Ruddock, Bruno, or Thomas can be viewed as Tyson's best win, which should not be confused with his best performance.
The first Ruddock fight showed Tyson still had the desire to win while his skills had diminished. He showed up in shape against a very dangerous and determined foe. The rematch had been canceled and put back together quite a few times, thus the sluggish showing by both fighters. Both fights expelled the myth that Tyson folded when someone stood up, especially someone like Ruddock who was looked upon as the most dangerous heavyweight not named Tyson. I think someone like Holyfield at the time would've struggled with Ruddock due to Ruddock's size and power. Holyfield IS the better fighter but Ruddock would pose major problems. Tyson-Ruddock I goes down as one of the best slugfests the division has to offer. #1 vs. the #2 contender with all the hype surrounded by it. One of the more watched heavyweight fights I like to visit from time to time. Anyways, I'm basically saying the same thing the OP stated in his opening statement.
There's a handful of fights you can choose as Tyson's finest. Cases can be made for Green, Frazier, Ribalta, Berbick, Thomas, Tucker, Biggs, Holmes, Tubbs, Spinks, Ruddock, among others. The one I watch the most is Tyson-Ruddock. The one I feel is Tyson's best is his dispatching of Holmes.
You lost your mind? Unlike u i actually watched fights myself at the time they took place.unlike you i didnt need to swing which way the sheep were ppis*ing on the internet.u were 6 years old when the fights took place dumbbass what do u know.
Anyone who thinks that the sustained beatings both Douglas and Holyfield gave Tyson, thus forcing him to quit trying to win those fights, and Rudduck taking 6 shots in order to throw his so called " smash " in return are the same thing, simply doesn't know sh*t about boxing. FACT. When Tyson met with sustained resistance he was f***ed, and quit trying to win fights.
You mean he lost against Ferguson, Tillis, Green, Ribalta, Berbick, Smith, Thomas, Tucker, Biggs, Tubbs, Holmes, Spinks, Bruno and Williams ALL before he fought Douglas? These guys all certainly came to fight and didn't fold at the staredown.
Berbick was a better win than Bruno or Thomas. So was Tucker. Smith too. The 3 guys he won belts from, all coming off some decent wins.
Tyson's resume is solid and his opposition better than often given credit for. While he beat very few fighters who were of historical significance, this should not be confused with beating "poor" opponents. A good number of them were prime with good records, high ratings, coming off of big wins and of decent size. The 35-0 Tony Tucker or the sculpted 27 year old Frank Bruno would have given a lot of great champions problems regardless of having no historical value... Berbick, Smith, Tubbs, Spinks, Ruddock and Williams weren't slouches either and most of those were pretty emphatic performances.. Over the past 20 years, Mike Tyson has gone from being obnoxiously overrated to being criminally underrated.. Amazing how time and perception causes the pendulum to swing drastically in one direction or the other but rarely finds middle ground..
Oh he beat Razor Ruddock? The Ruddock who drew with, Phil Brown? The one who was knocked out by David Jaco?
Great post overall. I like watching these fights ocassionally, although both fighters left something to be desired from a technical point of view. Ruddock emerged with a lot of credit from these fights, I thought.
I've been watching fights since a real early age re****, and what's that got to do with anything? You still know fcuk all about boxing...
He also knocked out Frank Bruno, twice. The same Bruno who knocked out Jumbo Cummings, you know the guy who drew with Joe Frazier.