Tyrel Biggs -- just not suited for the pro's or ruined by Tyson?

On the back of discovering this thread...watched tyson v biggs again....firstly Tyson fought a dirty fight unchallenged by the referee..secondly if you take away all the Tyson fanfare the main thing Ty lacked was power and stamina...even on that night which many think was Michelle's best..you could see that a tall strong HW who could back him up would have then Homo's number.

 

I was going to comment on the Damiani fight. It's difficult to say that Tyson ruined him exclusively when he fought at a pretty high level against Damiani. I disagree with you saying he was up on the cards. He was losing, but he was fighting well and had plenty of room to turn it around had it gone the distance. I feel like that fight, the Tyson fight, and problems with management helped fuel the coke/depression and he was pretty much done after that. Under different circumstances, in an era without Tyson, he could have been a successful fighter. I don't think it's out the question to say he could have been as successful as Jimmy Ellis or Floyd Patterson.

 

No neck.. fair comments apart from the drugs..he was off them from 84....alchohol was a problem though..

 

It is very common ignoring Tyson's cheating in his fights.
Much harder finding fights when he fought clean at (were there any?) than fights in which he cheated.
When a fighter's aura is based on his license to exclusive cheating.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oBMDcLf6WA :think

 

I've read that Biggs was damaged goods going into the Tyson fight, due to substance abuse.

 

ruined by tyson bigtime/ only 15 profights and the duvas stick him in with tyson/

 

Watched Ty v Mike Hunter..someone has recently put it on u tube...this was for North American title...up until then Ty had only lost to those 5 top echelon guys...he was on a 6 fight win streak..i was surprised how slow he was..only 32..but he had aged badly from the Biggs of less than 2 years previous who had given Bowe all he could handle...i have never seen the fight before and was shocked at his deterioration.....almost a year later he fought in 'the peoples tournament'...3 rounders like prizefighter...he lost in the semis to eventual winner Tony Tubbs..but looked fitter and sharper than in the Hunter fight...
For a big lad his punches seemed to have little effect.

 

A lot would have to change for that to be possible. While its true that poor lifestyle choices and managerial problems led to his demise, Biggs never developed into a full fledged professional. Around 1990 I saw him fight Ossie Ocasio on the undercard of Witherspoon vs Sims. He was originally supposed to face Carl Williams who backed out due to an alleged injury. Biggs did enough to win the fight, but at moments still looked very amateurish and was making many of the same mistakes that he made as a younger fighter. Ocasio was also hitting him with shots that forced him to back off at times, confirming that his chin wasn't all that great. Tyrell had potential but it just never came into fruition .

 

Mr magoo...i dont think he had a weak chin...he wouldnt have gone as far as he did with Tyson and Bowe if that were true.. but he was easily backed up for a big guy..he had a good jab but not much else...im afraid. .. you are right his fighting style never matured or improved

 

his chin wasn't made of "glass" per say but he definitely had durability issues. His significant height and reach is part of what kept him around for seven rounds against Tyson.

 

Biggs was more of an amateur. He was big, tall, rangy, with footwork and a good jab. He wasn't a puncher, and slapped a lot, but could get a bit of power owing to the fact that he was a big man. But he did not have enough speed and power to deter Tyson. He was not strong enough to hold him tight on a consistent basis, and he was too big to be really busy and fast on a consistent basis, which is what he would need without the power to hurt or the strength to hold. He was in good shape and sharp for Tyson, but he was in there with a relentless in shape power puncher with defense and fast attacking footwork, a guy made for the pros who was getting better exponentially from the amateurs to the pros. And yes, drugs never help you, and that hurt Biggs. But at the end of the day, I'd say it was just great Tyson that beat him on that day. I think Biggs was sharp enough against Tyson to have given a lot of guys less powerful and relentless a lot of trouble. After that fight, I think the beating and the drugs and the lack of elite training caught up to him.

 

He was lacking in Heavyweight power and did not really have the mental toughness that is necessary in the pro's

 

"not really have the mental toughness".____ I disagree, Biggs fought with a broken right collarbone that was broken by a hard Sims right in the second round and he went the distance,winning the bout! this proves to me had had the toughness.i think it was his addiction that hurt him strength can come from the weight training.