fell apart after encountering a young Cassius Clay

Tyson - fell apart after his mentor Cus died

Foreman - almost fell apart after his loss with Ali, but got his **** together and won another heavyweight belt at 45!

I think its more intimidating when a "bully" fighter continues for that long with so many ring wars, yet still put up a consumer-friendly facade and not end up broke like most of 'em.

"Now go get me a sandwich and sit down!" - George Foreman

 

I am cool and good looking. I should be on TV. I kind of look like Flava Flav but more ugly. That is cool huh? So I am good looking and I know my boxing. You people suck. All of you do so go suck it.

 

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Seldon looked pretty scared.

Bruno in the second fight looked scared as well. They actually fought terrified and ,lost in my eyes, a degree of respect. Tell, when has Tyson looked scared. I cannot thing of one time...so, I am not sure about the coward thing. Also, Mike KO'ed Mitch Green in the street and beat on him in the ring. I doubt if many of us would have switched places with Mike fighting a guy high on angel dust.

Mike beat plenty of world class fighters in his prime. He had to beat fighters to win the title and he had to beat condenders when he was the undesputed champion. The correct wording is he did not beat any hall-of-fame fighters in his prime which is is the reason he is not the greatest Heavyweight champion in every.

My take.

 

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(After the Ali fights): 15-1-13KO's after the Ali fight. He was 38. Wepner was a condender and so was Clark.

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(After Cus died): 35-6-29KO's Youngest Heavywieght Champion, undesputed Champion. Two time unified champion.

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Weird stuff happens in boxing but, fight does not take away from the fact that just like Lamotta took a dive Lamotta is still one of the toughest men that ever lived. Just like Liston

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I think you have to understand that Liston was simply an intimidating person full stop. He wasn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier to start with, so he was a man of few words. Then there was his role as an enforcer for his organised crime associates. The guy just oozed menace.

Now we have Foreman. In fairness George's surliness was just a good act, in the 70's much of the time. You just don't reinvent yourself as the happy smiley punchin preacher, the latter Foreman is the real one.

On to Tyson. TBH he just comes across as a screw up, with his " I had a terrible childhood, nobody loved me " nonsense, and only intimidated fearful types anyway. Probably the best way to put it is, when Tyson was / is questioned about his anti social behaviour he makes a million excuses and blames everyone and everything else rather than himself.

Liston's attitude was. So fvcking what, if you don't like it, lump it, accompanied by a malevolent stare.

 

Read Mike's book.

Mike definately says that he was anti-social and crazy from the begining. He also says growing up in burned out building with a mom who near a prositute did not help. He also says that Cus encourgaged his meaness, taught him strategically and catagorically that it was a good thing to be a menace, as it relates to boxing. Mike ate it up and lived it out all the way.

I do not consider men who get in the ring and box for a living "fearful types". Mike scared scary men. Mike destroyed scary men. Mike Tyson bit off Holyfield's ear...dude...Think about that. He tried to break Botha's arm. Look at there uppercut that Mike hit Jose Ribalta with. Mike was trying to really hurt this man seriously.

Mike said he and Cus would talk for hours on how to hurt people. Seriously, I do not have those conversations. Mike was born in a scary place Brownsville (take a day trip) and taught to be scary at age 13-20 in a combat school ran by Cus D'Amato.

 

1. With respect I am not interested in Tyson's book.

2. I have heard the guy talking in interviews in which he ALWAYS looks to pass the blame for his actions on someone, or something else.

3. Before you make a big deal about Tyson biting Holyfield, I think perhaps you ought to research the kind of things Liston did to people, when there was no referees to stop him, probably because they upset him.

4. I neither know, nor really care about being raised in 60's Brownsville by a prostitute mother, but I wouldn't have thought being one of 25 kids of a share cropping father in 30's Arkansas was too much fun either.

 

Respect to them for sure. Although they did okay after those losses, their aura of invincibility faded is what I'm getting at. You're also talking out of your ass if you think Sonny and Mike weren't bullies.