Was Mike Tyson good or great?

Man, YOU SHOWED HIM, Dog!

 

Stop throwing a strop Sandra it doesn't suit you.....

 

That's a great post, Mike was weak mentally after his aura of invincibility was gone , but a great champ before that. I think he hated the game post prison.

 

Unforgiven hides some things well. He's a smarter hater than the obvious, obviously.

 

I have no hesitation calling Tyson a great heavyweight but whether he fully fulfilled his greatness is more debatable.

 

Why is this even a thread?

 

Just put up a poll already, Mark, so I know which Classic posters are worth taking seriously and which aren't.

 

Yes, he covered alot of ground for a man with a short prime.

 

Living through his reign 86-90 he was undoubtedly seen as great. Many said at the time ( maybe) the best ever.
If he'd have walked away from boxing for some reason pre Tokyo he'd certainly still be seen as a great.
What came next and after devalues his legacy, it's just a case of to what degree ?
It's a case of how much you let what happened post Tokyo/ prison, devalue what he did pre Tokyo.
Tyson will always polarise opinion, there were such different versions of him.
Also there's always differing opinions on the quality of his opponents in general during his reign of terror.
At his peak , he did things to fighters that had never been done to them before. They all kinda knew what they should do but none of them could do it, despite many of them having the tools.
I will always have him in mind as a Great.
The reasons for his decline were so clear and largely understandable, there's no mystery.
I'm happy to remember his as a great whilst he was a serious fighter.
Sadly post prison he was a freak show .