Was M.Tyson a one punch KO artist?

Shavers had 23 1st round KO's and Tyson had 20.

Incidentally, shavers has a higher ko% than Tyson even though he had 1.5x as many fights and had a much longer career. The fact Tyson had better speed, timing, accuracy, athleticism, and technique and yet they are on par with their stats tells you just how destructive shavers was who had nothing to rely on other than power.

No im not saying shavers was a leagues ahead of tyson in terms of raw power but the opposite is also clearly not true looking at the numbers.

 

Shavers has around 35 or more "KO's" (not talking TKO's either) not on film. Tyson has what, one fight/KO in his entire career not on film? Shavers KO's not on film amount to well above half of Tyson actual career fights.

It's extremely safe to say there are plenty of one punch KO's in that 35+ collection. I have no doubt Shavers would be held in even higher esteem as a puncher than he already is if they were all available on film regardless of who they are against.

I agree Tyson has one punch power and remember you leading the cause ages back (at the expense of Shavers! deja vu for us ). His one punch power can get a bit lost in all that speed and ferocity.

 

He had that kind of power, but seemed more effective in bunches. He wasn't an Earnie Shavers-level of power (at least not in the right hand...Earnie had a weirdly forgotten, excellent left hook, but Mike's was both faster and heavier).

I tell boxing fans that Mike had the hook of Joe Frazier, the right of Joe Louis, and an uppercut not too far away from Bowe's level of power (not quite as devastating).

 

As others have said, a one punch KO artist will score a one punch KO on a rare occasion.

 

I think that hook-uppercut combo was one of Mike's signature combos. He got SO much of his body into those two punches, anyone would have been glassy-eyed (including any era of George from it).

That said, I don't see Mike doing much except getting knocked cross-eyed by George in the 70s and perhaps (with more difficulty) in the mid 90s. Easy target for the most brutal heavyweight puncher, ever.

 

Thanks for correcting me @Mark. Mike's defense was indeed no joke in his prime. I meant post-prison Mike against any era of George. If Holy got the shot in that everyone was waiting for Mike to succumb to (the right hand as he was coming in his usual way, knocking him across the ring), eventually George would have landed flush and Mike would have either chewed canvas or given up...that was his way.

The 70s George still would have knocked any era of Mike out imo. Mike might have gotten his own knockdown in, though. Would have been a terrific fight, and Mike would have done better than post-FOTC Joe (though instead of doing the jack-in-the-box Mike would have stayed down, either unconscious or quit on his back).

No offense to fans of Mike, and I must confess to being a much bigger fan of Mike since I came on this board.