Tyson vs. Rahman in 2001

exactly. good post. just think if he had used better sense over the past 10-12 years what he could've done (probably at least grabbed a belt sometime in that time frame). as it stands with all the **** he was up to and the bad choices he's made, he still has had a long career and was able to beat some decent comp until his last fight w/ mcbride

 

Could be. Either way, Tyson had no interest in boxing at all since his release from prison. If anyone remembers the interview with John Madden before the Mathis fight, Tyson knew he wasnt the same. They were showing clips of him in his prime and he was saying he couldnt beat that guy, and that he wasnt the same fighter.
He steered clear of Lennox Lewis as long as he could before the public stopped paying to watch him fight nothing fights. It always amazed me with the amount of money at stake how unmotivated he was most of the time to fight and train. He was disgracing boxing really and it was hard to watch. I remember sitting in a gym with Tommy Brooks for over an hour just waiting to see if Tyson would even show up for practice. When he finally showed up he was miserable and couldnt wait to get out.
I try to remember Tyson in his real career, which was up until the Ruddock fights. Just more proof that if your heart isnt in it you should retire.
I believe Floyd Mayweather is heading for the same trainwreck.

 

yup. i've had acl damage and it felt like being shot (had no insurance so no surgery). i don't even attempt to play bball anymore cuz of it.

 

yeah you're pretty right about tyson's desire after prison. i think he had 'fleeting' interest in the game mainly because he liked the money and other perks but yeah he had no interest in dedicating himself to the degree it would take to try and be a consistent champ even remotely like he was early on. i do think he worked fairly hard for a few fights but often took shortcuts (i remember reading a lot about he and roach's prep for the willaims fight - some good things but a lot of mike trying to do his own thing and probably not doing enough). i think mike let himself down more than all of boxing, and i still enjoyed seeing some of his later fights, but your basically right.

 

I said that, and in order to take my meaning you have to decipher context.

Given that many consider him past it after Douglas is enough testament to my observation.

 

Above is for you too.

 

it doesn't matter what "many consider". he wasn't "past it" after buster (he was only 23), but he was no longer doing the same things he was taught and did do early on. the fact that he could still blitz b level figthers 10 or 12 years after buster, tends to show that if he kept up his dedication, he could've had a farily long career as a champ/top contender. if u say he didn't have a long career (disagree), it wasn't because of his style or his build it was because of his approach to the game

 

Semantics. I don't give two shits about Mike and his mental frailties - nor am I his social worker.

As a fighter, as you say, he was not the same after 23.

The reason for that is another matter, and frankly, I consider it moot.

 

Kind of true and what I was saying. Tyson wasnt interested in fighting. He took fights that he knew he could win and still party and do drugs with his homies and not train seriously. It wasnt until the public caught on that he was forced into the Lewis fight.
The fact that he went through the fighters he did before Lewis with such ease tells you how much natural talent the guy had.

 

Tyson today would not see round five and that's being generous.

 

Rahman is nothing special, but Tyson looks like a blimp lately. If hes still smoking cigarettes your most likely right.

 

A fight with Lewis in the 90s would've motivaated him IMO, he wanted to beat Lewis in 02 but his body just wasn't there, he was top heavy and at 235, just not in the right shape. Finkel managed Tyson all wrong, King always made sure to keep Tyson active, Finkel didn't.

 

I have been looking of that for a long time! I was beginning to think I was the only person that ever saw it. I don't remember it showing his preparation as being bad, but I remember seeing him train and stuff.

 

The worst mistake he made was hiring that trainer he had who kept telling him to stick his hands out in front of him when Lewis came forward. Rahman was a decent fighter when Tommy Brooks had him. After he left (first Tua fight), it was all downhill from there. He probably could have done a little more with a better boxing mind in his corner.