Tyson had 28 professional fights in his first 2 years as a professional going 10 rounds 3 times in the process. So whilst Itauma has fought similar opposition to Tyson in regards to comparing their first 14 professional fights. The big difference is Tyson was fighting every 3 weeks on average and won a world title within 2 years. Itauma in comparison has had 14 professional fights in 3 years and his last fight prior to Franklin was 6 months ago. Tyson was staying very active and eventually got tested a few times before going in there for a world title shot. Itauma has yet to have a test yet and is nowhere as active as Tyson was.
I don't think that's fair to Bam, really, especially these comparisons to Inoue. Just because he would be comfortably beaten by Inoue, the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, who is currently 2 weight classes above him, doesn't mean he's overhyped. Is Bivol overhyped because he would lose to Usyk? Bam has just absolutely destroyed Martinez in a near-perfect display, and Martinez is one of the best fighters at super flyweight. I have him at number 2, even after the loss. What else is he meant to do to shake this overhyped tag?
Almost like boxing is different now and you cannot easily find random crackheads looking for quick measly $ so they can buy a dime bag to fight every month.
People also talk like that kind of schedule is achievable too People see the noise around the kid and want paying Even bums, which in a promoters eyes would be throwing money away And Tyson definitely didn't have better competition at 14 fights.. And that's OK but to say he did is just daft
Itauma is good enough that top opponents are careful to face him so its also a question who beyond journeyman is available for him. I doubt lets say kabayel agrees to fight itauma now , risking his rank for nothing .
It was achievable with Tyson because he had ALOT of powerful people behind him and supporting, guiding him.
I'd say it's more to do with the people he was fighting were not asking for a small fortune Add to today's mix where TV/Online coverage is more prominent than ever That's more why it's not achievable imo
It definitely plays a part. As now Turki and Dana are paying fighters over their actual value, it’s affected the market. Tyson did have a very strong team behind him with a lot of influence, this was how he was able to fight so often. all them opponents needed paying.
Yeah, and it's clear that Itauma's not being brought up at the accelerated pace that Tyson was. But it's also clear that the quality of opposition is on par as many other heavyweight champions faced over the first three years of their career or after 14 fights. He passes the eye test thus far. I think we all want to see how he fares against a higher level.
Bam just ripped the belts off the waists of world title holders Cafu (age 27) and Martinez (age 34) in a dominant fashion, in which he won every minute of every round (I guess you could argue that it was about even with Martinez for the first minute of round 1). He's gong to do the same to world title holder Willibaldo Garcia to become undisputed if Garcia has the balls to fight him. The dig on him is that he beat up aging legends... who were still winning? That he had one fight he won but didn't look so dominant? One mediocre performance? It's pretty hard to find complaints about Bam. And on top of it he's a consummate professional and polite guy, shitty taste in tattoos aside, who dreams of retiring at age 30 to own a coffee shop (that it seems he wants to be a Barista at). This talk of Inoue? So Bam should jump two weight classes to fight an ATG in his prime? This isn't Crawford jumping weight to fight a clearly past his best Canelo. Their age difference? Not Bam's fault. Just unfortunate happenstance meaning they likely won't meet prime vs prime unless Turki wants to chip in and get Bam an 8 figure purse. Offer Bam $15mil, he'll make the jump, take the risk, and do it for his family. Who knows how that fight would go. I'd bet on Inoue, but he's never fought anyone like Bam, because there's nobody who fights like him, he's a one-off hybrid.
I’m not saying Itauma should fight as often as Tyson. However, Tyson fought worse fighters early on because he was fighting every three weeks. People say, “Look, Moses is fighting much better competition in his 14th fight,” but I’m saying it’s not comparable. I’m not even a Tyson fanboy. Vitali was also extremely active early in his career and didn’t fight the best opposition. Moses only fights twice a year, so I expect better competition. He could easily fight four times a year since he doesn’t take much damage. Moses has skill, and I am a fan, but people act like he’s the second coming of Christ. Joshua had a more credible and impressive run early in his career, and he isn’t the GOAT.