One Of The Greatest Of All Time: Iron Mike Tyson The Baddest Man On The Planet

Evander would not go down as an all time great if not for the Tyson fights.

 

yeah, i beat him twice. i was so proud. though, i couldnt knock him out:fire

 

I just thought about one or two of the early tomato cans who seemed to really give Mike trouble back in 88 or 89.

There was one guy who was really attacking him, making him bend side to side at the waist, he even bent so low he almost touched the floor with his head at one point.

The guy was punching and missing so wildly, and of course he finally fell victim to that atomic left hook, but damn, he had guts! Anybody remember the fight I'm talking about?

 

I would take Tyson over Jon Bones Jones.....

 

The biggest fix in boxing history.. Did you see a bucket of ice or a cutman in the corner. A warm water balloon on a swollen eye.. who was his trainer that fight ? And he was fighting the best contender in the sport at that time. Mike was seyt up to fail.. Not to mention the money DK had Rory Calhoun lay down at 42 -1... High crime.....

 

Correct. Too many times you read "Tyson was overrated" and then in the same sentence "Holyfield is great because he beat XYZ and Tyson"

you cant have it both ways, either give Tyson his dues or stop crediting Holyfield and Lewis with a win over an "overrated" fighter.

 

Tyson was the big bad shark feeding on seals. A terrifying unstoppable killing machine. Unfortunately for him there were a couple of killer whales around. That doesn't make the shark less terrifying though, just the realization that the shark is not the apex predator.

 

of course, Tyson just spent his career feeding on poor fighters such as Biggs, Tucker, Ruddock, Bruno, Botha, Golota etc

Whereas Lewis is much greater, afterall he beat good fightets such as as Biggs, Tucker, Ruddock, Bruno, Botha, Golota etc

 

Tucker was the only great fighter Mike fought in his prime. when he fought Holy & lewis he was done. He had more left in the tank with EH but was still long past his prime. When he fought Lennox he should've been retired.

 

I'm about 3 years older than Tyson and I've been watching boxing since I was about 7-8. During his rise, I remember thinking that Tyson was damn near indestructible and he was. But being Canadian, I was also a Lewis fan and I thought that those two meeting in their peak would have been a match for the ages. Then of course Mike self destructed and the rest is history. But like Ali, I remember that when there was a Tyson fight on, the world came to a stop just to watch it. Some of it, like the destruction of Spinks who was shaking like a leaf BEFORE the fight even started was predictable. But it was cartoonish how he would destroy some of these fighters. At least 1/2 of them lost before the bell even rang, they were so scared to fight him.

So if there's an award for a fighter winning the most fights before the bell even rings, Tyson wins that award hands down.

 

the point im trying to make is Lewis gets credit for beating the same guys Tyson beat but for some reason Tysons opposition is labelled as poor.

If Holmes was 38 and past it and Spinks was just a lightheavyweight, what was Holyfield? A 37 year old blown up cw on peds and Tyson a washed up old man?

Double standards there.

 

You will NEVER in our lifetime or your grandchildrens lifetime find a HEAVYWEIGHT with that kind of speed, movement, balance, punch variety, power and viciousness.

 

In his prime, Tyson was one of best heavyweights I have ever saw. Speed, balance, KO power in both hands, great combinations (right to the body then right uppercut!). The way he would crouch, move his head and explode, he would send guys flying. You could see the fear that some of the contenders and former champs had in their eyes. He was just at another level.

His high energy style coupled with his life outside the ring, did not serve him well as he aged. He was slower, had less head movement, did not crouch as much and relied more on the big shot. I think that is why Holyfield was able to counter him so well. Holyfield was a very good heavyweight but would have gotten knocked out by the "prime" Tyson.

In my memory the only heavyweight that could have beaten a prime Tyson would have been Ali. Even a prime Foreman would have had a lot of difficulty. I think Tyson moved better than Frazier and hit harder (with both hands). I don't think the "push off" technique he used with Frazier would have worked. Tyson would have slipped his jab and countered. His only chance would be landing one of his own crushing uppercuts.

 

True, but it also shows that without a plan B and a ton of heart and determination, all that still isn't enough to put you into the top 5 on the ATG heavyweight list.

 

Ali, Liston, Foreman, Tyson, Lewis and Holmes. Certainly if any of these fighters could have lasted the first 4-5 rounds they very well could have beaten Tyson.