The best fighter Tyson beat ?

First tier would probably consist of Spinks, Old Holmes, Ruddock, then arguably Thomas and Tucker, although both of them had their own issues.

Second tier would be guys like Bruno, Berbick, Tubbs, etc.

 

Elementary. Displaying great tenacity,each time he lost a fight,Don King battled Tucker back up the ratings !


Tony did actually give Tyson quite a decent fight for a couple of rounds,until he went into survival mode and 'Bugnered' his way through to the final bell.

 

Too much,in my opinion,gets made out of Ruddock's performances against Tyson. He was stopped in the first fight and beaten convincingly on points in the unnecessary return. And this was n't even a prime version of Tyson.

 

The general view before the fight was that Holyfield was the one further past his prime of the two. And that makes sense, seeing how he was four years older, had been through several wars and looked absolutely dreadful in his last fight against Bowe.

Holyfield was 7 lbs heavier against Tyson than he was for Douglas. A difference, but by no means massive.

The big difference was that he had declined heavily in terms of speed and workrate. More so than Tyson.

It's a similar story to an old Ali compared to a prime one. Ali was 13 lbs heavier in Manilla than he was in his fights with Williams, Terrell etc, but only a fool would say the old Ali was the better fighter just because he was bigger and stronger.

It's equally silly to say that the 34-year old battle worn Holy who had battled with disease and illness was even nearly as good as the 28-year old that KO'd Douglas.

I think Holyfield's intense workrate will tell late on in the fight. Mike will tire and Holy will see his opening...

 

Holy's intense workrate could also see him getting in trouble with a still formidable Tyson. Remember, Holy probably wouldn't have implemented the same strategy and gameplan in 1991. Who's to say his wars didn't prepare him better for a rusty Tyson, who himself hadn't been tested against a formidable opponent in over 5 years? That's valuable big fight heavyweight championship experience right there. But that's another thread for another time...

Blowing out Holmes the way Tyson did is a very underrated win in my opinion. Holmes, Spinks, Thomas, Berbick, Tubbs, Tucker, Ruddock, you really have the pick of the lot right there. As someone posted earlier, Ali and Holyfield are pretty much the only guys with better wins. After those two it's really debatable between Tyson, Lewis, maybe Louis, followed by Marciano, Holmes or Frazier. Just a few names.

 

I reckon all things considered there's a few answers.

Could be Golota.
Likely to be Berbick.
Spinks was brutal.
Tucker was highly skilled.
Bruno was a destruction.

He has a very underrated resume imo.

 

I agree. He beat a lot of great even elite fighters.
That shot he hit Golota with was out of this world.

 

But in 96 when they did fight, Holyfield put on a boxing masterclass and aggressively counterpunched Tyson. In 1991, it would have been more of an war and i dont see Tyson having the same physical problems with Holy as he did in 96

 

Ruddock himself was never any ATG.

However what those fights proved were
a) Tyson could fight 12 hard rounds.
b) he could give and take punishmnent and keep fighting
c) if things got dirty, Tyson had his share of dirty tricks.
d) Tyson had desire and will to win and get his belts back
e) Tyson didnt cave in mentally

All of these would have been necessary for a Holyfield in 91
All of these were missing when they did eventually fight in 96

 

Against Holyfield in '96 Tyson was out of shape, rusty & amateurish....oh & mentally un-focused.

Best win was Spinks, given what was at stake.

 

Tony Tucker was the best natural heavyweight Tyson beat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1R2CeTVjDjM

 

I'd still tip Holyfield in a 1991 fight. Mind you,I'd bet on Tyson in a prime for prime scenario. Say the 1986-88 Tyson v a 1990-93 Holyfield.

 

The greatest fighter that Tyson beat was undoubtably Larry Holmes but then he was past it and come backing straight in at the deep end etc - but based on how Holmes would do against the likes of Holy and Mercer etc shows you what a different fighter Tyson was.

Ps for what it's worth the best Tyson was the 214lb version who warred with Mitch Blood Green

 

i think the manner in which he destroyed Berbick at such a young age was awesome - but his wins (although Steele's premature stoppage in the first fight was disgraceful) against Ruddock - a fighter in his prime, a very dangerous puncher and Tyson did demonstrate a rock solid chin in both fights.

 

Take your pick, but he beat--no, destroyed--some pretty good fighters, of all styles and stripes, too.