Tyson is the greatest of all time

No! Just love Mike for being the best Mike he can be now!

 

Tyson, unlike some of his contemporaries had the platform and the potential to be right next to Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis as the greatest of all time but he fell short in that department.

He was a dominant Champion, who fought often, and frequently decimated his opponents, even those with tough beards who typically don't get blasted out. While the prison stint hurt him, I still feel that he lacked the dedication and his style lacked the longevity for a Louis type reign. Although, a 7 year 20 title defense "Holmes type" of reign was certainly within his capabilities.

The prison layoff does immediately draw comparisons to Muhammad Ali. In that respect, I've always felt that Tyson's 80s was greater than Ali's 60s. But Ali's 70s was greater than Tyson's 90s. That longevity (among many things) is what separates the tiers between the two fighters who were clearly regarded as the benchmark fighters of their generation.

In retrospect, looking at his timeline, the 2 fights that Tyson desperately needed to win to cement his status as a Top 3 ATG Heavyweight was his rematch with Holyfield, and a fight against Lewis. For him to have been considered the greatest? He needed to add Bowe and Moorer to his win column (in '97-98) and his resume would be on par with Ali.

It's a moot point now, we got what we got from Mike and GOAT is not the end result. I personally rate him at #6 ATG HW because being the youngest ever HW Champion who cleaned out the division and unified the titles one by one and recorded 9 title defenses and 12 total wins in title fights was pretty spectacular all things considered.

He fares better head to head than he does overall legacy wise though, but that's not the same thing as the GOAT.

 

I rate him 7-9 (alongside if Holy & Frazier) , and I consider him the 2nd youngest champ. But I agree with that view . Good stuff

 

Great Post.

 

No sporting event matched an 80's Tyson fight for me. He was the most exciting boxer I ever watched live. He had mainstream appeal that boxers today can only dream about. Best highlights of any fighter. Amazing talent too. He should've been better. Watching him on the 80's, I thought he'd never lose.

Thing with Tyson is that his "prime" is pretty much 1986 - 1989? I can excuse the Douglas fight because everyone has a bad night. My problem is, did he hoave a decent fight in the 90's? After beating Ruddock, what's the best win Tyson had? He just doesn't have enough good wins to me. He beat good fighters in the 80's but had a pretty lackluster 10 yrs after leaving prison.

If you follow YouTube comments, Tyson was the hardest puncher ever. If power is the last thing a boxer loses, why couldn't he really hurt his last two opponents? He just looked average in both fights. I'll always say it was his speed that was his main asset. Speed combined with some impressive power made him tough to beat. When his technique faded & then he lost his speed, he was just a decent short heavyweight. All fighters with his style are doomed to a brief prime but Tyson's seemed extraordinarily brief. Frazier had the war with Ali. Tyson took no damage prior to his fight with Douglas.

He needed a fight where he overcame something. Every fighter does. He blasted some solid boxers but when he faced adversity, he didn't rise to the challenge. Did he do anything against Holyfield to make you think he'd have won if they'd fought years earlier? He had an opportunity to really show something in the Holyfield rematch but, prior to all the biting, he fought kind of tentatively. He was constantly outmuscled & pushed back. Just a poor showing all around.

For me, he needed a significant win after 1990 & he doesn't have one. When he was young, confident, & well trained he was a machine. That Tyson would be tough for a lot of heavyweights. I think he's a good heavyweight and an absolute cultural icon but he's pretty overrated by the YouTube crowd. He had all the tools but not the warrior mentality the great fighters.

 

I actually have tyson at number 2 all time. He’s close to being the goat because his resume is pretty good and he’s the head 2 head GOAT. Only Holyfield and Ali have better resumes. Tyson is the level of Lewis and foreman’s. I genuinely think he beats everyone barring Holyfield on his best night. He was made for boxers like Ali and Holmes. And power punches like Lewis and foreman would have been to slow to catch mike. Holyfield fought mike in the pocket. A little pocket of space between inside and mid range. And that’s why Evander would have always had Tyson’s number.

 

The power isn't the last thing boxer losses. I don't know only one old weightlifting olympic champion because the aging ruins the quality of the muscle. I don't know which stupid boxing fan started this "power is the last thing" stupidity.
Another example Usain Bolt retired but he's only 32 years old .Why? Because the years ruined his muscles and he lost his incredible speed. The today best 100m sprinter Christian Coleman is a very young athlete because their
muscles work well. I proved the aging destroys the power of the muscle mass.

Otherwise Tyson has significant wins after 1990 ,for example Ruddock(two times),Bruno,Botha moreover
after the Tyson-Botha Lennox Lewis fought Botha for title and this proves the Botha win was significant also.
Last two Tyson fights : Tyson could hurt Danny Williams but he injured in the first round.Against McBride Tyson hasn't only one significant landed punch obviously we don't know the McBride version Tyson's power at all.
I think you looks like a Tyson hater and this the reason why you can't respect others' opinion from the YouTube. Try to trust in the wisdom of the YouTube crowd !