Tyson and the myth of the late round comeback

But you to admit that once you had stood up to Tyson, taken his best and giving just as good, after the 6th round you were relatively safe.
Of course the same can be said about fighting Foreman and of course, only a few fighters in history could "tame" a peak Tyson during the early rounds and remain standing, and go on to win. Foreman is a bit more vulnerable to boxers in my opinion, but that's a different story.

 

Sums up my thoughts :good

 

Exactly! Everyone who beat a legit Tyson (exclude Williams and McBride) did NOT do so by "surviving" the early rounds, they did it by dominating them.

Douglas, Holyfield, Lewis...all three of them came out with the intent to dominate. They set the pace for the rest of the fight - they were winning the whole time.

On the other hand, guys like Smith, Tucker, Tubbs, etc. were only looking to survive the first rounds, and ended up being pounded for the entire distance.

If you let Tyson set the pace, you lose.

 

First the first time ever, I agree with 100% of your post....is it a sign of the apocolyps?

 

Also, to further expound here on at least my own views with regards to this idea, I don't necessarily think surviving the first six rounds greatly increases anyone's chances of beating Tyson- just certain opponents. For example, I wouldn't argue that Foreman or Liston's chances against him would increase if they survived the first six rounds. They would probably be looking to put him away in that space anyway, and if they don't, there is a good chance Tyson outpoints them. A guy like, say, Ali or Holmes would probably need to be outboxing Tyson from the outset as well.

It's only in the case of fighters whose styles specifically rely upon being able to overcome faster-starting opponents with physical advantages over them that I say their chances greatly increase if they survive the first six rounds. Guys like Marciano and Frazier had styles which were designed to break down opponents who had physical advantages over them over the long haul through consistency and attrition. It was a fairly regular occurence against top opposition for them to lose the early rounds to opponents with physical and/or stylistic advantages over them, then gradually turn the tide through superior mental strength, workrate, consistency and endurance. Tyson was a guy who was a huge threat early and became less and less dangerous as a fight progressed. Something you seem to be missing with this whole concept is that guys like Razor Ruddock, Bonecrusher Smith and Tony Tucker were certainly not heart-workrate-attrition guys; in fact, if anything, their long range endurance was inferior to Tyson's. Provided a Frazier or Marciano makes it out of the early rounds, what do you think is going to happen in the later portion of the fight, when Tyson starts to slow down, his offense loses its intensity, his workrate declines, his punches lose some of their authority, and he starts to lose his mental edge, while he's in there with guys who are famous for their unbreakable wills and penchant for wearing down and turning the tables on more skilled opponents, who will keep pounding away at him like hydraulic drills without slowing for the duration of the match? I'll tell you: Tyson will break down and lose if that happens.

 

Tubbs only had one full round against Tyson....
And he won it by outboxing him.

rewatch the tape....

God bless.