Was prime "Iron" Mike Tyson the greatest heavyweight of all time?

Not THE greatest heavyweight of all but definitely top 15 for me.

 

No, but he could've been.

 

No.

 

Definitely not the greatest.

The best, when at his best, is at least arguable (I don't consider him as such). Absolutely no chance he's the greatest, though.

 

For me no not all. However, by what criteria are you defining greatness?

 

He had the ability to become one of the greatest, but there's more to been great than just ability.

 

No.

 

No he isn't the greatest but he did make his mark on the sport.

 

Tyson was like a stick of dynamite thrown into a moribund heavyweight scene. I honestly don't think there has been a more exciting fighter or one who went so quickly to the level of celebrity and awe that he did. On reflection the seeds for his downfall were planted as soon as he became as recognisable as Coca Cola and Michael Jackson to the general public.

He is one of those fighters who turned perceived disadvantages into brutal tools of destruction, like Marciano before him. A student of the game and an underrated boxer. People also forget how many different types of fighter he dismantled. Unfortunately all this was washed away but the tide of disruptive celebrity.

So would Mike be ATG at Heavyweight of he had stayed focused? IMO no, simply because ultimately there were too many physical disadvantages which, given the right opponent, would be difficult for him to over come. I don't feel many of Mike's defeats reflect an accurate idea of the type of fighter who would beat him in this fantasy parallel world where he beats Douglas and keep winning. I think Mike fell of the cliff really rapidly from his peak and more than anything had far to many problems out side the ring to be fully focused on boxing again, from Spinks probably. I simply don't think the Tyson who lost to Buster (and taking nothing away from Douglas for his great win) and subsequently to Holyfield or Lewis was the same fighting machine we saw up to Spinks. Happy to be corrected, just me opinion.

I actually think we need to look at the type of fighters who gave Mike trouble on the way up. Tillis, Green, Smith and Tucker. I feel all (apart from Tillis who fought proactively) if they had fought more dynamically could have stood a chance, in particular Tucker. Other heavyweight greats who combined elements of these fighters physical attributes along with a real will to win would cause Mike trouble. And unless I can say conclusively a prime Mike would beat a prime Ali, Holmes, & Louis I can't say he would be the ATG. Having said that this is a very small select bunch of awesome champs he is up with, even without IMO fulfilling anywhere close to his potential. I feel a prime Mike would beat Holyfield, Bowe, Fury, V Klitschko and given Lewis' two brutal KO losses he would stand a puncher chance against Lennox, despite Lewis having pretty much all the physical advantages going in.

One thing though to keep in mind is that if Mike had continued to be focused and not displaying any chinks in his armour then the awesome terror he inspired in the public and other fighters would have continued to give him a huge psychological edge over the champs I mentioned and this could have cancelled out any physical disparities. Once this was gone he lost a key part of what made him such a powerful champ. I can imagine masters of showmanship like Ali exploiting this with past prime Mike, but peak Tyson would be like Liston and Foreman combined!

 

No, but definitely in the top 10 and arguably one of the most exciting athletes to ever compete (not just boxing). He was a real menace at his best and you had to be really damn good with nerves of steel to beat him.

 

No, but a top ten ATG for sure and top 5 h2h.

Greatest to me includes either a degree of prolonged reign (Louis, Ali, Holmes are examples and thus higher than Mike) and/or winning the undisputed title more than once (Holyfield, Lewis, Foreman, etc. again all higher than Mike), or uncontroversally beating someone who is considered by most boxing fans and scribes as the Greatest (or at least in the top 5 or 6) while said Greats were 30 years old or younger.

Coming back from a pounding to win also scores hugely for me (this Mike never did, though he showed amazing heart and courage in his losses against Douglas and Lewis).

 

Yes he was.

 

Perhaps you don't understand tge question, he's not asking asking about what he achieved, he's asking about his prime, how good was that in relation to other's primes.