Tyson's Career Into The 90's - Does It Prove...

I see your point, and make some good observations. Having a few destructive performances against a select group of specific challengers however does not necessarily prove that an entire era was better than another. Though he was very far past his best, the men that he needed to prove himself against were guys like Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Riddick Bowe, David Tua, Michael Moorer, the Klitschko's, etc... If he had beaten one or several of those guys, then I would be on your side 100%. Beating Nielson, Botha and Golata do not necessarily put a certified claim on the argument though..

 

Perhaps.. I would not pick Moorer to stand a snow ball's chance in hell against Tyson either.. Riddick Bowe against a 1991 Tyson would have been a toss up.. Tyson had real trouble putting away men who crept up into the 6'5" range, and I don't think any of the ones he did manage to beat were as talented or athletically gifted as Bowe. Tucker for example was too passive and fighting with an injured hand, yet managed to take him the distance. Smith wasn't fighting to win, and clinched his way to the cards. Green was nobody, but survived anyway.. Ruddock at 6'3" was able to slug his way to the last bell.. The version of Riddick Bowe who beat Holy in 1992, would have been a very tough proposition for Mike Tyson anytime after 1989, in my honest opinion....

 

It just says volumes about Mike, but not about the era. Tyson cleaned the scenery easily in the mid-to-late 80's, taking on the very best that that era offered, but he couldn't take out the very best that the next one, e.g. Holyfield and Lewis. Tyson would be a top three contender in any era, in my opinion.

 

Yes, Tyson is one of the legends and I have to say that if Holyfield, Lewis or the Klitschkos in their prime would have fought Tyson in his prime, they would have lost, big time. Holyfield was the only one I can imagine survive the longest.
This is just my opinion.
Cheers
The Predator

 

Yes, and perhaps if Riddick Bowe had fought Tyson circa 1986-1987, when those other guys did, he may very well have lost. But, a post Rooney Tyson in the early 90's may have struggled mightily with a peak Bowe, and perhaps even come up short. No matter how you cut it, the bigger the men got, the harder time he had, and i don't think anyone who Tyson fought in the 80's ( or 90's ), was anything like Riddick Bowe...

 

No, because none of the guys you listed were considered top tier or relevant contenders at the time Tyson fought them.

Nielson and Etienne were considered jokes before Tyson even entered the picture, and Golota had already been blown out by Lewis (and later by Brewster) so fast he never even had time to get injured.

 

That and the fact all of those guys are pretty much face first there to be hit type guys. You don't exactly have to hunt those guys down in the ring to find them. They were not going to put Tyson in with tough durable guys like Tua and Mercer that got hit easily but had staying power. Or guys with upper body movement like Byrd. Tyson had optimal matchmaking and guys like Bruno and Mathis and Stewart and Golata and so on just aren't going to ever match up well with a Tyson.

 

Bruno probably matched up well because he had a 14 month layoff or something and was scared to death!

 

No, it doesn't prove anything. He blasted the 80's guys out of there, too.

It's not like he blasted the top men of the 90's, i.e. Holyfield, Lewis and Bowe out of there. In fact, he's 0-3 against them, all decisive losses.


As for him being inducing injuries on Golota that Lewis and Brewster didn't came close to reproducing.... the fact that they knocked him out in 60 seconds probably has something to do with that. With a normal referee, Willard wouldn't have sustained those injuries against Dempsey, either, because he would've been stopped in the second minute of the first round.


Nielsen, Botha and Golota are hardly the men that made the 90's, wouldn't you agree?

 

It proves that despite the fact his best days were well behind him. Tyson was still a dangerous boxer.

 

I thought the 6'5" Jose Ribalta put on a very valiant losing effort to Tyson in 1986 too, was down three times but came within half a round of going the full 10. Jose was very brave in there against superior firepower.

I think Mike's exploits in the 90s just shows that even a slipping Mike Tyson was still one of the top fighters. Though as said he didn't face that many of the true danger men of the time, partly due to suspensions and jail.

 

Spot on.