Tyson Names Holyfield As Best Puncher He Met

I dont have a problem with Tyson thinking Holyfield hit harder than Lewis. Consider this: When Tyson fought Holyfield he said he didnt remember anything after about the midway point. When Tyson fought Lewis he was well past his best, ate a shitload of big punches, and when he was knocked out he was still clearly conscious on the canvas. He got up and immediately gave a very lucid interview. So who are we to judge when Tyson was the one getting hit?

 

Holyfield feather fisted........now that in itself is funny........I do remember Tyson after he beat Rudduck the first time say " man he hits like a ****en mule kick".

 

Interesting E H the hardest puncher?

 

Very well said!!..Why make assumptions?..I believe Tyson meant what he said about Holy...if you watch that fight Holy catches way more and with much better shots then Lewis did!!..Plus Tyson was done that night and we all know it!!...Not taken anything away from the Beast that is Lewis im just sayin theres a huge difference between Tysons fights with Lennox compared to his wars with Evander!

 

Best puncher doesn't necessarily mean hardest. Still, Mike was going full force into Evander's counters throughout the fight. Tyson's dome was lumped up pretty badly as well...most likely due to headbutts, even though Holyfield's punches were accurate that night.

And speaking of Ribalta...the dude went toe to toe with an on point Tyson. He must have been coked out of his mind or on some mystical ayahuasca medicina to absorb those shots and complain to the ref when the fight was stopped.

 

Holyfield was probably the BEST puncher Tyson fought. They were probably the two best punchers of the era.

Several other fighters hit HARDER than Holy, of course, in terms of sheer one-punch power - but Holyfield was a phenomenally accurate combination puncher, he delievered the righ shots and the right time, and in bunches -with very good hand speed. He was savage when on the attack or counter-attack.

Looking at Tyson's style of fighting, it's no surprise he rates Holyfield highly.

 

I stand corrected. Sit corrected. Laze about corrected.

 

Good comment, listen to Tyson after the first Holyfield fight.

Tyson sounded F*cked. Yet he was fine after the Lewis fight.

Tyson has also stated Holyfield was the best counterpuncher he ever fought.

 

Also, you have to take into account, Holy was the first guy who really punched Tyson in 5 years.

The look on Tysons face after every Holyfield jab explains it all, he was flinching. Normally thats a sign of someones whose not been punched in the face before, or a sign of lack of good sparring.

 

Thats true.Just read it myself and Tyson says "He threw terrific shots with both hands and with bad intentions"

As for the strongest, I remember Tyson saying after the first Frank Bruno fight just he strong Bruno was when Bruno was holding on to him in the clinches. Like Bruno was pulling his head off when he was holding on to the back of his head.

 

did he mention quick tillis anywhere ?

 

I'm pretty sure Lewis isn't going to lose any sleep over Tyson giving him credit, or not giving him credit, with the lifestyle, and money he has got.

 

yeah nice post man.

and i agree with you guys saying tyson took 'best puncher' in the fullest sense of the word. holyfield was a heavyweight with every punch in the book, and tyson, a skilled puncher himself, recognised that holyfield had an answer for every avenue of attack he had at his disposal during those fights.

tyson seems to have really made peace with his career, it's good to see after everything he's been through. his other picks were even more interesting to me.. the way he attributes a different skill to a variety of fighters shows the depth of the field he fought his way through. sometimes when we analyse eras so glibly as 'that era was a golden one' or 'he beat a load of bums', we forget that each fight presents both fighters with some pretty extreme challenges. these guys were top pros and dangerous men to boot. the same is true of pretty much any fighter anyone on here would even bother to mention. tyson respected his rivals, and that's born out in his comments here.