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

He's asking about his best

 

He's top 5 with ease.

 

No, but he singlehandedly brought boxing back to mainstream consciousness for a time. He left his mark.

 

If we include Mike in some ranking of the type "the greatest heavyweights" he'll be near the last places, even if I consider his prime only. He was attractive, brought some life to the boxing, but it seems people miss his greatest contribution to the sport, as much as it was his, but not Cus' - that people that're considered short for heavies have their way of neutralize the size advantage and put their own into such.

 

Well if he’d stayed focused and dedicated I think he certainly could have had a shot at reaching that exalted status.
Maybe your Lewis’ and Bowe’s style and size may have been a problem to him but if he’d retained his intensity,fitness and hunger then he has a big shout against both because I certainly think he beats all the rest and that includes Holyfield.
Anyway I still have him in the top five in his relatively short prime I think he was a remarkable fighter.

 

Wrong, of we judge solely based on prime form, he's no. 1 all time

 

Haha, ok!

 

He probably had the talent to be top three all time.

He had accomplished more at the age of 21 and 23, than any other heavyweight in history, and all that he really needed was more of the same.

Give him the mindset of a Joe Louis or Larry Holmes and the sky's the limit.

 

We could take that to the extreme and say that of the Bowe of the first Holyfield fight as well.

 

No...all time greats don't bite ears to get DQ'd. Writer Robert Lypsyte said: "If your the Heavyweight Champion Of The World...you DIE trying!" That wasn't Mike Tyson! Tyson never got off of the canvas after being knocked down...then roaring back to win the fight. Once he was down...you had him! Not the mark of a great fighter!

 

Clearly not the greatest. No argument for that whatsoever.

Was he the best ever during the years he rampaged through the division, though?

He did look formidable against primarily Berbick, Holmes and Spinks, that much is true. But you'd have to dismiss the loss to Douglas as an aberration due to poor preparation on Tyson's part and also overlook that it was a fairly weak division because several of the main talents never reached their full potential due to the kind of indiscipline that many claim led to Tyson losing his title. Would he have been so dominant if he'd have to contend with fully primed versions of Thomas, Tubbs, Page, Witherspoon and Dokes? Also you have to overlook a past prime Holyfield soundly besting him when he was still close to his prime years.

I'm not saying that it is completely impossible that Tyson with the right focus wouldn't have lost to Douglas and dominated the division in the same manner even if Page, Tubbs, Thomas et al had kept their focus and continued that domination over even better adversaries in Holy, Bowe and Lewis. It is not completely impossible, but it requires too generous assumptions imo.

 

I like your post.

The only names I see giving Mike serious problems during an ideal setting would be (Witherspoon-era) Thomas and Witherspoon himself (the latter from the Holmes fight).

The problem is that both Pinky and 'Spoon (sounds like a reimagining of BJ and the Bear lol) lost fights they most certainly should have won during their prime (of course, it seemed all the best contender/alphabet champs of the 80s besides prime Holmes did that, including Mike himself...all excuses aside). So I don't ultimately see ANY of them beating 1987 to 1989 Mike Tyson.

 

Yeah, they lost fights they should have won, just like Mike, and also had well reported issues outside of the ring, just like Mike.

If they and Tyson both had managed to keep focus and discipline I think Tyson would have met better resistance in his title fights. Thomas was game but looked past it, Tubb's shape was a bad joke and I think in shape versions of Witherspoon, Page and/or Dokes would have given Tyson stiffer resistance than, say, Biggs.

Tyson would still be the heavy favourite for these fights, but probably made to look more human overall and an off night it might even go to a close, disputed decision. In short, there would be more fights like the ones against Tucker and Tillis and fewer blowouts and complete dominations, I think.

And Douglas, they way he turned up that night, and Holyfield can't by any stretch be counted out even against Tyson at his best. At least Holy will always be the favourite imo. And then you have Bowe and Lewis coming up...

 

Yes we could, there's nothing wrong with that.

 

Didn't you read the question ?!??????
The thread creator is asking if his prime form is the highest, it's ****ing irrelevant wgat he did when he wasn't training properly or when he was washed up.