Tyson - A pure entertainer

Hey MIKE WHAT'S UP??:hi: I just finished your book, and really enjoyed it...
By the way why in the hell did you ever decide to get that ugly tattoo on the side of your dome?? REALLY...

 

Tyson fights brought a level of excitement that few boxing things did. This is a very important thing, imagine all of the fans brought to the sport just due to this guy alone.

He's an enigma - overrated horridly in some circles, underrated criminally in others. Entertainer, emotional nutcase, superstar, captivating, sad, everything & nothing.

For all of the hate he gets, you don't reach the levels he was at during his best if you aren't at least damn good. You surely also don't have a post-career like he does now where people are still heavily interested in you. Making that sort of impression requires immense talent and charisma.

Even if you're a Tyson hater or so, you have to give it to him for that.

 

I fully agree. Ferocious, fast, powerful with both hands.
In his prime, a delight to watch.

 

He was great for boxing. And at his best, one of the most effective, ferocious fighters ever. Not sure how one could expect more of a fighter.

 

His skeleton was 100% entertainium.

 

his inside game was up there with the best

 

Great up to 1989...the rest was a sad circus .
Dont find him an engaging fellow...there are species of pond life with more class...thought the book was poor...more drugs than boxing.

 

:good, I agree 100% with this, although i did ENJOY, most of his book, but it did focus too much on all of the heavy drugs he was abusing, and all of the whoring, and, criminal activity, the guy point blank was an *******...

Good fighter until 1990, after that he was over-rated and more a freak show than anything else...

I remember when Mcbride knocked his ass silly way back in 2005, i was jumping for joy...:yep

 

Huh? His inside game was his major flaw! He was explosive with excellent accuracy, ferocious speed & power coming in, but not much of a shot game, & could easily be tied up if you had skill, length helped, he would "agree" to clinch fests, not fight out of it.

That being said he was not just a good fighter before 1990, he was an ATG for several years.

 

He had a shitty inside game.

 

He was an exciting fighter in the late '80s.
But I thought Holyfield at cruiserweight/early HW was even more exciting.
Hearns was still around, and there was Chavez (who Tyson was a huge fan of.).

 

Totally agree silverskull.
There was no doubting he was a monster 86-89 and for his size his achievements were amazing...his speed ,power and focus were his strengths. Ty Biggs always says it was the speed and intensity of his work that made him such an overwhelming opponent.
As you say though he became a freak show.
A thoroughly repulsive human being...yes he had a horrific upbringing..but he has had opportunities to learn a better way and yet he is still an ass hole.I thought the book would have been more about his fights...the bouts themselves were mentioned in passing...the book was more confessions of a window cleaner.

 

Yeah, that's the role he's painted himself into, quite shrewdly and out of necessity. The "confessions" act. I guess celebrities have to make a living somehow.
With Tyson his options are limited. He can't exactly re-invent his story as a "cleaned-up" version, so he pushes the "I KNOW MORE ABOUT ME THAN ANYONE DOES" stuff - ie. "hey, I was truly a worthless person ... let me tell you about the time .... blah, blah, blah". Of course, I think he exaggerates the influence of drugs to exonerate himself a little, which is kind of smart too.
It's all kind of boring for a true boxing fan because it would be better to hear him talk about his fights and opponents even more, BUT having said that, I've been following news about the guy for 27 years, so he's way ahead of most celebrities.
And, as I said, I can't begrudge a man making his living. If telling stories and releasing that type of book, and doing those interviews is what pays the bills he should go or it.


On a side note, I think Tyson's problems of self-loathing and confusion stem from him repressing his homo***ual side. The evidence is out there.

 

Yes but it took people a while to notice.

He was a mid range fighter who happened to have short arms, and that made people assume that he was good on the inside.

Still a fighters inside game is usualy the last thing he learns, and Rooney was probably working on it..........