Once and for all: When was Tyson's "prime"?

Bull****.

Spinks was bricking it. Absolutely ****ing bricking it before that fight.

I watched it live with the old man. He got me into boxing, through Hagler, Hearns etc. I rushed home from school to see the fight. (I was in NZ).

All week I'd been banging on about Spinks being the one to beat Tyson, through skill etc.

When the coverage showed Spinks before his ring entrance, the old man simply said "He's shitting himself. He wants to be anywhere but there. I'll give you ANY money he doesn't get out of Round 2".

I took him on. Bet him all the money I had (was **** all, I was about 15) and various other work around the home (I'll do X, Y, Z, and we'll call that 50 bucks??)

Was he laughing like **** about 60 seconds after the fight started.....


I've never seen the old man as sure about anything. When I watched it again, he was right. Tyson could have fought like my Ma, and Spinks would have fallen over that ngiht.

 

I agree as well.

 

ESB Posters have *******ized the meaning of Prime:-(

WHen you lose and you're only 24, youre shot your prime was when you were 18.

To me your prime is when you are able to compete at a world class level. Doesnt matter what age. Now within your prime youll have some good nights and bad nights

Nah ...ignore this post ...it doesnt make sense

 

Agree with the many poster that say Tyson's prime was around '86-88+. When he had that top head & torso movement, could get inside the bigger HWs and rip uppercuts & hooks... he was a great fighter. As Moralman stated, post Rooney, and when his personal life started going into the dumpster, was the beginning of the end for MT's prime - as the Douglas loss showed. Mike was still a top HW for many years after that, but he had a short and early prime.

 

No bull in my pocket, sandman, glad to reply to someone who has vivid recollections of that unbelievable atmosphere in Trump Plaza, AC, NJ, 1988...

Michael Spinks was cool as his nickname but I don't know why, he always had that unsteady look before fights, remember he looked as frozen against Holmes in 1985 and HBO commentators pointed it out. Fact is that he performed, got over "The Easton Assassin" and was seen as the next great thing in hwt boxing even before Tyson fought Berbick in LV and Witherspoon fought Bruno in Wembley.

Glad to have read about your pleasant times back then in NZ, even though you lost your bet, but maybe your Dad was right after all... Michael was feeling the heavy atmosphere on his shoulders, and that Tyson entrance was orchestrated ( including the deafening metallic drums and rush-style entrance) to intimidate poor ole Michael, even Colonel Bob Sheridan was feeling goose bumps and shivers down the spine and he wasn't fighting, Tyson was nervous and still makin the sign of the cross, Kevin Rooney embracing and encouraging him for the best and 4 the worst... The result was a bad night for everybody except 4 Iron Mike and his fans, Michael was never down as a professional and never should have tried to trade with Tyson with the over-hand right, coming off the 1st knockdown... Neither would that have happened once again out of Rollo's 100 matches ( in our own healthy disagreement) the same way Jimmy Thunder wouldn't be stopped a second time by Derek Williams or the Tuaman would have stopped Double M in 30 seconds 1 more time... S*** happens when you least expect it, that's how it has always been and will be.

 

Could be argued Benitez was past his prime at 22...

 

Spinks was picked to win by a lot of so called experts during that fight. He wasnt shitting himself like some said. Its just the fact that Tyson destroyed him, that people say this. Same goes for Bruno, and Stewart, and all the others, but the fact is most guys never faced a guy like Tyson who came roaring out at the first bell. There was no feeling out process, he went right to brawling, and most of the fighters didnt know how to deal with it, and they got caught, because he was super fast and an accurate puncher.
Spinks tried like hell to land something and get Tyson off of him, but he kept missing. Tyson overwhelmed him with speed and power, and Spinks was helpless. He got caught with a vicious bodypunch and uppercut that dropped him, but he got right up. He tried to throw a right hand at an onrushing Tyson and Tyson timed it perfectly with a righthand accross his body on Spinks chin. Watching that shot in slow motion tells you how good Tysons timing was dialed in during that period in his career. Dont discount that win, it was something spectacular. That also was the pinnacle of Tyson's prime.

 

Isnt prime the best of your career? There is also something referred to as fighting prime. Tyson was physically still in his fighting prime all the way through 2000 really, but the prime of his career was reached at the Spinks fight in my opinion.