Was Mike Tyson good or great?

No.. I am not Pernell. Just a fan who was totally into boxing even more when I was younger.. Totally into it all like we all are when we are younger.I would call the hotels during the big fight weekends which were the best time to call at the big locations, you could call the front desk and ask for fighters and they would connect you and many would answer the phone. I used to interview fighters back in the day saying I was from some fake newspaper and I would make up a name. I never said I was someone else since I felt that was not fair, so I made up everything. Name and newspaper. It was my way to really talk to them, instead of being the fan who they wanted to blow off. I have tapes where I am talking to Foreman and Lou Duva and Meldrick Taylor and Holyfield. You name it I talked to them. I remember talking to Duran, but he didn't speak english too well. I talked to Hagler and Hearns also. and a lot of guys. So many I forget. One of the nicest guys was Duva. I would have a set of questions I would write down before I would talk to them, and I would call the big hotels like I said- on the days before the big fight and ask for random guys and talked to them all. Even Lampley and Merchant. I remember forgetting that I was calling Vegas and not the east coast one day and I woke up Ferdie Pacheco at 4 am.. He said "do you know what time it is?" I said oh I am so sorry. and he said in a nice way "Bye!" Then I called later and he was nice as can be. I just asked Ray that question and I think I remember when I talked to Ray since I said it is the 5th anniversary of your second fight with Hearns, and he said "oh ****!" So that was June 12, 1994. A big fight must have been happening that weekend following that date I just forget which one. I knew he would be at the fight.And I asked him "does a fighter have to have great fights to be great?" and he said so emphatically "YES!". Now since he had great fights he would have that opinion..A guy like Floyd who has not had many great fights would probably say "No." It is just his opinion I guess. I will say one funny thing. I learned be prepared everytime you talk to a guy and have questions ready.. I called Holyfield in one of my first calls, and he was going to fight I forget who, but it was maybe 1989 or 1990.. And I didn't have it prepared and I asked him, "so do you think you are going to win" .. And he said " you are not a reporter. you are asking me if I think I am going to win???? What do you think I am going to answer? No??!!" So he figured it out. So from that point I was prepared.

 

lol this is incredible.
When are you releasing the tapes?!

 

I never said Tyson losing to Douglas makes it less severe. It hurts Tyson more rather. And it also happened in 1990. Unfortunately Buster ran from the rematch, so there's that.

Tyson cleaned out the 80's despite not facing Dokes, Weaver, Page, Spoon, Coetzee, Knoetze, Duplooy, Cooper, McCall, Mason, Bey, Leroy Jones, Tangstad, Cooney, Gastineau, Derrik Dukes, Alonzo Highsmith, Tim Anderson and anyone else who fought in the 80's.

Big Mike Tyson fan, yes. The reasons are legit. I've never seen anyone dominate great fighters ferociously and make quick work of them like he did. I agree Evander Holyfield would always be a tough fight, maybe his toughest of all time, but had both been in their prime Tyson takes him out. Holyfield WISHES he could do what Tyson did in the 80's.

Tyson doesn't go to prison and Holyfield doesn't have a HOF heavyweight career!

 

Douglas stated he would have beat Tyson easier in a rematch, i believe him. What in the hell makes you think Tyson would just wipe Douglas out? He dominated him from start to finish and finished him with a devastating knockout!

 

oh gosh. I don't know if I want to since I don't sound that great on them. It was something I did just to talk to the people in boxing. But I loved doing it, and I recorded them all.

 

I'm sure there is some valuable information there, no?
You used reporting as an excuse to talk to the boxers, but what ended up happening is that you actually documented real information.

 

How the hell can you say we know he could beat Buster when he didn't come close to doing so.

 

cause Douglas said? the evidence says otherwise, in reality Douglas went south after that incredible win. if we are going with stats are stats, reality is reality, apply that to Douglas as well as Tyson. Buster went down the pan against Holyfield, gave up in a way he never would have in Tokyo, the beast was gone never ever to return, the inspiration from his mother's death had a sell by date and all that money softened him. Its highly unlikely a softened Douglas would beat a better prepared Tyson quicker.

 

Many see the loss as an aberration though, so wouldn't effect Tyson's standing as much. Whether that is right or wrong depends on how you see Tyson in general. Other great fighters lose but it seems to effect their standing less with the purists, but I can see why, they probably proved more in the ring than Tyson. But the fact remains that Tyson had that dominant run and people will continually use that as his bench mark and maybe downgrade the Douglas win, which isn't necessary right, but it was also an extraordinary circumstance, one of those weird events that doesnt seem real. its the whole mystique around that fight that allows all these theories. Its not clear cut, there is room to argue, could Tyson have been better, could he have won the rematch? Thats kind of why the 80s run remains pristine.

 

So if Tyson beat a grossly out of shape Douglas in a return would you count that win as legit?

 

He wasn't dominating him when he was on the floor.

 

No he just got back up and proceeded to beat the living daylights out of him. I can't think of many world champions getting dominated so much in the HW division.

 

But not from"start to finish."

JUDGES ROUND LARRY ROZADILLA KEN MORITA MASAKAZU UCHIDA 1 DOUGLAS 10-9 EVEN 10-10 DOUGLAS 10-9 2 DOUGLAS 10-9 DOUGLAS 10-9 DOUGLAS 10-9 3 DOUGLAS 10-9 TYSON 10-9 TYSON 10-9 4 DOUGLAS 10-9 EVEN 10-10 EVEN 10-10 5 DOUGLAS 10-9 DOUGLAS 10-9 DOUGLAS 10-9 6 DOUGLAS 10-9 EVEN 10-10 TYSON 10-9 7 EVEN 10-10 TYSON 10-9 EVEN 10-10 8 TYSON 10-8 TYSON 10-8 TYSON 10-8 9 DOUGLAS 10-8 DOUGLAS 10-9 DOUGLAS 10-9 TOTAL DOUGLAS 88-82 TYSON 87-86 EVEN 86-86

AP score card.
rd1Douglas
rd2 Douglas
rd3Tyson
rd4Douglas
rd5Douglas
rd6Even
rd7Tyson
rd8Tyson
rd9Douglas

Nine completed rounds.Douglas 5 ,Tyson3 1 Even.

 

Yes from start to finish! if Usain Bolt was winning the 100 metres clearly, stumbled for two stides but kept his lead and cleared away from the field as he crossed the line then he dominated from start to finish.

 

If you agree with the judges then what more can i say, have you actually seen the fight?