Was Mike Tyson mentally weak?

Id say unstable.

 

I think he was crazy, but not mentally weak. I just think that people see his mortality as weakness

 

yea i was gonna say the same thing.

 

I wouldnt say he's mentality very weak , lots of his opponent in 80's actually managed to nailed him hard and last longer than 1-3 rounds, but Tyson still kicked their ass, even after losing to Douglas, his 2 victory over Ruddock were not an easy task

even in the fight against Holyfield itself he shows heart! clearly he can't adapt to Holyfield fighting style but as Holyfield said himself in post fight analysis interview, Mike just keep coming back after getting hit!

The Douglas fight, Tyson was clearly unprepared, his punching accuracy has been declining alot by the time he fought Bruno but he still fought Douglas really hard & even floored him

 

In short, yes.

 

I think this is the false impression people get mostly because of Teddy Atlas who has an agenda against Mike and tries to push this on people.

Tyson took some legendary beatings in the ring that he would have not been able to stand up to had he been as big a sissy as Atlas says he is. He might have lacked skills later in his career and the smarts to adjust, but Mike was a hard ******* no doubt about it.

 

I like Mike Tyson and was a fan of his. I just think Mike was overrated to go along with his mental weakness.

 

No. He just needed a better training/management team at the end of his career.

 

I'm a fan of Tyson.

It's just plain to see that when he's punching as hard as he could, trying to hurt the other guy and KTFO his ass, but still nothing happens, and the guy is able to hit back and hurt him, he gets confused and rattled and frustrated and angry and he doesnt know what to do.

I don't think he becomes a sissy.

I don't think Tyson's a coward.

 

does the Pop have tits?

 

Tyson was just nuts, not well educated, and systematically abused and cheated for years by people who trusted.

A lot of it is his fault, a lot of it not. But well balanced he wasn't.

 

I'd say no; weak isn't the correct term.

Mentally unstable and emotionally weak, yes.

 

In the ring, relative to most of the guys he's compared to (champs, HOFers, world-class fighters), I wouldn't disagree with anyone saying he's mentally weak. What I disagree with is the simplistic notion that all you have to do is "stand up" to Tyson and suddenly he'll fold. I often hear people say that. It's not that simple, not all 50 of his victims, 12 in title fights, who so overcome with fear that they couldn't "stand up" to Tyson. You have to have the ability, the right game-plan, and be able to execute it.

Tyson has quit/snapped in fights (Holyfield 2, Williams, McBride) or taken his beating like a man in others and still fought hard until the end (Douglas, Holyfield 1). I think his main mental weakness is getting frustrated or discouraged and not knowing how to adapt when things are going bad. Part of that has to do with his style, he was always at a height and reach disadvantage so it's not like he's going to start dancing and moving, but he would get impatient and look for a bomb to bail him out. Kevin Rooney may not have been some amazing trainer, but he had good chemistry with Tyson and helped him in situations like this.

 

If you do some quick studying on Mike you will find that he was very angry, and insecure.

When he had momentum, he was a beast, but if a fighter wasn't intimidated or could last more than 5 or 6 rounds, Mike would become discouraged and he was toast.

I'm a big Tyson fan, and I believe he had all of the natural gifts to be the greatest heavyweight of all time, his mental insecurities ruined that for him.

Mike's game plan was basically the same in every fight.

Plan A: Close the distance quickly, slip a punch, seize the opening, throw 4 or 5 punch body/head combos, land a heavy left hook or right uppercut to seal the deal.

Plan B: Go head hunting.

Plan C: Fight dirty if need be.

If you could put Floyd Mayweather or Ali's swagger, intelligence and confidence into the body of 1988 Mike Tyson, that would be the greatest heavyweight of all time.

Also, as someone else mentioned, once Cus was gone Mike was on the downhill and was being screwed by everyone who could get a piece.

I think he is in a better head space now than he has ever been, and I'm sure if Mike could go back and do it over, he would make a lot of different decisions.

 

Tyson like most fighters needed the mental reinforcement when things werent going his way, and thats why he was able to get through the fights in his first championship reign. No fighter can compete on that level without the proper support in their corner. When that went away he looked and performed mentally weak, trying to get out of fights by fouling and cheating because he didnt know what to do, but no you dont become an undisputed champion, by being mentally weak but its only natural to react a certain way when noone is giving you the proper answers.
A fighter like Andrew Golota was mentally weak. Even with the proper reinforcement in his corner, he looked for a way out when things werent going his way 100% even when he was winning one sided, and thats why he never won a significant fight.