He was still in his prime, no doubt about it. He simply didn't fully focus on Douglas and paid the price.
Ridiculous isn't it? he may not have even peaked at 23, probably not in fact. It is true however that the instant Rooney and Clayton were gone Tyson was in decline. You're right there are no excuses for his loss to douglas but there are reasons he didn't perform as well as he might have done.
He was in his physical prime at that age, though he didn't train properly for the fight and got what he deserved, a beating. It was the mental issues that were undermining his ability as a fighter, not to mention his complete inability to shake off the flunkies that seemed to be getting involved at various stages in his career.
i would concede the point that physically he was in his prime..however mentally he was on the slide...and his once unimpeacheable skillset was gathering dust in the attic by now....he was still a predator, but he hunted without all his weapons, relying on big bore ko power and intimidation rather than the more eloquent yet equally ferocious skills he once posessed..... at 23 he was a physical monster still, but his 'prime' as a complete package occureed much earlier...
Prime Lennox Lewis beats prime Mike Tyson every day of the week. Tyson was hopeless against guys with strong accurate jabs and a long reach - he had a big punch. but Lewis had a decent enough chin and survival skills that could kick in if necessary IMO.
Even though im a big Lewis fan both in there prime i would have to edge towards Tyson knocking out Lewis, then again but when tyson was in he's prime lennox was you could say pre prime but when they thought lewis was at the peak of he's where tyson had passed he's