[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujCBee2eDaQ[/ame] I've watched that short fight again and noticed that it was very good performance by 34 year old Tyson. He was aggressive, jabbing, balancing and tough to hit and Golota was good jabber himself. Fight was changed to NC so I think that's why this is so underrated performance by Tyson. It wasn't like that Iron Mike from the 80's. Comparing him to that period Tysons footwork looks a little sluggish but it's effective. I Think that Tyson had some fuel left in his tank in 2000. Against Golota he was 222 but 1 year later he was already 240... I consider that fight a solid bonus to Tyson's earlier achievments.
But Golata has a defense easy to penetrate. That's the guys that got the Tyson matchups back then anyways--guys that were going to be right in front of Mike & hittable. How some folks backed Golata to the point of being a 4-1 underdog, I'll never understand. To me, the guy is made to order for Tyson along the same lines as Bruno and Ettienne.
It was easy to penetrate since his jab couldn't land. Left jab is a key for Golota's boxing style. All those misses made him pay. Tyson's head movement and balance were well timed and effective. But still his shots aren't fluid multipunch combos like back in the days. Tyson was dirty and rough here. I think that this version of Mike could be tough for many good fighters
He was past it but still a terrific fighter ... however, I doubrt he keeps the pace for more than a few rounds. He lacked the conditioning necessary to fight at that style and pace for long. It does show the talk about him having no head movement and to never go to the body at this point to be crap.
I thought Tyson at that point was the best he could be in his comeback. He had a few fights with Tommy Brooks, and he was ready to challenge for the title at that point. Who knows how he would have done, but that would have been Tyson with his best chance to win against Lennox Lewis. Instead he took another big layoff.
I agree. His stamina was more eroded than his skills. He could still look really good early on in a fight, like he did here. I think he looked quite good even in the first round against Lewis. But he gassed quickly, and Lewis' uppercuts in combination with his strength and size in the clinches took the fight out of him. This footage also shows how important a good uppercut was to come to terms with most versions of Tyson. Golota's bread and butter was his straight punches, not the uppercut.
